April 29--All this talk about eggs Benedict in the office this week inspired me to write an ode to the Egg McMuffin, which to me is simply the greatest fast-casual breakfast item in history.
Born in 1971, created not by corporate McDonald's but by one of its innovative franchise operators, the Egg McMuffin is the quintessential grab-and-go breakfast: tasty, nutritionally sound (300 calories, 12 grams of fat) and easy to eat with one hand. That, of course, leaves the other hand free to text -- talk about prescience.
Moreover, employees at McDonald's actually crack eggs to make the thing; none of those pre-cooked egg disks you find elsewhere. Consistency can be a problem -- Egg McMuffins depreciate faster than a Porsche -- but when you get a fresh one, the English muffin still crispy in spots, the egg hot and even a bit soft in the yolk? You can't beat it.
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.
pvettel@tribpub.com
Twitter @philvettel
