Egg@Midtwon - Dissapointing But With Obvious Upside

Egg@Midtown Takeaway. Egg@Midtown's execution ended up with some eggs on its face. My Pork Belly Cornbread Egg Benedict, the biggest rec on Reddit and Yelp, egged out only a 7.1/10, landing there only because the potatoes were legitimately some of the best I've had in St. Louis.

The problem was the main course. I came here expecting excellent Pork Belly Benedict, but the "star" of the show was dry, tough, and just plain bad. However, everything around it rocked, but the centerpiece failed.

So, obviously, I might have had a bad batch of pork belly, but it missed the mark.

For a $20 breakfast (after tax and tip), that's a tough pill to swallow. Add in the 20-minute drive and paid street parking, and the whole thing just doesn't add up to a convenient or worthwhile trip for me.

Egg@Midtown Experience Summary

My quest for the best breakfast in St. Louis took me to Egg@Midtown one Thursday for lunch. I went with my buddies purely on a recommendation from the guys on Reddit. They said it was "basically the best breakfast he's ever had in his life."

Sorry, Reddit, but this time, you were wrong.

The comments specifically raved about the Pork Belly Benedict, so I knew I had to give that a shot.

We got there at 12 o'clock, and the place was pretty quiet. The vibe is very "modern and chic," not some old-school diner. When you walk in, you're hit with a modern, clean feel.

It's got exposed brick, nice clean lines, and a really great setup. We sat outside, which was great on a sunny, warm day, and the service was great. Our waitress was super friendly and attentive. So everything was lining up for a perfect meal.

But then the food came.

And man, it was a tale of two dishes. The potatoes on the side? Absolutely fantastic. The eggs? Perfectly poached. The hollandaise and cornbread? Sweet and delicious.

But the pork belly, the main reason I was there, was just bad. It wasn't "melt in your mouth." It was dry, tough, and rubbery. It's the star of the show, and it completely fell flat.

I could tell it had potential, but my version was just a disaster.

To make things worse, my buddy was also disappointed because they were out of the vegetables for shakshuka due to a "supplier issue." Maybe it was just an off day, but at $20 for the plate, plus paid city parking, "off day" isn't a great excuse.

For a 20-minute drive, I just can't see myself going back. The potential is there, but my experience was a major letdown.

The Food At Egg@Midtown

I ordered the Smoked Pork Belly Cornbread Benedict, which, as I mentioned, came highly recommended. It was $16, which is not cheap at all for breakfast, or even for lunch, honestly. And that was before tax and tip.

Let's start with what worked. The two poached eggs were perfect. The whites were set, but the yolk in the middle was nice, loose, and runny. Just how I like it.

The hollandaise sauce was nice and sweet, and it mixed perfectly with the sweetness from the two pieces of cornbread it all sits on. It all came together nicely.

The potatoes were the real redeeming factor. They were hash browns, but cut into tiny little potato wedges, maybe a centimeter cubed. They had these lovely, crunchy outsides with soft potato in the middle, lightly salted.

They were, quite literally, some of the best breakfast potatoes I've had in the area, maybe my life.

But then... the pork belly. This thing was a big slab, and it's supposed to be this fantastic, tender piece of bacon, think all "melt in your mouth."

This particular batch of pork belly was the opposite. It was dry. It was tough. It wasn't tender at all.

It had a nice smokiness, but you just can't save a texture that bad. Even the fatty outside was still rubbery and not great. The main star of the show felt extraordinarily flat and just ruined the whole experience for me.

I was so disappointed.

Egg@Midtown Atmosphere And Miscellaneous

The restaurant itself is really nice. It's in Midtown, right near the Pulitzer and the

As I said, the atmosphere was modern and chic. It has those great exposed brick walls, nice furniture, and a very clean vibe.

They have indoor and outdoor seating. We got to sit outside under a table with an umbrella on a warm sunny day. It was a really nice street vibe with my two buds.

It was 12 o'clock on a Thursday, so it definitely wasn't their peak hours. We were maybe one of two or three parties there.

Service was great. Our waitress was super friendly, helpful, and attentive. We had no issues there at all.

Parking At Egg@Midtown

Parking is a bit of a pain. You have to find street parking, and that costs money during the week, which is kind of sad. You have to add another dollar or two to the price, which just feels like a city tax for going to the restaurant there.

Egg@Midtown Receipt