Egg@Midtown

Egg@Midtown Experience Summary

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so finding the best breakfast in St. Louis has become a passion project for me.

My passion took me to Egg@Midtown one Thursday for lunch. I went with my buddies on a Reddit recommendation. The guys on Reddit said it was basically the best breakfast they'd ever had in their life.

Sorry Reddit, this time you were wrong.

The comments specifically raved about the Pork Belly Benedict, so that was my pick going in.

We got there at noon and the place was pretty quiet. The vibe is modern and chic, not your old-school diner. Walking in, you get the clean, modern feel right away.

There's exposed brick and clean lines with splashes of color. We sat outside on a sunny, warm day, which entailed sitting at standard tables with awnings.

The service was great. Our waitress was friendly and attentive. Everything was lining up for a perfect meal.

Then the food came.

My plate was a tale of two dishes. The potatoes on the side were absolutely fantastic. The eggs were perfectly poached. The hollandaise and cornbread were 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. The star of the show completely fell flat.

I could tell the dish had potential, but my version was a disaster.

It got worse for my buddy, too. They were out of the vegetables for the shakshuka because of a supplier issue. Maybe it was just an off day for the whole restaurant.

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 visit was a major letdown.

The Food At Egg@Midtown

I ordered the Smoked Pork Belly Cornbread Benedict on the Reddit rec. It was $16, which is not cheap for breakfast, or even for lunch honestly. That was before tax and tip.

Let's start with what worked. The two poached eggs were perfect. The whites were set, the yolks loose and runny in the middle. Just how I like them.

The hollandaise was nice and sweet. It mixed well with the sweetness from the two pieces of cornbread underneath. The whole thing came together nicely.

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

These were quite literally some of the best breakfast potatoes I've had in the area. Maybe in my life.

Then we get to the pork belly. The slab is supposed to be a fantastic, tender piece of bacon, all melt-in-your-mouth.

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

There was a nice smokiness to it, but you can't save a texture that bad. Even the fatty outside felt rubbery. The main star of the show ruined the whole experience for me.

I was so disappointed.

Egg@Midtown Atmosphere And Miscellaneous

Egg itself is genuinely nice, sitting in Midtown right near the Pulitzer and the Contemporary Art Museum, which makes for an easy combo afternoon if you're already over there for either spot.

It's also right down the street from Pappy's, which is up there in the BBQ conversation for St. Louis. I'd never actually been to Pappy's before, so it was cool to lay eyes on it for the first time.

The atmosphere reads modern and chic, with great exposed brick walls and nice furniture. You can see clean vibes running through the whole space from the entrance down through the back.

They have indoor and outdoor seating, and we sat outside under a table with an umbrella on a warm, sunny day. It was a really nice street vibe sitting out there with my two buds.

We rolled in at noon on a Thursday, definitely not their peak hours, so we were maybe one of two or three parties in the whole place.

Service was great from the start. Our waitress was friendly, helpful, and on top of refills, drinks, and anything we needed.

Parking At Egg@Midtown

Parking is the rough part of going to Egg. You have to find street parking, and it costs money during the week, which is sort of sad for a daytime breakfast spot. Tack another dollar or two onto your bill for the meter, basically a city tax for eating in this part of town.

Egg@Midtown Receipt