Breakfast Report: The Egg & I...

Okay, maybe it was closer to lunch time, but we ordered breakfast none the less.My wife has been eager to try out this place that opened up at Westpointe on Highway 151 just north of Loop 410 called The Egg & I. Let me tell you right up front, I resisted because I just don't like the name. It just sounds like a goofy name for a restaurant. Perhaps a book, a blog site, or a childrens song, but I just don't see a sign for a place that says "The Egg & I" and suddenly think lunch. But I could be wrong.

Business was brisk - in fact we had to wait close to 20 minutes to be seated, which I did not care for one bit. But you gotta figure that if so many people are willing to wait, it must be worth it, right?

If you are going to have to wait anyway, the folks at E&I smartly placed a coffee bar in the front area so you can get a cup of their excellent coffee, free of charge. What a great idea. Since it was close to noon, my wife was pretty much coffeed out, so the free little cup was just enough for her. I wonder if Chili's would consider dispensing free Dixie cups of beer while you wait for your table?Once seated, we already knew what we wanted to order (we had about 20 minutes to figure it out) so when the waitress came to get our drink order, we gave her the full meal request. A few things you should know. First, on weekdays, they offer free wireless Wi Fi. Second, they have outdoor seating if you'd care to be roasted in the sun, and third, bring a paper, a book, or perhaps a board game to play, because the wait for our meal was forever.Honestly. In terms of crowds, Jim's and IHOP handle this amount of people routinely, yet the wait for food doesn't seem to take nearly as long. My wife attributed this to the fact that E&I is more of an upscale, Magnolia Pancake Haus sort of set up. So I think what that equates to is, you won't appreciate your vittles if they come too fast. I reckin'.My wife ordered up the "Waffle Eggspress", a golden Belgian waffle, two eggs and two strips of bacon. This was pretty good. The bacon was especially tasty (yea, I tried some). My wife would have liked the waffle to be cooked just a tad longer - a little more golden brown if you will, but it was also very good.I thought the Wisconsin Scramble sounded good. It is three eggs scrambled with a quartet of cheeses: Swiss, Monterey jack, cheddar and cream cheese, then topped with green onions. The eggs come with ranch potatoes, toast and sausage. A few notes: First, the scramble was very good. Who would have thought of cream cheese in your eggs? Good stuff. The potatoes had some sort of ranch taste. I think I would have been happier with the "regular" taste. The sausage was excellent just like the bacon. The toast may have been buttered back in the kitchen, but they don't serve any additional butter with it. Enjoy the Smuckers. To do it again, I think I would have opted for biscuits.

Overall, the food was all good and in spite of the name, they also serve lunch. The Reuben caught my eye, so I'm sure we'll be going back for another try. If you are just interested in getting a quick breakfast, I'm not seeing this as the place to go. But if you've got an hour or so to hang out and wait for your food, be sure to give it a shot.