:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58204193/The_Classic_JustinLevyPhoto_13.0.jpg)
Expect to see more egg sandwiches on your Instagram feed. The uber-successful Tao Restaurant Group is betting on the humble bacon egg and cheese. This week, it debuted Egghead, a fast-casual, “egg-centric” sandwich shop at New York City’s Moxy Hotel in Times Square.
Egghead is the first all-day restaurant from the group known for clubstaurants Tao and Vandal, but it’s not surprising that Tao set its sights on breakfast. Breakfast is good business, and all-day dining was the trend of 2017. Plus, LA’s Eggslut proved definitively that customers will get behind an entire restaurant dedicated to egg sandwiches. In fact, Egghead bears a bit of a resemblance to the egg-centric restaurant founded by chef Alvin Cailan in 2011.
Like Eggslut before it, Egghead will sell egg sandwiches on golden brioche buns. Both restaurants feature branding that incorporates a whole egg and lowercase lettering. But, Cailan gives Egghead his blessing. He tells Eater, “I wish them the best, it’s understandable that a team that strong will do an egg concept. [Tao Co-Founder] Noah Tepperberg is a good friend of mine and I have much respect for everything he does.”
In addition to “Classic” and “Basic” versions of a bacon egg and cheese, the Egghead menu includes the Ranchero, the Green and White, the Deli, and a straightforward egg salad sandwich. For the gluten-intolerant, there’s the Non Sandwich, which consists of eggs, ham, cheese, and vegetables in a jar. Pecorino-stuffed hash browns are an Instagram-worthy side. As well as having the distinction of being the only breakfast restaurant in the Tao portfolio, Egghead offers low price points for the Tao Group — the most expensive item on the menu is a $10 chopped cheese, available after 11:30 a.m.
With Egghead, Tao’s fourth restaurant at Times Square’s Moxy Hotel, it seems the number crunchers at the restaurant group have decided that egg sandwiches are indeed ~a thing~. If Tao’s success selling Asian fusion long after it became trendy is any indication, it’s safe to assume that the highly ‘grammable BEC is also here to stay.
• Egghead [Facebook]
