A southwestern style eggs benny.
After a rainy wet weekend camping in the beautiful High Cliff State Park, we trekked back to Madison, but not before a quick stop in Fond Du Lac at the Sweet and Salty Pig. There’s something about spending a weekend in the cold rain and woods that really works up an appetite.
And I’m sure glad we did stop here. It was like a mecca for eggs benedict. Their brunch menu is loaded all kinds, the classic, a pretzel bacon, a bbq pork, and the southwestern style.
And as hungover and hungry as I was, it made it really hard to choose.
After a long back in forth, I finally settled on the Southwest Eggs Benedict, which includes: poached eggs, crispy hash brown bottom, pulled pork, pickled avocados, pico de gallo, and a jalapeno hollandaise.
How does it hold up? Pretty damn well.
Hollandaise: 4.5/5
Listen. A jalapeno hollandaise. Doesn’t that just roll right off the tongue? It’s not just pleasant sounding. It’s brilliantly delicious. An absolutely perfect flavor that captures the creaminess of classic hollandaise, but with a jalapeno peppery kick. The only reason I knocked it a point was because they were very conservative with the sauce. There just was too little of the sauce for how good it was, and this is the kind of sauce you just want to drown in.
Eggs: 3.5/5
A solid, medium-sized poached egg that strikes that delicate balance between leaking sunshiny yellow goodness and retaining a little firmness in the yolk.
Meat: 4/5
The pulled pork makes sense with everything else going on here, it being a southwestern style and all. It was well-salted, crispy, savory and all-around solid. If not a tad dry. It’s not the pork’s fault. If we had more of that jalapeno hollandaise, man oh man, we’d be golden.
Muffin: 5/5
Ok, so it’s not an English muffin or toast or anything. But by bucking tradition, you get something even better – a bed of perfectly crisp, golden crunchy hash browns to soak up the egg and hollandaise. This is next level stuff. And a tradition I can get behind. Sure, it’s more like a skillet, but when you are hungover and cold and tired, hash browns are a perfect pick me up.
Side: 4.5/5
Crispy tots and beer cheese sauce. Healthy no, delicious yes. It’s peak perfection when it comes to a side dish. But the ala carte charge docked it a half point. Otherwise. Yes. To all of this.
Other notes: The Southwestern Eggs Benedict came loaded with a bunch of other ingredients that, unfortunately, don’t have a ranking system in our official Eggs Benedict rating system™. The salsa, pickled avocado (pickled avocado… right? I’ve never had that, and but I’m sure as shit glad I did. What a concept), and pico de gallo blend flawlessly with the rest of the dish, bringing it all home and creating one the better brunches I’ve had. +1
Overall: 22.5/25
So where does that leave us? 22.5 puts this baby in first place, taking the coveted title of Best Eggs Benedict (so far) from Baldwin Street Grille. What a day for me, for Eggs Benedict, and brunchers everywhere. 🎉🎉
If you ever find yourself in Fond Du Lac, grab yourself a seat at the Sweet and Salty Pig and satiate yourself.