EARLY breakfast places??

Hi,

I'm starting work at 6am the next several days, and I really would like to pick up breakfast on the way to work.

I would prefer something quick but reasonably significant.

Doesn't have to be great, but although I haven't tried a McDonald's breakfast in a few decades, I'm not sure I want to try that again unless someone says they've really improved.

I guess a bagel would be OK, but really would prefer some kind of egg sandwich.

Fast food style - no waitress please.

Chains OK - but tell me when they open.

I personally have no idea if Dunkin Donuts is OK (or what time they open, their web site sucks). But chains might be fine, if decent.

I plan on cruising some EW street - probably Palatine Rd - from 53 to Waukegan Rd - but I can alter my path a bit.

I'm mostly hoping for someplace that opens around 5am or earlier. I know there's an Einstein Bros Bagels near where I'm going, but they open at 5:30am and that's just cutting it too close.

Anybody else start work really early? Want to share your breakfast plan?

Nancy

I'm not sure what time McDonald's opens - I checked their website, no dice - but I can tell you a couple of tips for there. I think their breakfast sandwiches (e.g. Egg McMuffin) are pre-made and microwaved, and the same for their breakfast platters (e.g. bacon and eggs) so don't expect anything great. What I get is scrambled eggs (they call this a "side order" of eggs because I don't get any bacon with it) and they actually make them to order, so they're hot off the grill. Maybe not great, but you know they haven't been sitting around. Similarly, another thing I sometimes order is pancakes with no meat, and they're made to order, too, hot off the grill. Again, not great, but fresh. The reason these items are made to order is that they're usually sold with meat (bacon, etc) in a premade platter, so if you don't get the meat, you get the food fresher. Oh, and each is only around a dollar or so.

Sorry I can't tell you when they open...

Dunkin Donuts has a pretty good egg and bagel sammie.

nsxtasy wrote:I'm not sure what time McDonald's opens - I checked their website, no dice - but I can tell you a couple of tips for there. I think their breakfast sandwiches (e.g. Egg McMuffin) are pre-made and microwaved, and the same for their breakfast platters (e.g. bacon and eggs) so don't expect anything great. What I get is scrambled eggs (they call this a "side order" of eggs because I don't get any bacon with it) and they actually make them to order, so they're hot off the grill. Maybe not great, but you know they haven't been sitting around. Similarly, another thing I sometimes order is pancakes with no meat, and they're made to order, too, hot off the grill. Again, not great, but fresh. The reason these items are made to order is that they're usually sold with meat (bacon, etc) in a premade platter, so if you don't get the meat, you get the food fresher. Oh, and each is only around a dollar or so.

Sorry I can't tell you when they open...

I have never had the impression the Egg McMuffin was microwaved nor premade any longer than any of their other sandwiches. I've watched them be assembled, it is not going from freezer to microwave to customer, if that is what you are implying. It is my default breakfast choice there because it is decent. My all time favorite breakfast item there is the steak, egg and cheese bagel. It has the caloric equivalent of a Big Mac, but wow it sometimes really hits the spot. I keep it at once in a great while treat level.

The breakfast platters may not be microwaved, but their container keeps the moisture in so well it may well give that impression. I tasted the pancakes and simply don't like the batter.

McDonald's sausage biscuit is pretty good, cheap ($1) ... as well as the equivalent at Burger King. Only once at BK did my biscuit have an old dry texture to it. As JiminLoganSquare will inform you, a biscuit is good for the first 30 minutes.

Regards,

I'm a big fan of McDonald's Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bagel (sans the salty, nasty margarine sauce). I also brake for any place that has NY Bagel & Bialy everything bagels and freshly-made scallion cream cheese, but I don't know the specifics of a place on your route that might have such delights.

Personally, I steer clear of Dunkin' Donuts' breakfast sandwiches b/c the bacon is always limp. Say what you will about McDonald's, their bacon is usually crispy, and to me, a breakfast sandwich is little more than a bacon vehicle.

Cathy2 wrote:I have never had the impression the Egg McMuffin was microwaved nor premade any longer than any of their other sandwiches. I've watched them be assembled, it is not going from freezer to microwave to customer, if that is what you are implying.

No, I meant, more along the lines that sometimes the standard Egg McMuffin or breakfast platter has been sitting for however long in the warmer, rather than being made to order.

Wendy's just recently added breakfast items to their menu. They had this fun looking little bacon, egg and cheese biscuit contraption that looked good. I haven't stopped in yet. I ususally stop at DD first for a bagel and coffee and forget about Wendy's until I see the sign.

cathy2 knows what she's talking about... steak bagels for the win

Cathy2 wrote:My all time favorite breakfast item there is the steak, egg and cheese bagel. It has the caloric equivalent of a Big Mac, but wow it sometimes really hits the spot. I keep it at once in a great while treat level.

Cathy, I think you (and now MBK) and I are the only ones here who share this taste, but darn if I don't love the McDonald's steak bagel, and have since it first hit the scene. Funny thing about this menu item is that it somehow seems not to be as controlled as most of the McD system foods, as there is a big variation in factors such as (1) the saltiness of the beef (sometimes it's a bit overbearing, actually) and (2) the volume of grease. Sometimes it's just a drizzle down the wrist, other times a thoroughbred lap-stainer.

Cathy2 wrote:As JiminLoganSquare will inform you, a biscuit is good for the first 30 minutes.

Or less. And that assumes you are starting with a good biscuit, which (sad to report) McDonald's does not do. Although as others have noted, Hardee's at least used to serve a decent biscuit, for a fast food place.

Hardee's still makes some of my favorite biscuits and gravy. Not the best I've had - but for a buck you can't beat 'em.

Too bad the nearest Hardee's is 2 hours away.

The biscuits at the fried chicken places (both KFC and Popeye's) are pretty darn good. But, getting back on topic, I don't think either one is open early for breakfast.

Now you don't have to be hung over to eat here, but White Castle makes their breakfasts fresh and made to order. If it is to your liking, they usually start at about 5, I think, and most are open 24 hours.

Dunkin Donuts, if they're not 24 hours, usually open at 5am. I usually get the sausage, egg, and cheese bagel. White Hen/7-eleven also has breakfast sandwiches, but I've never eaten one.

I'm a fan of the MacDonalds Breakfast Burrito. Yeah, I think they are microwaved, but they work for me. And there are traces of actual vegetables in there! Be sure to add lots of the (not particularly) hot sauce though.

As for the egg-and-meat muffins at White Hen -- don't even think about it. They make McDonalds' seem four-star in comparison.

Another choice could be Starbucks, who have a range of hot sandwiches these days. The Egg Florentine (with spinach) looks good, as does the Black Forest Ham (with egg and Cheddar). But I've yet to try either.

Panera Bread also has "portable" baked egg souffles that are a change of pace from the usual muffin/bagel based egg dishes, and may be open early.

Well, I found some Steak and Shakes that were open 24 hours. Their breakfast bagels were pretty good - absolutely made to order at 5am (but who knows when they are busy).

Seems like the intersection of Golf Road and Algonquin Road provide a whole mess of 24 hour places. Honestly, I saw Steak and Shake first, then I saw open, McDonald's, IHop, then Dunkin Donuts.

I just wish their web sites would list their 24 hour stores....

Nancy

Cathy2 wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:I'm not sure what time McDonald's opens - I checked their website, no dice - but I can tell you a couple of tips for there. I think their breakfast sandwiches (e.g. Egg McMuffin) are pre-made and microwaved, and the same for their breakfast platters (e.g. bacon and eggs) so don't expect anything great. What I get is scrambled eggs (they call this a "side order" of eggs because I don't get any bacon with it) and they actually make them to order, so they're hot off the grill. Maybe not great, but you know they haven't been sitting around. Similarly, another thing I sometimes order is pancakes with no meat, and they're made to order, too, hot off the grill. Again, not great, but fresh. The reason these items are made to order is that they're usually sold with meat (bacon, etc) in a premade platter, so if you don't get the meat, you get the food fresher. Oh, and each is only around a dollar or so.

Sorry I can't tell you when they open...

I have never had the impression the Egg McMuffin was microwaved nor premade any longer than any of their other sandwiches. I've watched them be assembled, it is not going from freezer to microwave to customer, if that is what you are implying. It is my default breakfast choice there because it is decent. My all time favorite breakfast item there is the steak, egg and cheese bagel. It has the caloric equivalent of a Big Mac, but wow it sometimes really hits the spot. I keep it at once in a great while treat level.

The breakfast platters may not be microwaved, but their container keeps the moisture in so well it may well give that impression. I tasted the pancakes and simply don't like the batter.

McDonald's sausage biscuit is pretty good, cheap ($1) ... as well as the equivalent at Burger King. Only once at BK did my biscuit have an old dry texture to it. As JiminLoganSquare will inform you, a biscuit is good for the first 30 minutes.

Regards,

i had the "pleasure" of working at mcdonalds early enough to remember when the egg mcmuffin was introduced..I assure you it was made with fresh eggs and cooked on the grill in little metal rings..
in fact those eggs were so fresh that a few employees took a dozen of them to egg the managers house with but thats another story
anyway im going back 35 years ago ..who knows if they make them the same now or not..im gotta think they do as they taste the same

As another veteran of working breakfast at Mickey D's, the Egg McMuffins should NOT be premade at a full-size, standalone McDonald's. What they're doing at Express locations inside airports, shopping malls, gas stations, etc. is another matter, however; they do seem to use (from outside observation) microwaves and reheated components assembled on site.

There aren't many things I'll praise McD's for foodwise, but the Egg McMuffin is one of the great industrial inventions of the 20th century, creating a new breakfast category that was freshly prepared and genuinely appealing yet totally meshed with the existing McDonald's system (and the needs of people who eat while driving). Pretty much a work of genius.

One interesting note: as you fry the eggs in their little rings, the cook is supposed to break the yolk with the corner of his spatula, so that no one has to deal with people who either want, or don't want, runny yolks. Needless to say, many of us would keep the yolk whole when we made our own.

Nsxtasy points to the easy way to ensure fresh product at McD's: order something non-standard. I would order a Quarter Pounder with no ketchup, then ask for lots of ketchup packs. That always got a puzzled look, but it ensured a fresh sandwich.

Mike G wrote:One interesting note: as you fry the eggs in their little rings, the cook is supposed to break the yolk with the corner of his spatula, so that no one has to deal with people who either want, or don't want, runny yolks. Needless to say, many of us would keep the yolk whole when we made our own.
.

we made what we called "businessman specials" where we would not cook the yolk so when the guys in suits bit into them yolk went all over thier ties , etc...
hey cmon now..15 and a punk ..what can i say?

Mike G wrote:As another veteran of working breakfast at Mickey D's, the Egg McMuffins should NOT be premade at a full-size, standalone McDonald's. What they're doing at Express locations inside airports, shopping malls, gas stations, etc. is another matter, however; they do seem to use (from outside observation) microwaves and reheated components assembled on site

Fast food places usually use the microwave oven to melt the cheese.

Well, we didn't circa 1980, indeed there wasn't a microwave on the premises in either of the two McDs I worked in, but I know things have changed.

Mike G wrote:Well, we didn't circa 1980, indeed there wasn't a microwave on the premises in either of the two McDs I worked in, but I know things have changed.

Same here. Back then microwaves were large, strange, and expensive devices. Contrast that to teenagers making minimum wage that learned how to cook Egg McMuffins with a 10 minute video in the break room and it's kind of a no-brainer. We also modified the prep a little bit when we made them for our own consumption, no whacking the yolk with the spatula corner and 2 (TWO!) slices of Canadian bacon. I'm sure most of the dining public would have preferred a choice on the yolk but consistency is king at McD's; if you want it your way go to that other place.

Satiate wrote:I'm a fan of the MacDonalds Breakfast Burrito. Be sure to add lots of the (not particularly) hot sauce though.

Got to agree with Satiate...the breakfast burrito is pretty good for $1.69. My wife and I do a quick sit-down breakfast on Mondays, and, we take our own homemade hot sauce in with us. (The packeted stuff they give is too mild and tastes like a bad jarred hot sauce) We started going here after they changed their coffee. The coffee is much improved, in my opinion.

the coffee has gotten a lot better

MBK wrote:the coffee has gotten a lot better

That was a deliberate (and well-publicized) improvement on their part, to help them compete with Starbuck's, Dunkin' Donuts, etc for a share of the early morning market.

I'm not ashamed to eat Mickey D's for breakfast -- although I won't eat it for anything else anymore. I like a Sausage Biscuit with egg and then I'll order it with cheese for freshness.

One thing that surprised me recently -- I was visiting my family in Atlanta and we hit a mcd's for a quick breakfast on the run and by god but their biscuits were actually incredible. Bigger, fluffier and fresher than the paltry version up north. My sister indulged in her favorite Chicken in a biscuit, which they don't offer up our way. I couldn't believe I had gotten this thing at a McDonald's. I wanted more than one but we had driven off by that time.

Coming back up here was sad in the biscuit department.

I tried the new McD's coffee, and I thought it was marginal at best. It didn't taste awful.

leek wrote:I tried the new McD's coffee, and I thought it was marginal at best. It didn't taste awful.

On a good day, it's marginal at best. I've only had it once or twice where it wasn't scorched beyond all drinkability. I don't really remember this being a problem with their old coffee (which was bad, but in that way all inoffensive cheap coffee is bad), but for some reason, this newer stuff is often horrid.