Don’t Mess With My Bacon, Egg and Cheese.

[elleng]

It is a hero among sandwiches, although it is not the one called a hero. It is not called by any name that everybody agrees on, although it sometimes appears on menus as the breakfast sandwich.

A name isn’t necessary in conversation because nobody bothers to talk about it, even though the sandwich makes the first few hours of the working day in New York City possible. Almost everybody has untucked one from its double wrapping of wax paper and foil, but almost nobody mentions it unless an order for one is being placed. This is done by means of an ingredients list, each permutation a variation on the theme of eggs, cheese and bread product, with or without breakfast meats:

One egg over easy with ham and cheese on rye toast.

Two fried egg whites and cheese on an everything bagel.

Or, in the classic and possibly highest formulation: bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese on a roll. . .

In fact, any attempts to make the morning egg sandwich purveyors get dressed up and march in a fancy-food parade with the celebrity doughnut shops, the chef-engineered burger joints and so forth are missing the point. New Yorkers are loyal to the sandwich because it is loyal to them. It chases off any remaining morning demons and clears the way for whatever fresh demons are waiting at work. Trying to improve the breakfast sandwich by spending more on the bacon is like telling a fireman who just dragged four children out of a burning house to change his shirt before he goes on the evening news.

The great virtue of the bacon, egg and cheese on a roll, or its variations, is in what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t divide New Yorkers by class, income or neighborhood. It doesn’t seek publicity. It doesn’t convey status or bragging rights. It just conveys nutrition and, if you need it, settles your nerves. It is a secret handshake that New Yorkers exchange, not with one another, but with the city.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/dining/dont-mess-with-my-breakfast-sandwich.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Visible&module=inside-nyt-region&region=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region

[Trajan]

2. Raised by my Brooklyn born mother ...

And living my first ten years in North Jersey, I learned to cook egg sandwiches at a very early age, and to this day, I make a killer egg sandwich ... a million ways to make an egg sand ...

[tech3149]

3. I'm sorry I can only rec this post once

Having had to live in the area for 15 years, I can attest to this marvel of morning gastronomy. There is virtually no community in the tri-state are that doesn't hove at least one sandwich or bagel shop that doesn't have a wonderful variation available.
Boy do I miss that!