Ben and The Battle of the Bacon Egg & Cheese Sandwiches
Bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, commonly known as BECs, are not only a classic to all New Yorkers but also a staple breakfast to many Riverdale Students. Every morning, it’s customary to see people devouring their delicious breakfast sandwich in the cafeteria before hustling to their classes. However, there are many different spots to purchase a bacon egg and cheese from, which has prompted fierce debate over which sandwich is the best. Some people get Chef Andre’s, others prefer Riverdeli or Tierney’s, and some people just wait around for Free Breakfast Fridays. I took the initiative of determining which bacon egg and cheese is truly superior to crown the Riverdale BEC Champion.
Free Breakfast Fridays: C (74/100)
Free Breakfast Friday has to stay. Entering school hungry and remembering it is a Free Breakfast Friday is truly a euphoric feeling. The sandwich not taking any money out of your pocket definitely adds to the appeal; however, I must remain unbiased when discussing the aspects of this sandwich.
This sandwich delivers in certain areas. Firstly, the egg is always cooked to perfection with the perfect balance of not being too dry and overcooked, but also not too runny. It is impressive how the chefs are able to cook so many eggs in bulk and not jeopardize the texture of the egg. The bacon is also very well cooked: not undercooked and fatty.
Sadly, there are some areas where this sandwich lacks. The cheese does not have much flavor and the sandwich could definitely benefit from a greater quantity of American cheese. However, the bread is this BEC’s true downfall. The sandwich is served on a normal country roll which is not the optimal bread for a bacon egg and cheese. The bread is also never toasted and becomes soggy from the sandwich’s contents. Overall, would I spend money on this sandwich? Absolutely not. Would I eat this for free when I am hungry on Friday morning? Yes.
Chef Andre’s BEC: B (86/100)
I am not a fan of pre-made sandwiches. Bacon Egg and Cheese is one of the quicker sandwiches to make and I don’t like that this sandwich is prepackaged in tin foil. You pay $2.50 for a decent sandwich. The bacon is great and the cheese is very well melted. The major issue is the overcooked egg. The only thing worse than an undercooked egg is an overcooked egg. When the egg is brown then you know it’s not good. The bun is also an issue. The bread in a sandwich is supposed to provide an opposite texture to the thing inside the sandwich. If the egg is soft, then the bread needs to counter that with some crispiness. This bread fails at that and is as mushy as the egg. Despite the problems with this sandwich, it still tastes pretty good.
Tierney’s BEC: B- (80/100)
The breakfast sandwich at Tierney’s was average. The egg was nicely scrambled, well cooked, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The bacon as well was crispy and evenly distributed throughout the roll. The cheese was sufficient as your typical melted American cheese. This sandwich could have benefited from toasting the bread and omitting the ketchup from within the sandwich. My major problem with this sandwich was the proportions. As you can see there was an overload of ketchup that overpowered the flavor of the egg. In my opinion, the egg to bacon to cheese ratio should always be 2:2:1, 2 eggs to 2 slices of bacon to 1 slice of cheese. This sandwich tasted more like 1 egg to 3 slices of bacon to 2 slices of cheese. The ingredients themselves were flavorful, but the ratio of egg to bacon to cheese was poorly calculated.
Riverdeli’s BEC: A- (92/100)
The sandwich here superseded all the others by miles. Almost everything here was cooked perfectly, truly a dream bacon egg and cheese. The egg was well seasoned and served in a substantial portion. The bacon was not overwhelming but served its job and provided the necessary flavor. The cheese was well distributed across every bite and all the proportions were to a T. Every bite captured the necessary components of a bacon, egg, and cheese without one component overpowering the others. The only issue I have with the sandwich is that the bread could have used more toasting.
Riverdeli’s Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwich has been crowned the Riverdale BEC Champion. However, its distance makes it less convenient for daily breakfast runs. Based on my evaluations, for those at Riverdale looking for a reliable and satisfying BEC experience, Chef Andre’s offers the best balance of taste and convenience.
