Eggs boil over with possibilities: chefs hatch new ideas, refine older recipes that go over easy with diners

Nation's Restaurant News, March 15, 2004 by Elissa Elan

Operators are scrambling to add eggs to their menus as the incredible, edible delicacies enjoy a diet-prompted comeback.

Long known as a source of high protein, eggs, according to the American Egg Board, had been decreasing in popularity since the mid-1980s because they were perceived as being high in cholesterol. Since the onset of the 21st century, however, that myth, through various medical research studies, has been dispelled. Now, with more people than ever before following high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, eggs are back in favor not only with chefs but with the public, too.

"Without a doubt, this whole Atkins thing is behind the request for more eggs," says David Brigham, co-owner/operator of Brig's Great Beginnings, a three-unit, upscale-casual chain based in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. "Because of the high-protein diet, we're getting a lot more requests for no carbs. And we very much think that this will continue. You know, there used to be a slogan once, 'An egg a day is OK,' but most people are eating more than one egg when they eat out."

One example of the high-protein menu items offered at Brig's is the works, an omelet that sells for $7.89 and has been on the menu for several years. Brigham says it's a good seller. "It's got sausage, ham and bacon in it, with mushrooms, peppers and onions, plus some cheddar and jack cheese. It's like a pizza that has the works on it."

In addition to the works omelet, Briqham's restaurants offer a number of other egg dishes. They include "the Monaco," an omelet made with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and Brie cheese, and a Philly cheese and steak omelet with lean grilled beef, diced red onion, yellow, red and green peppers and provolone cheese. Both cost $7.49. The chain also sells a blue crab omelet, featuring blue crab, shrimp and cream cheese, which is topped with hollandaise sauce and priced at $8.49.

Brigham, whose chain has annual store sales of about $1 million, says the egg dishes account for approximately 66 percent of the volume.

Michelle McRaney, executive chef of Mr. B's Bistro in New Orleans, which is owned by the renowned Brennan family of restaurateurs and operated by Cindy Brennan, notes that sales of egg dishes there have increased as well. She is another who attributes the rise to the high-protein diet trend.

"Many people are requesting low-carb dishes, and we find that it is easy to accommodate them by using eggs as the main ingredient in combination with such items as beef tenderloin, pork or fresh seafood," she says.

According to McRaney, one of the restaurant's most popular brunch dishes is the tenderloin and eggs with wild-mushroom sauce. The eggs are scrambled, fried or poached and come with an optional black-pepper buttermilk biscuit.

Some of McRaney's other favorite egg dishes at the restaurant include a crawfish omelet, a three-egg omelet filled with fresh Louisiana crawfish, onions and peppers topped with hollandaise sauce, and crab hash with eggs, poached eggs with jumbo lump crabmeat. All of the dishes sell for between $26 and $27.

At the Egg & I, a 15-unit upscale-casual chain based in Fort Collins, Colo., "Egg sales are pretty incredible right now," says Jeff Novak, a partner and vice president in charge of new-product development. "They're a great source of protein, and they're reasonably priced. With Atkins, people are wanting to cut down on carbs, so sales have skyrocketed."

To cash in on the craze, Novak says the chain began offering a Healthy Bytes menu about six months ago. He claims the menu has been so successful that it accounts for between 18 percent and 20 percent of store sales.

Menu items include the Colorado jack scramble, which features diced ham, green pepper, tomato and onion scrambled with three eggs and topped with melted pepper jack cheese. It is served with a choice of bacon or sausage and a side of house-made salsa or green chilies.

But for those customers not adhering strictly to an Atkins-style diet, the Egg &l also offers such hearty egg-based comfort foods as the Italian Benedict. According to Novak, the item was created because of his interest in Italian food.

"When I worked for an Italian restaurant, I really enjoyed making pesto sauce," he says. "I thought to myself, 'What kind of interesting thing could I do to incorporate [the sauce] into an eggs Benedict dish, which has sold so well for us?'"

To make the dish, which is priced at $7.25, Novak says he starts off with two slices of Italian bread cut about three quarters of an inch thick on the bias. "I cover them with olive oil and dip them into Parmesan cheese. Then I put the bread slices on a flat grill until they are golden brown and place them on a plate. I usually make two large eggs fried or over easy and saute roasted red peppers. Then I take thinly sliced Prosciutto ham and put it on the Italian bread. I put the eggs on top of ham and cover them with creamy pesto sauce. The whole thing is served in an 8-inch skillet on an oval glass plate that is surrounded with the grilled roasted peppers. The combination of the bread, ham, eggs and peppers makes a really nice presentation."