By Brett Callwood
There’s a lot about Egg Tuck that is intriguing. The Korean breakfast sandwich mini chain has eight locations in the United States: five in Los Angeles and three in Illinois. That’s strangely specific right there. Nothing in Michigan, nothing in Oregon. Just SoCal and Illinois. OK.
But also, the very fact that it’s a Korean breakfast sandwich chain is fascinating too. Those aren’t usually words that you’d put together, so it’s impossible to ignore the glorious possibilities.
“At Egg Tuck, our commitment is simple: elevate breakfast through the artistry of soft scrambled egg sandwiches and in-house brewed coffee,” they say online. “We aim to tuck joy into every bite, ensuring a delightful experience that transcends the ordinary. We’re just too good to Egg-nore™!”
They really are. Plus, the fact that they trademarked that last word is, again, fascinating. Thankfully, one of those Los Angeles-area locations is here in Gardena, so we can satisfy our curiosity and our stomachs simultaneously.
There were two of us eating, so we tried two dishes, and one side. The child with us had the Bacon & Cheese option from the Egg Sandwich section of the menu. All of the sandwiches are made with their house-made brioche bun, eggs, chives, signature egg sauce, and house sriracha aioli. This particular sandwich adds smoked bacon and cheddar cheese.
It would be a sin to rush past the brioche bread. It’s the sort of bread that you could eat by itself, no butter or anything. It’s so soft and bouncy, somehow eggy and a little bit sweet. Lightly toasted, it’s simply fantastic.
There’s a generous scoop of scrambled egg on there, which is cooked beautifully. It’s light and fluffy, and it pairs magnificently with the bread. The combination of the egg sauce and sriracha aioli blend and add so much flavor, and the chives lend some much-needed bite. The bacon and cheese finish the whole thing off. It really is a great breakfast sandwich, and very different to its American counterpart.
We also had the Spicy Royal burrito: “Ghochujang sriracha glazed spicy tteok-galbi (pork and beef short rib patty), signature scrambled eggs, tater tots, cheddar cheese, grilled onions and house sriracha aioli.”
This is a more adventurous order than the sandwich. The short rib patty packs a bit of a punch, but not in an unpleasant way. It’s tender and delicious. Here, the addition of the onions and tots raises the bar to sky high levels.
We also tried the Egg Tots, which is essentially a side of tater tots with the aioli and a fried egg on top. The sauce and egg yolk tempered the crunch of the tot, but each bite was a treat.
As one might reasonably expect, these guys know their eggs.
Egg Tuck is located at 1400 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Suite 120, Gardena 90247. Contact 424-286-3031 or visit eggtuck.com.
