Winner: Breakfast banh mi
Restaurant: Jack Flaps, Cleveland
Creator: Chef/Owner Randy Carter
Inspiration: “The love of pho.”
Key ingredients: Vietnamese sausage, kimchi, Vietnamese cinnamon, house-made hot sauce, fried egg.
Why it’s special: It’s an unexpected breakfast item.
Price: $8.50
Food cost: 24 percent
What the judges said: The banh mi sandwich has been blowing up for the last several years, at least in bigger cities and places that have a Vietnamese population. And almost always, the sandwich is served at lunch, maybe dinner. But chef Carter, being the wild and crazy guy he is, figured that it would be a mind-blower at breakfast, especially if he threw an egg on top. We judges believe that if you throw a fried egg on top of an old shoe, it would be pretty tasty. But not nearly as tasty as what Carter has done here. If you’ve got a hangover, here’s your deliverance.
Honorable mentions
• Fried Egg Sandwich: Max’s Wine Dive, Houston
• Ooh La La: Grub, Los Angeles
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