Southern Eggs Benedict @ Hudson Clearwater

We ventured into Manhattan for this brunch, heading to Hudson Clearwater in Greenwich Village. We were going to see an off Broadway show at a small theater nearby so we showed up later than normal for us, but we were still seated right away despite the crowds already there. Party of 2 for the win! There are many brunch places to choose from in Greenwich and I'm definitely going to recommend Hudson Clearwater as an eggs benedict not to be missed. Here's why.

Base: Biscuit! The "Southern" label on this benedict begs for a biscuit base, and boy did it deliver.

It was thick, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and just overall crumbly like a biscuit should be. Perfect base.
Score: 5

Non-Egg Protein: Ham and spinach. I know. Two non-egg proteins in one benedict. The ham was thick and the spinach was plentiful. I really liked the combination of a traditional eggs benedict base with the florentine bonus.
Score: 5

Eggs: So close. After cutting into the first egg and having the first few bites, I really thought this was going to be THE eggs benedict by which all other benedicts should be judged because that first egg was damn near perfect.

The yolk was runny, the whites weren't overdone. It was so good. Then this happened:

Why is this so difficult? At least when the eggs weren't the same in the past they were close, but this one is just shy of hard boiled. So disappointing.
Score: 6 (only because the one was so good)

Sauce: Jalapeno Hollandaise. Another nod to the Southern influence and again, so good. The spicy balance was great and not overpowering. The runny yolk of the first egg definitely further helped the balance and cohesiveness of everything together, so I got to enjoy that for half of the meal. There was the right amount of sauce and the spicy flare was very positive.
Score: 5

Sides: None. So, not much to say but honestly, this benedict didn’t need them. Between the biscuit and the spinach bonus, I wasn’t hungry for a while. But since there’s nothing to judge, I can’t give a high score, but I will give a point for knowing when to omit what isn’t needed.
Score: 1

Bonus: It isn’t sitting right that this score should be low because there were no sides to judge, partly because it didn’t need it and partly because I’m sure they would have been delicious. So in this case, I want to give the bonus more as a handicap because it deserves better than the score it would have had. And I have been thinking about this benedict for days, it was so good. That alone would have earned at least one extra point, so I’m maxing this bonus out.
Score: 5

Total score: 26/30