House Made Crumpet Benedict @ Black Swan

Weird preface here: somehow and for some reason, my husband got really into the idea of wanting to try crumpets. He was actually planning to attempt making some crumpets this weekend, and suggested they would made a great base for an eggs benedict. Then while looking for a place to brunch, I saw that Black Swan had homemade crumpets as a menu item and decided to go even though the online menu did not list a benedict. But when we got there, we discovered that the online menu is out of date and not only did they have a benedict, they had a benedict with a crumpet base. It was exciting. So here is the review of this serendipitously discovered menu item.

So much salad...but it was good so it's ok

Base: House Made Crumpet, as mentioned above. I'll go ahead and say it outright, Husband was totally right. The crumpet basically asked like a biscuit base - thick and fluffy enough to soak up all the yolk without getting soggy. I would have loved for them to be a little bit bigger in circumference, mainly because they were good and the ham was overflowing a little, but otherwise, these were a good base.
Score: 4

Non-Egg Protein: English Bacon. Black Swan is an English pub/restaurant so the menu was styled as such, hence the crumpets and the name "English Bacon" which, as far as I could tell, was basically ham. It was a nice, thick cut that actually felt like it was just cut off a bigger slab of meat. There was even some fat left on that doesn't happen very often at all. Real meat is always a welcome addition to a benedict. Black Swan also has the choice of smoked salmon or avocado if you want a vegetarian option or are just not into the ham.
Score: 5

Eggs: These were unfortunately the weak point of the benedict. Both of them were just a bit overcooked with that slight wall of thick yolk on the inside of the egg. However, both still had a lot of runny yolk on the inside for the crumpet to soak right up, so it wasn't much of a detraction.
Score: 8

Sometimes the gifs export weird and the yolk looks radioactive...but it's still flowing so it's all good

Sauce: Hollandaise. It wasn't mentioned in the description, but this hollandaise had a bit of a kick. It was a bit surprising because I wasn't expecting it, but it was really good, and explains the slightly orange color of the sauce. The consistency was great and there was the right amount to not be too overpowering, which is especially important with the spiciness that ended up blending right in and making everything better for it.
Score: 5

Sides: Salad. Like, a lot of salad. You can see from the picture that it was more than half the plate which is pretty unusual for an eggs benedict. A definite plus for me, there was no arugula in that giant salad. It wasn't overly dressed either so the mixed greens stayed crisp and fresh. The thick ham and hollandaise could have been weighed down by potatoes, but was instead balanced by a light and plentiful salad.
Score: 5

Bonus: Black Swan looks a little dive-y from the outside and bar area when you walk in, but the eating area in the back has big skylights with a lot of natural light that is much less dive-y. In addition to just a solid benedict with 3 non-egg protein options, Black Swan also offers an unlimited boozy brunch for $15. This not only includes mimosas and bellinis, but also Miller High Life - so still a little bit of a dive bar element. So if that's your thing, this is your place, but i will tell you that the bellini was great. We didn't get the unlimited deal, and maybe things would have been different if we had, but the service wasn't super attentive so I'm not sure how quickly drinks would have been refilled.
Score: 2

Total Score: 29/30