Eggs Benedict With Spinach @ Peperoncino

We originally tried to go the Miriam, a popular brunch spot near Park Slope, but we were a little late in getting going in the morning so we missed the early window. The wait was already up to about 45 minutes for a table for two. So we went to Plan B, Peperoncino, which had opened about 20 minutes prior and was empty. The focal point of the space is clearly the wood fire pizza oven in the corner, however pizza was the one thing the server said was not ready to go yet. But you know that’s not what I was there for. Here’s how their benedict turned out (it was not made in the wood fire oven).

Base: English muffin. The muffin was pretty thick which makes it better to hold up to the benedict elements, but I don’t think this one was toasted at all. It didn’t get soggy so much as just feel too soft and just not right. The rest of the elements fit pretty nicely on top so the size was good.
Score: 3

Non-Egg Protein: Canadian bacon and sautéed spinach. I know! Both! This is always a fun addition to a benedict because it adds an extra layer of goodness to an already good dish. The meat was really thick and big enough to complement the muffin size and it was slightly seared and tasty. There was a lot of spinach piled on top of that as well which made the egg balance a little precarious, but it was also delicious and great to soak up some of the yolk. Either on its own would have been good, but both together were amazing.
Score: 5

Eggs: Pretty good. Both were slightly overdone with a pretty obvious layer of thick yolk which was a little disappointing considering we were the only ones who had ordered food at that point. There was still plenty of liquidy yolk to mix in with the spinach and rest of the elements. They were also sized well for the bigger muffin so that’s always a plus.
Score: 7

Runny yolk, but you can see the sauce looking all oily...

Sauce: Hollandaise. It wasn’t great. It was pretty thin and looked oily, which makes me think that the hollandaise may have broken. There would have been the right amount of it if it had been thicker, and I can’t help but think the overall dish would have been even better with a good hollandaise.
Score: 2

Sides: Salad, French fries, and toast. Yeah, again. All the things. Unnecessary? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. The salad may have been a tad overdressed with large tomato chunks, but it was ok. The French fries were crunchy and light, probably double fried, and overall good. The toast was toast and probably the most unnecessary because of the included muffin. Not much to rate there. Again, any of them by themselves would have been good (though toast as the lone side would have been weird), so all of them together was a treat. It’s nice to have options.
Score: 4

Bonus: None

Total Score: 21/30