Food Awakening! The PIGG Breakfast Sandwich at UMAMIcatessen. My Favorite Breakfast Sandwich Ever. Downtown LA.

The Egg McMuffin Killer.

Ever since the English muffin hooked up with the breakfast sausage, the ritual of breaking the overnight fast has never been the same. This greasy love affair has been around since McDonald's introduced the Egg McMuffin in the late 1960s. It's been over 50 years and people still grab a couple of sandwiches to go along with a cup of joe every day as part of their morning artery clogging ritual. Not much has changed until now. Introducing the PIGG Breakfast Sandwich.

The PIGG Breakfast Sandwich at UMAMIcatessen is so bulky and meaty that I wondered whether it ate other breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. Generously stacked in between the airy yet durable house-made English muffin are a sticky-sweet maple poached egg, gooey cheddar cheese, hot sauce, pig ear bacon and a thick, supremely seasoned breakfast sausage patty with a smoky char and the size of a big, juicy burger.

Like Umamiburger's burgers the balance of each component has been thoughtfully designed and deliciously executed. If you think about it, a good brekkie sammy pretty much needs to adhere to the same specs as a good burger: a solid, moist and flavorful protein patty and a pleasantly pliable baked good to deliver all the goodies inside.

So much is going on in the PIGG Breakfast Sandwich that you really need to focus on each bite. With one chomp you might get the maple poached egg which has a sweetness that makes the muffin taste like a pancake stack. Another bite brings the scorch of the hot sauce. Next, the crackly nibbles of the pig ear bacon come through (these tasty bits have been brined for 7 hours). Above all, the big flavors of the huge sausage patty explode with savory, sweet, salty and peppery satisfaction; it's likely very delicious completely on its own. Toss in the dripping, melted cheese and oozing fresh egg yolk and this becomes a very happy meal!

The PIGG Breakfast Sandwich is big. At $11, it's about 3 times the cost of an Egg McMuffin, but it's also about 3 times the size with far superior, fresh and entirely house-made ingredients (including the sauce). C'mon, you gonna find pig ear bacon anywhere else? This is my dream breakfast sandwich come true. It's so tasty that even after crushing one of these big boys, I could've easily devoured another. That's when my hollow leg comes in handy.

Pair it with UMAMIcatessen's Bourbon Pig cocktail (with fried pig ear garnish) and you have yourself the perfect late night, post-party snack. Rock on! PIGG out!!

PIGG @ UMAMIcatessen
852 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213.413.8626