As a resident of New Jersey, I’m honored to say that we have some of the best bagels in the country: they’re fluffy, thick but not dense, and taste better than New York. With most bagels come breakfast sandwiches, but if you’ve never ordered a breakfast sandwich, it may be intimidating.
However, it’s simple, you order your proteins and fillings, your type of bread, then end with the iconic: salt, pepper, ketchup.
The Basics of a Breakfast Sandwich
Choosing the Right Bagel
Popular bagel choices include plain, sesame, everything, and poppy seed. I don’t judge you if you get a sweeter bagel like cinnamon raisin, blueberry, or a rainbow bagel. I do sometimes order a cinnamon raisin with turkey bacon and egg.
Fillings: Proteins and More
The fillings of a breakfast sandwich are what truly make it special. If you’ve heard the phrase “BEC”, it is the filling of the breakfast sandwich. BEC stands for Bacon, Egg, and Cheese. The fillings are typically proteins like sausage, bacon, eggs, etc., combined with cheese.
Classic Fillings
- BEC: Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
- EC: Egg and Cheese
- SEC: Sausage, Egg, and Cheese
Alternative Fillings
- PEC: Pastrami, Egg, and Cheese
- Lox: Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Red Onion, Capers, Dill, Green Onion
- TBEC: Turkey Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
- TSEC: Turkey Sausage, Egg, and Cheese
If you wanted more options to the breakfast sandwich
- Egg and Cheese with Avocado
- Egg White and Spinach
- Smoked Salmon (Lox)
If you’re ordering a breakfast sandwich in NJ
- Order a Taylor Ham (NOT Pork Roll), Egg, and Cheese. This is the NJ and most breakfast sandwich classics.
- Scrapple and Cheese. If you’ve never had scrapple, it’s just a fried meatloaf or sausage. It’s not bad.
If you wanted to change it up
- Mexican-Inspired: Adding ingredients like chorizo, salsa, and jalapeños.
- Breakfast Burrito: Which is the breakfast sandwich, just as a burrito, but unlike actual breakfast sandwiches, there’s no peppers, no onions, and instead you can get a hash brown. Best of both worlds.
What side should I get with a breakfast sandwich?
To be honest, you don’t need one, and if places offer a side as a combo, you’re probably paying too much there anyway.
If you needed a side,
- Home Fries, which are roasted, crispy, roughly chopped potatoes.
- Fruit Salad, which will always be cantaloupe, honeydew, and maybe a pineapple, because those are the 3 most affordable fruits.
Ideal Beverage Choices
- Coffee, because you need to wake up.
- Orange juice, because you need Vitamin D, especially when sunset is at 4:00PM.
What makes New Jersey bagels so special?
New Jersey bagels are boiled before baking, giving them a chewy crust and soft interior, which makes them fluffier and more flavorful than others (like New York).
What does BEC stand for?
BEC stands for Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
Can I make a breakfast sandwich at home?
Absolutely, but most of the time when you get a breakfast sandwich, you’re hungover. So, go spend the $5 and buy a good breakfast sandwich. If you spend more than this, you’re in the wrong place.
