Doctors caution, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day—don’t skip it.” Yet, many typically do. While gobbling a protein bar at your desk or gorging on fatty bacon and sugary pancakes can technically be considered “breakfast,” those options don’t set the tone for your day the way nutritionists desire.
Downtown Toledo’s newest addition, City Egg, an offshoot of the Scramblers restaurant franchise, is branded as a fast-casual eatery for breakfast and lunch and fullfils the concept’s promise with a limited menu, quick-service kiosks, and online ordering.
Eggs, with a side of tech
Those familiar with Scramblers restaurants will enjoy a continuation of that quality. City Egg’s motto is “start fresh” and the bright, clean interior—stark white and decorated with cheery pops of yellow—and health-oriented menu—fans of avocado, quinoa, turkey sausage, and other lean options will be pleased—reflects the mission.
The menu is viewable while waiting in line, leading to touch screen kiosks where you order from a variety of customizable options. Our group, initially confused, was assisted by pleasant attendants who happily walked us through the process. After placing our orders, we found a seat and watched the screen above the kitchen that deemed our goods “in progress” and then “ready” for pickup. It took us the same time to find silverware, napkins and hot sauce before our four meals and two fresh juices were “ready.”
Clean plate club
City Egg calls their menu ‘limited’, but dozens of options make the word choice almost comedic. Between skillets, omelettes, griddle favorites like pancakes and “Toast of France” (French toast), plus a host of sandwiches and salads for lunch, it took us longer to decide what to order than it did for the food to be prepared. But hey, we aren’t complaining.
Ordering tactfully, we picked plates that would let us taste a range of menu items. Three breakfast tacos ($6) made with eggs, chorizo sausage, and a black bean and corn salsa engendered tableside excitement. Next, a turkey and avocado sandwich ($8)—the only cold option we ordered—which was pleasant, albeit not thrilling, but offered a generous portion of avocado. For a more traditional option, the spinach and portabella omelette ($7.50) was fluffy and packed full of veggies, a pleasing vegetarian option. Finally, the avocado toast ($7.50), topped with two fried eggs, was praiseworthy with Sriracha and feta cheese.
As for sides, the “premium bacon” ($4) was crispy, salty, smoky and sweet. The review of hash browns was mixed—while several couldn’t keep their forks off the cheesy potatoes, others, while claiming to be underwhelmed, helped to finish the fried potatoes. Both the toast and fresh fruit were satisfactory. Hey, it’s toast.
The fresh juices ($5 each) were unexpected delights. The Metro Mango (orange, pineapple and mango) and the Urban Berry Detox (blueberry, pomegranate, orange and cranberry) were bright, tangy and served in giant glasses. We sipped them for hours back at the office, so consider sharing.
Sunny side up
We left our midday meal delighted, and full—despite an active discussion daydreaming of a nap. Prepped with the protein to finish our workday we took a walk through the neighboring Promenade Park.
Overall, City Egg fulfilled its promise of fast-casual and fresh, and answered our question: “Can I quickly eat a decent breakfast during the workweek?” The answer is “yes.”
6:30am-3pm, daily.
202 N Summit St, #101
419-350-7554 | cityeggrestaurants.com
