Breaking with Tradition: Eggs Benedict

Complicated even in its simplest state, the dish goes way off script in four luscious adaptations.
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The Traitor

Ruth’s Pull Up a Chair Cafe
3443 E. 86th St., 317-757-8006, ruthspullupachair.com
Softly poached eggs sit atop Norwegian potato cakes—seared mashed-potato patties flecked with zucchini and squash—with tangy hollandaise applied sparingly.

 

 

Florentine “Crabby” Eggs

Oh Yumm! Bistro
5615 N. Illinois St., 317-251-5656, ohyummbistro.com
Crabcakes and sauteed spinach serve as the main components, with a cheesy Mornay sauce replacing the hollandaise.

 

 

Farmhouse Eggs Benedict

Flap-Jacks Pancake House
Multiple locations, flap-jacks.com
A split buttermilk biscuit forms the base of this Hoosierfied Benedict layered with two breaded pork tenders, eggs, and thick sausage gravy.

 

 

Sam’s Eggs Benedict

Tulip Noir
1224 W. 86th St., 317-848-5252, tulipnoircafe.com
In this gluten-free version, a freeform poached egg and proper hollandaise—pale yellow, with textbook shiny-creamy texture—top a shredded-veggie fritter on a bed of sauteed greens, mushrooms, squash, and potatoes.

Photos by Tony Valainis

This article appeared in the April 2013 issue.