Blue’s Egg in Milwaukee: Brunch and Eggs Benedict

Blue's Egg in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Blue’s Egg in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Blue’s Egg, in Milwaukee, is a popular restaurant for scratch-made breakfast and lunch dishes using high-quality, locally sourced ingredients. Since opening in 2010, the restaurant has strived to buy ingredients from small family farms, including eggs, coffee, tea, and beer.

Since opening in 2010, co-owner and Chef Joe Muench has used American immigrant cooking ideas and old-world ingredients to design his unique, modern American menu.

Even hidden in a small strip mall off Interstate 94 near Wauwatosa, you can always expect there to be a wait for a table at the restaurant due to their food and unique menu.

I stopped by Blue’s Egg, located west of downtown Milwaukee, on my recent visit to the city.

Arrival at Blue’s Egg

Main dining room, Blue's Egg, Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Main dining room

Unsurprisingly, the place was busy when I arrived at Blue’s Egg. Did I mention it was a late Monday morning?

Since I was dining alone, I was hopeful I could find a seat at the bar, but even that was full. My only option was to put my name in with the hostess, who told me it would be a 10 to 15 minute wait for a table. Two minutes later, I heard my name called, and a server led me to my table down a small hallway in the back dining area.

Immediately after seating, a friendly server greeted me and handed me a menu, complementary grapes to snack on, and a large bottle of tap water. Since I drink more water than the average person and had one too many beers the night before, having water at the table was a big plus for me.

Interior of Blue’s Egg

Back dining room, Blue's Egg, Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Back dining room

The restaurant’s decor was eclectic—modern, retro, and New York diner.

The design was simple, with black carpets, colorful brown and orange tile flooring, and simple beige walls. On the walls were black-and-white photographs, mirrors, and clocks. Cool circular lights hanging from the ceilings were a modern retro design.

One thing unique was the floor-to-ceiling replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The restaurant was a lot bigger than I thought at first glance. There was a small bar with at most ten seats and a central dining room. As I looked closer, I noticed a narrow hallway leading to a smaller dining room in the back.

With an open layout in each dining room and music playing lightly in the background, both dining areas were quite loud. I recommend requesting a table in the smaller back dining room, which was slightly less noisy.

If you are eating alone or don’t want to wait for a table, you can try your luck at one of the bar seats. However, with only a few seats available, you might be better off waiting for a table.

Blue’s Egg Menu

So, what makes Blue’s Egg so popular?

Quickly look at the menu at Blue’s Egg, and you will know why. The unique menu featured breakfast items, many housemade, that you won’t find anywhere else.

If the menu above is a little hard to read, you can view an easier-to-read menu at http://www.bluesegg.com/menus/.

These unique dishes included Blue’s Classic Benedict with pulled ham, Monkey Bread with a sweet whiskey sauce (both of which I ordered), stuffed hash browns, blue crab cakes, smoked salmon crepes, and much more.

There was also an assortment of daily specials and drinks, including coffee, tea, craft beers, wine, and cocktails.

Another great thing to note is that Blue’s Egg only uses large, cage-free brown eggs from locally sourced small family farms.

Certain dishes also included one side. If you want to know all the sides available, continue reading. Otherwise, skip to the next section.

No extra charge: steel-cut oatmeal, two local brown eggs, housemade English muffin, housemade granola, buttermilk pancake, hand-cut fries, petite fruit smoothie, fresh fruit, toasted bagel with caper cream cheese, grapefruit half with vanilla sugar, housemade veggie sausage

Extra $1: zesty sausage links, thick-cut cherry wood bacon, housemade chicken chorizo, slow-baked pulled ham.

Extra $2: seasonal berries ($2 extra), Very Stuffed Browns

Monkey Bread

After reading all the rave reviews about the Monkey Bread ($3.25), I knew I had to experience it for myself.

I would best describe the Monkey Bread as a mixture between a cinnamon roll and a doughnut.

The outside of the bread was crispy and sticky, with sweet syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar. The inside was fluffy and soft.

I wasn’t expecting the Monkey Bread to be hot out of the oven fresh when I ordered it around noon, but the bread could have been a little warmer. It was a little cold for my liking. A quick reheat would have made a huge difference.

For an extra dollar, you can “Crunk It,” which gets you a side of whiskey caramel sauce. The sweet and surprisingly boozy sauce reminded me of the taste and smell of vanilla, helping offset the sweetness of the caramel and bread.

Blue’s Classic Benedict

Before I arrived, before I even left my hotel room, I knew what I was going to order: Blue’s Classic Benedict with one side ($12.50). You eat with your eyes first, and this plate looked beautiful and colorful.

When you order the Blue’s Classic Benedict, you get two poached eggs and pulled ham on top of an English muffin, with everything smothered in hollandaise sauce.

With any Eggs Benedict I eat, I must first judge the dish on the cooking of the poached eggs. Unfortunately, the first poached egg was slightly overcooked, and the second egg was almost solid, and this let me down. A perfectly poached egg with a runny golden yolk is vital to any Eggs Benedict dish. Without this yolk, each bite was a little dry.

On the positive side, the hollandaise sauce was delicious. The housemade sauce was creamy but not too thick, seasoned well, and had a great kick of acid from lemon juice.

A generous portion of house-cured pulled ham was piled high on top of the English muffins, just below the poached eggs. The smoky and salty ham was unbelievably tender. Each bite seemed to fall apart and just melt in my mouth.

The texture, which you usually don’t find with ham, reminded me of the texture of pulled pork. The pulled ham almost made me forget about the overcooked poached eggs.

My one complaint was with the ham. As with the Monkey Bread, the ham was slightly cold. My order may have sat around for a few minutes before arriving at my table.

Not to be forgotten are the English muffins. And yes, they were also fresh and housemade. The muffins were delicious and thick enough to hold all the ingredients above.

Though one muffin was perfect, the other had a burnt bottom. After a few bitter and burnt bites, I had no choice but to use my fork to rip the burnt section off the muffin. Problem averted.

Goat Cheese Very Stuffed Browns

House made English muffins along with house-cured pulled ham — Housemade English muffins along with house-cured pulled ham

I went with the Goat Cheese Very Stuffed Browns ($2.00). All I can say is wow. These had to be some of the best hash browns I have ever had.

After fried to perfection, the potatoes were crispy and golden brown on top while tender on the inside.

Stuffed inside was a generous amount of tangy and creamy goat cheese. You can never go wrong with hash browns and cheese. Blue’s Egg hit the nail on the head with these potatoes, and I think I can only enjoy them again if cheese is involved.

The bright red paprika aioli, which reminded me of an enchilada sauce, was peppery, smoky, slightly spicy, and amazingly garlicky. I could have eaten this sauce just by itself.

Topping the aioli was a simple yet delicious serving of diced roasted olives. I love how the olives added a great bite of acid and salt, which complemented the richness of the paprika aioli.

These hash browns had it all, both in texture and flavor. Each bite was crunchy and tender, with multiple layers of flavors: salty, spicy, tangy, and smoky. They were hands down the best hash browns I have ever had.

Service at Blue’s Egg

The service was fantastic and friendly, even on a busy day. My server was attentive, had a great attitude, and cared about each guest, including first-timers like me.

And even though there would be a 10 to 15 minute wait for a table, I immediately got a table.

Finally, the food arrived quickly, my drinks were always full, and the servers packed my leftovers for me.

Conclusion

The brunch dishes I tried at Blue’s Egg were unique and flavorful. The menu was exciting and fresh, and I want to return.

The execution of the dishes left me wanting more. The food was slightly cold, the poached eggs overcooked, and one of the muffins burnt on the bottom. However, a few minor changes could have fixed this. Maybe I caught them on a bad day.

Despite the few issues, I highly recommend Blue’s Egg in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for its friendly service, unique dishes, and exciting flavors.