Concrete walls, wooden beams, and weathered pine tables occupy the former fish warehouse space on N. 5th Street in Williamsburg known around town as the restaurant-in-the-mornings, Egg. After noon the space puts on its other face as Sparky's All-American Food, an all natural hamburger and hot dog joint. Created under the partnership of George Weld, a transplant from the South with an affinity for big country breakfasts, and Brian and Melissa Benavidez, the owners of Sparky's, Egg comes to life for early risers seven days a week offering reasonably priced entrees for $5-$7.
Fresh squeezed orange juice and french press brewed sustainable coffee are the first clues to Egg's devotion to local and artisanal ingredients. Fresh eggs (laid by free-roaming hens) arrive scrambled in soft billowy curds, perfect with a sprinkle of salt and a side of hashbrowns, stone-ground organic grits (cheese optional), or scrapple, each screaming of Weld's southern roots.
Weekends are especially crowded, as though clientele decided to get breakfast before actually going to bed, so on a recent Sunday Gothamist arrived bright and early to beat the late morning rush. Our dining companion opted for Eggs Rothko, an over-easy egg cooked into rich, flaky brioche, topped with a healthy sprinkle of oozing grafton cheddar cheese, alongside a side of the house special: Colonel Bill Newsom's Country Ham, sweet rich slabs of dark-red meat, straight from Kentucky. Meat lovers can also opt for regular or candied slabs of bacon from Dines' Farm or the specially homemade sausage.
Of all the menu's delights, the consumate treat is the Country Ham Biscuit, a tower of the Kentucky ham on a buttery biscuit spread with homemade fig jam, and topped with melted grafton cheddar. Rich, sweet, salty, and savory, Weld's menu embraces gourmet while epitomizing the south. If ever there were a reason to get up early on the weekends, Weld's wallet-friendly, eco-friendly country cooking is definitely a good one.
Egg is located at 135 N. 5th Street (near Bedford) in Williamsburg. Open Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - noon, and Saturday - Sunday, 8 a.m. - noon. 718-302-5151.
