Which Came First - The Sandwich or the Egg?

+ Advice on buying a coop for your yard. (Don’t)

Author

Club:Sandwich
March 19, 2025

If you've stepped into a grocery store lately (or checked your news feed), you're probably aware that eggs have become somewhat of a national obsession. Prices are way up, and inventory is way down. People are panic-buying chicken coops as if they’re actually going to raise chickens at home (if you bought one, we don’t mean you). And there have been multiple major egg heists leading to the largest coordinated egg hunt since last Easter.

You get the picture. It’s been a tough year for eggs. So to make eggs feel a bit better, we’re dedicating a whole newsletter to them. They’re sandwich royalty after all.

Gotta love that perfectly fried egg with the yolk just waiting to become the ultimate sandwich sauce.

“Royalty?” You’re thinking. Well, for starters the humble egg might be the most versatile sandwich ingredient of them all. It shape-shifts to meet your every sandwich need: 

  • Fried with runny yolk creating a built-in added sauce

  • Scrambled for maximum coverage 

  • Hard-boiled to slice for precision placement

  • Chopped into various styles of egg salad for a nostalgic lunch box classic

But the versatility doesn’t stop there! Eggs are a fantastic ingredient to build a sandwich around, but they’re also a killer sandwich add-on. A burger is great, but a burger with a fried egg? That's another level. When the BLT becomes a BELT, your lunch has been taken up a notch. You’ll likely need more napkins too.

Adding an egg to this burger elevated it from "pretty good" to "I'm still thinking about it three days later."

But this brings us to the great egg sandwich debate that's been raging in the Club:Sandwich group chat this week: What actually constitutes a true egg sandwich?

Classicists will argue that an egg sandwich has to feature eggs as the main attraction between two slices of bread or a roll. 

The bodega BEC, in its infinite forms, has to qualify under even the strictest sandwich definitions. And yes, that bottom layer is a hashbrown.

Others (myself included) take a more liberal approach, welcoming any bagel or croissant sandwiches, and even some open faced ones. Avocado toast, Eggs Benedict, Croque Madame???

The Croque Madame - a sandwich identity crisis that tastes too good to care.

This newsletter isn't here to settle these debates - in fact we’re here to stir shit up. So share your favorite egg sandwich creations and controversies in the MSD. We want to hear (and see) your hot takes.

In these trying egg times, we can take comfort in knowing that just one egg - whether certified free range organic from your backyard coop or hoarded in a bulk purchase from a shady wholesaler - can create an eggcellent* sandwich experience. (*I know, horrible.)

Until next time, may your yolks be runny and bright.

 

Club:Sandwich is the world's first ever members-only club for sandwich lovers (as far as you know). Together we discover, order, make, eat, and discuss sandwiches while building the largest, most comprehensive database of sandwiches ever. Grab or make a sandwich and then share it with us by adding it to the Million Sandwich Database. Uploading sandwiches will earn you points that have no value and cannot be used in any way.