Put down this newspaper or click the red circle on the top left corner of this web page and head right now to Five Leaves in Greenpoint for the best egg sandwich in the city.
Yes, we know that there’s little better than the Gusten — the classic egg-and-corned-beef-hash sandwich at Dizzy’s in Park Slope or the croque madame at Provence en Boite on Smith Street — but the sage-scrambled egg sandwich at the late Heath Ledger’s old hangout is simply better.
First, the chef starts with organic eggs, cooked a full minute shorter than most egg sandwiches, meaning that the scrambled eggs retain the scrambly, eggy, runny texture that regular scrambled eggs have. They’re practically French, they’re so good.
Then, the cook tosses in a nice sharp white cheddar. But Five Leaves doesn’t do this as an afterthought, so that the cheese is separate from the egg. No, this cheddar becomes one with the runny eggs, so that every bite of sandwich is eggy, cheesy goodness.
But the key to the whole sandwich is the sage. Now you know where we stand on herbs — who doesn’t love rosemary on everything? — but sage turns eggs into a punch in the face. It adds a smoky quality that even suggests bacon, which isn’t even on the sandwich. We took a bite, and had to call the waitress over. “What is that taste? It’s incredible.”
Sage, she said.
Sage and eggs. Who knew?
Five Leaves [18 Bedford Ave. at Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint, (718) 383-5345]
