More Perrecas – Schenectady, NY

When looking for places to go for breakfast, sometimes you crave something more than standard diner fare. I’ve been meaning to stop into More Perreca’s (33 North Jay Street in Schenectady) for a meal for a while, and my buddy, Rory, has been telling me about how great the bread is at their flagship bakery next door.

One Saturday, we went for breakfast.

The breakfast menu has many breakfast staples, and then has a few outstanding items like fried bologna, breakfast panini, and pizza frita.

Their blackboard had some enticing language that got me to order a refreshing iced coffee to start.

I was curious about the breakfast panini, but I really wanted to try the eggs in purgatory, a dish that I only conceptually appreciate now that I enjoy eating poached eggs. This legend of this dish is pretty big, and you can read a little more about it on All Over Albany.

The “breakfast panini” ($3.95) is a bit misleading. Well, let me rephrase that. If you expect a pressed sandwich, you’re not going to get it there.

It’s some cheese and a nicely fried egg sandwiched within some of their crusty bread. “Panino” is basically Italian for sandwich, and that’s exactly what this is [I don’t know why “panino” has come to mean that the sandwich is pressed in the US, but, like I said, this sandwich isn’t pressed.] It’s actually not bad at all. I don’t remember what kind of cheese it was, but the bread really makes the sandwich. What I like about their bread is that the crust is thick and chewy but not too thick and chewy. Brick oven Italian bread like this can be hard, but this is just hard enough for you to realize it’s Italian bread while not being ridiculous.

The eggs in purgatory ($6.50) dish is basically a delivery system for this awesome bread.

It’s three poached eggs smothered in a lightly spicy fra diavolo sauce served with lots of their toasted bread. I was afraid it was going to happen with hot sauce being plated over hot poached eggs, and unfortunately, my eggs were poached completely hard. I snapped a picture of the least cooked egg just to show that I was able to experience a little runny egg.

The sauce was really good, perfectly sweet and with just enough heat to stimulate the taste buds but not overwhelm (I did add some more crushed red pepper because I am a madman). There’s massive garlic flavor, and everything carries through the eggs. They give you a lot of toast, which is great because you can soak up everything. The runny yolks are supposed to glisten over the sauce and then eating everything on the toast is supposed to create contrasts of rich textures on the tongue. I still liked it, even though my eggs weren’t done right. And honestly, I don’t think it’s a matter that they weren’t done right; I think the kitchen got slammed at that moment, and my dish sat in a warm area for too long. I would have sent it back, but they were really busy, and I got the idea.

I think my breakfast, including the iced coffee, was $12 + tax and tip, which really isn’t bad considering I had two dishes. I definitely want to go back for the eggs in purgatory done right and maybe some other stuff (pizza).

But for real, the bread there and at their bakery next door is legendary.