Earls (Fairview) – Croque Madame

I remember back in the 80’s when the Earls on West Broadway at Fir used to have large decorative parrots adorning the outside of the building. Back then, there were actually 2 Earls within 7 blocks of each other on West Broadway (which would always cause confusion when we met up with friends for dinner).

We came by for an early brunch on a bright Sunday in mid-October and had some great food and attentive service. Our waiter (who sported some unique suspenders) first brought us out some complimentary brioche Cinnamon Buns to start us off. They came served warm and drizzled with icing. Breaking into the outer crust, the inside was deliciously sticky and gooey with sweet raisins pushing it over the top.

During brunch, they also have their regular lunch menu that you can choose from… such as the Los Cabos Chicken Tacos ($14.50) with poached chicken, avocado corn salsa, chopped cilantro and shredded cheese nestled into thin white corn tortillas and served with a lime wedge and hot sauce. This is good if you’re looking for a lighter meal (or if you plan to order a bunch of other dishes).

I’m always pleased when I come to Earls and the weather is a bit chilly because it gives me a good excuse to order their Clam Chowder ($7.00) – it’s also available in a bigger bowl for $10 but this is good size for one person because it’s so jammed-packed with baby clams, bacon, and veggies. This soup is quite creamy and great for dunking with their toothsome sourdough bread.

I’ve often thought that Earls is an excellent purveyor of food porn. No, I don’t mean like that trashy Miley nonsense… The food doesn’t just taste good… the presentation is quite sexy. Take, for instance, their Croque Madame ($13) with Virginia ham and white cheddar inside thick cut house sourdough bread that’s been topped with a perfectly cooked egg and swimming in a spicy roasted serrano cream sauce.

The bread has a hearty chewy crust and the egg yolk bursts open to coat the already golden-hued bread. This sandwich is a definite knife-and-forker and the smokey serrano pepper adds the right amount of heat to the dish. Try not to let your drool get on your keyboard as you look at this.