While reading thru Eater's post on new restaurants in San Diego, I came across a mention of a Korean Egg Sandwich place that opened in the UTC area. So, I took a quick look online and man, unless I've been missing something it seems like Korean Egg Drop Sandwiches had finally made it to San Diego? Not that I'm really into those fads and such; but the location was quite convenient as were the hours, so I thought I'd drop by and check the place out for a "brunchy" kind of meal.
I find the location to be quite interesting, in the same strip mall off Regents that houses Leucadia Pizza, Von's, the "ABCDE" (American-Born-Chinese-Dining-Establishment) where I had ok Chicken Wings a zillion years ago. I really hadn't been to this mall in ages; the last time was when I needed some cash from the ATM probably before Covid. The name of the place sounded familiar….then it came to me; Egglettes are those silicon boiled egg cooking cups. Also, the location, wasn't this something like Yakimono Restaurant and then a ramen place and then a sushi restaurant in previous lives?
Taking a look at the interior, you can kinda see where a sushi bar used to be and a flat top in the back, all blocked by nicely lined up boxes.
There are a couple of smaller tables out front, some seating indoors, and what looks like an outdoor dining space.
The prices looked to be quite reasonable by today's standards. It's one of these modern you can use the QR code and they'll give you a buzzer for your food. I went with the Egg Double Cheese Egglet ($8) and was curious about the Truffle Hash Brown ($4.50). Soon enough the little bugger buzzer went off.
Wasn't sure what to expect with the hash browns….there were three to an order, more than I could consume. This was typical Sysco quality, fast-foodish hash browns dusted with a truffle-Parmesan powder. It had a sweet tinge to it, I later found out that it is also dusted with black garlic. Not sure what hash browns are going for these days at your local fast-food joint, but I'm guessing that it's pretty reasonable for $4.50. Not that I would order it again though.
Speaking of not ordering again; the Egg Double Cheese Egglet was quite large for eight bucks; but the brioche, while decently toasted was way too sweet for my taste.
Just having the mix of cheddar-mozzarella which made things nice and gooey and the under-seasoned egg was not enough to overcome the brioche toast. There was a lack of savory flavors to me. I'm sure that some folks might really take to this, but it was just not my kind of thing.
Still, at these prices, I was more than willing to give them another try. This time I went with something from the "sandwich" menu, rather than the egglet like I had earlier. I was told that the sandwich rolls are not as sweet as the toast by the really nice woman. I wasn't feeling like having a burger though, so I thought I'd "hedge my bets" by getting the Smoked Bacon Sandwich ($9.75) in hopes that the bun wouldn't be too sweet for my taste.
This was a pretty messy sandwich. The bacon, which almost reminded me of "Canadian Bacon" hadn't been crisped up enough and was quite rubbery. Still, the savory-saltiness…it didn't seem smoky to me, really added balance to the sandwich.
Also, I'm thinking the roll, which was nicely toasted wasn't quite as sweet as the toast, though the caramelized onions, something I would usually enjoy on a savory sandwich/burger was a bit too much for this. Also, the egg was folded over to one corner of the sandwich. I had to open it up. The cheese, once again a mozzarella blend had a nice stringiness, but really lacked milky-savory-sharpness and other than texture, didn't bring much in terms of flavor to this.
In the end, Egglet is an interesting fast-casual concept, which I think a certain demographic (which I'm not part of) might enjoy. I also think the prices are good for the location, especially in this day and age. And the prices give you a chance to try them out yourself!
Egglet
7728 Regents Road Suite 501
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Daily 7am – 2pm
Looks like an interesting place I’ll have to check it out since I do love a good egg sandwich. Thanks for reviewing this place.
I must be getting old; this is the first time I’ve heard about Korean egg drop sandwiches. I’ll have to try it, although I don’t get to this area very often.
Wow, a new place for me to try
it seems lots of fad type korean street foods have sugar added to them
Interesting concept. Bummer the food didn’t come out right.
Thanks for the review — had no idea this place snuck into that shopping center! I’ll pass, but my son and his girlfriend are all over anything new and Korean, so I’m sure they’ll check it out soon.
Hope you enjoy it Loren!
I only heard about it in passing Sandy! Let me know what you think if you check them out.
Have fun ST!
Yes, seems that way Kat!
I think I might be of the wrong “target audience” for the food Soo!
It was interesting to try, but I don’t think I’m their customer base Peter. Hope your son enjoys it!