Herewith, a few words on scrambled eggs. I never saw the sense in them until I bought my first MFK Fisher book, a compendium of her work called The Art of Eating. I was bedazzled. And eventually I got around to making the scrambled eggs the way she described them, slowly and gently. I couldn’t afford the cream she talked about, but it was real butter, and more importantly, the slow gentle heat which is about the only thing an electric stove top is good for. Yes, it did take about 30 minutes, her estimate. They were creamy and soft and a delightful shock to my mouth.
Scrambled eggs should never be rubbery. They should loll seductively on the dish, not be ready to roll off at a slight disturbance. This is why I always order eggs over easy when I eat breakfast out; it’s nearly impossible to get the eggs the way I like them unless I cook them myself.
That said, I nearly fell off a bar stool at brunch this weekend. The stool was in Sardella, the spot Gerard Craft put in where Niche was. I’d dropped in for a bite when another brunch spot couldn’t wedge me in, since I’d broken our old rule; I didn’t call ahead.
It was busy, but I was happy to sit at the bar. The coffee was good, the orange juice indeed freshly squeezed, another thing I’m really a believer in. I ordered the eggs cacio e pepe, since I’m a big fan of Sardella’s older sister next door, Pastaria’s pasta cacio e pepe. I may have literally gasped when they arrived. Soft, creamy, moist, large tender curds surrounded by a “sauce” of eggs that were the consistency of a custard sauce. Small soft shreds of pecorino cheese wafted across the top, and there was more in the dish itself. Not a great deal of black pepper to note, but there may have been some white pepper in the dish. It was easily the best scrambled egg dish I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant. It comes with an arugula-fennel salad that’s a crunchy, sharp contrast to the eggs, and some brioche toast for wiping up the last bit of egg.
The rest of he menu looks intriguing, too, and the new blue-tiled interior is quite lovely. But tiled walls + popular = noisy, so be forewarned. Good service from the very busy bartender.
Sardella
7734 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton
314-773-7755
Brunch Sat.-Sun., Breakfast & Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly