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I used to make myself grilled cheese sandwiches after soccer practice using whatever white bread was in the freezer, slices of American cheese and lots of butter. I devoured them straight from the pan, bread glistening and fingers burning. Cara Haltiwanger’s breakfast sandwiches are those grilled cheese sandwiches, only much, much better. She cracked the breakfast sandwich code when she decided to start with a really good grilled cheese. There’s a slice of American cheese glued to one side of the white bread and a slice of cheddar fused to the other, a fluffy pillow of egg in the middle, crispy bacon, just enough grilled onion to know it’s there and some avocado. She spreads some of her aioli onto the bread before grilling, ensuring that every inch of surface is toasted. The diagonal cut is meant for dipping, and each sandwich is accompanied by a cup of Haltiwanger’s dipping sauce. It’s the love child of pancake syrup and your favorite vinegar hot sauce.
Her biscuit sandwich is made using her Southern grandmother’s buttermilk biscuit recipe. They’re tall and flaky, with a tender crumb that just barely holds together under the weight of the scrambled egg. For a few dollars more, you can add bacon and pimento cheese. Haltiwanger butters both the outside and inside of the biscuit before adding a scoop of pimento cheese. The warm egg, bacon and biscuit melt the cheese into a mess of smoky, spicy orange goo that cascades over the bottom layer. I can’t imagine ordering it any other way.
