Eggspectation in Silver Spring

[iamthestretch]

So I was walking through the new, "sprung" Silver Spring today counting the franchised food factories going in as part of the City Place redevelopment. If anyone cares, they are: a Noodles & Co., a Phillips Seafood and a "billiards cafe", all in the embryonic stage, a Potbelly Sandwich Works, a Starbucks staring balefully at the Borders' Cafe right across the street, an Austin Grill, a Macaroni's Italian Grill, a Red Lobster, a Panera Cafe, a Chipotle (just in case the line is too long at the Baja Fresh 60 yards away) and, last but not least, a truly, truly bizarre new place called Eggspectation.

Now, some on this forum may have sniggered when David Greggory opened downtown claiming to be a "Restau-Lounge." But I'm here to tell you Silver Spring has struck back and now hosts a venue so unconstrained, so all-things-to-all-people that it can only adequately describe itself as a "Resto-Cafe-Bar." And not just any common or garden resto-cafe-bar, either. This is a proudly circus-themed, egg-centric resto-cafe-bar. It is, in fact, "Le Cirque des Oeufs" .

Heavy with foreboding that I would soon be assaulted with the worst sort of labored word play, I took one for the egullet team and checked out their menu, pausing only to note that the special of the day on the blackboard was Mango Burgers. It was as I'd feared. Eggspectation is a company "committed to innovation and eggcellence" and constantly striving to satisfy my dining aspirations "is what makes us eggstraordinary." There's so. much. more. of this on the massively extensive menu, with choices ranging from the Oy Vegg potato latkes to the Yoke Around The Clock and the Egg-Chilada.

So who is making this shit up? Who could possibly be behind an exercise in such artless unselfconsciousness? That's right, some French guys. (Well, to be more accurate, some Quebecer guys.) Apparently despairing of ever exporting their poutine in economically-viable quantities, some enterprising Montrealers have hit on a concept so twisted it can hardly fail to succeed down South and, after market testing in bustling South Portland, Maine, they're ready to conquer the new jewel in Montgomery County's crown.

I have to admit I'm kind of curious as to what the food is like, but I don't think I can suspend disbelief long enough to find out. Maybe someone with kids could take them there; there may be balloons in in for them.

It only remains to note, randomly, that Quebecers swear rather differently from us Anglo-Saxons, so if you do visit, make absolutely sure that, when presented with the menu, you do not say anything like: "Ah fait chier, mon osti d'criss de marde de sacrament d'tabarnack de coliss de trou d'cul d'osti d'grosse tabarouette de marde d'osti d'chien sale!" OK?

[Al_Dente]

I was equally baffled by this place. Went to Austin Grill for lunch and checked the menu as I passed by.

Shall we take one for the team and do lunch? I want some hollandaise and plenty of it!

[mhberk]

Actually, we have one here in Columbia. The place is ALWAYS packed for breakfast!! The wait is usually 30-45 minutes on the weekend. It's no Maestro, but the menu has something from everyone.

[FunJohnny]

some enterprising Montrealers have hit on a concept so twisted it can hardly fail to succeed down South It only remains to note, randomly, that Quebecers swear rather differently from us Anglo-Saxons, so if you do visit, make absolutely sure that, when presented with the menu, you do not say anything like: "Ah fait chier, mon osti d'criss de marde de sacrament d'tabarnack de coliss de trou d'cul d'osti d'grosse tabarouette de marde d'osti d'chien sale!" OK?

Eggs-Ackley

[hillvalley]

I was equally baffled by this place. Went to Austin Grill for lunch and checked the menu as I passed by.

Shall we take one for the team and do lunch? I want some hollandaise and plenty of it!

If you wait until after June 18th I will join you.

[Al_Dente]

I was equally baffled by this place. Went to Austin Grill for lunch and checked the menu as I passed by.

Shall we take one for the team and do lunch? I want some hollandaise and plenty of it! 

If you wait until after June 18th I will join you.

We'd be egg-cited to have a chick come ova here for lunch.

yolk yolk yolk yolk...

[Mark Sommelier]

mmmmmmm...... poutine

[Mark Sommelier]

Q: Why do the French only put one egg in an omelet?

A: Because one egg is un oeuf

<rimshot>

[johnnyd]

We have one in Portland ME. Forced to go by my boss who lives nearby so we can "talk". Their egg dishes are endless. They look good on large platters and give 'em an A for garnishing. I'm partial to the poached egg w/latke.

We went once for lunch and it was a disaster for all except me who stuck with the spinach salad. One guy got spaghetti when the dish called for linguini; sauces were leaden and tepid... can't remember what else, but if you order bacon as a side, you get a huge, rockin' pile on a 10" oval.

Here's hoping it's a good experience for you guys. Fill us in, in egg-cess...

I'd stick with breakfast only

[JPW]

Q: Why do the French only put one egg in an omelet?

A: Because one egg is un oeuf

<rimshot>

Mark,

If you've been drinking you should probably stop now as you've obviously already had too many to go to work.

If you haven't been drinking, perhaps you should start.

[JennyUptown]

A mountain of bacon can make me overlook just about anything.

Oh, and stop by their New Delhi (yes, India) location if you are in the 'hood.

Edited May 26, 2004 by JennyUptown (log)

[morela]

Cheese Wiz, it was egg-saucing looking over that menu...

I was eggspecting to see Scott Cheggs, though. I like Scott Cheggs lots.

Hope eggecution goes well in Silver Spring...

I guess if India egg-sells so can we.

[hillvalley]

You people must be really bored at work

[frogprince]

You people must be really bored at work

my thoughts eggaxctly.

this eggcess must be eggtirpated, driven to eggtinction, eggerminated as it is eggtremely eggasperating eggcruciating egghausting, slain by king arthur's eggecutive eggtroardinary eggcalibur.

egguberantly yours,

froggy

ps: who's up for an eggtravagrant absinthe eggcess? hooligan?

[gnatharobed]

Cheesy puns aside...I've only been to the original in Montreal. But it was tradition to have breakfast at "Eggs" after a long night out. I can only vouch for breakfast foods but it always cured our hangovers.

I don't understand why monsieur stretch has a problem with this place. This area severely lacks good, casual breakfast places.

Leave the Quebecois alone!

Edited May 26, 2004 by gnatharobed (log)

[iamthestretch]

Didn't mean to insult anybody's heritage. Just thought it was an odd concept. J’aime le Québec. Don't hurt me.

[DonRocks]

If anyone cares, they are: a Noodles & Co., a Phillips Seafood and a "billiards cafe", all in the embryonic stage, a Potbelly Sandwich Works, a Starbucks staring balefully at the Borders' Cafe right across the street, an Austin Grill, a Macaroni's Italian Grill, a Red Lobster, a Panera Cafe, a Chipotle (just in case the line is too long at the Baja Fresh 60 yards away) and, last but not least, a truly, truly bizarre new place called Eggspectation.

Oh man, this thread just makes my night. Reading through this menu is an absolute embarrassment, but I'm not even sure why I'm embarrassed, or who or what I'm embarrassed for.

It reminds me of the first time I went into an Einstein Brothers Bagels, looked at the menu, and saw their "shmear" of cream cheese. I couldn't believe it, but there it was, and it's still there today.

From this thread, two things: how hilarious iamthestretch is, and fond, brief memories of Borders' Books, Starbucks, maybe even Phillips (Ocean City) and Austin Grill (Glover Park) way back when they didn't suck.

Cheers!

Rocks.

[morela]

Hey, Remember Silver Spring in the

Good Old Days?

[Steve Klc]

I remember the anticipation of eating at Austin Grill when it first opened, I had been living in Glover Park since 1983 and then one great place after another seemed to open up in the neighborhood (Boston Market excepted.) Very flavorful food at Austin Grill in a fun setting which quickly became chic and then spun off as a replicable concept. But before that, and for a brief moment in time, a time far far away, the Glover Park Austin Grill really rocked. None of the Mex/Tex/SW/New-Mex places since have ever come to close to its quality and level of interest.

Don--you're embarrassed by that menu because it defines dining for our area for far too many people. The embrarrassment you feel is collective and powerless--that despite the effort of a hundred DonRocks, were they to rise up--the bland, homogenous and commercial has already achieved critical mass. Convenience long ago suspended disbelief.

[FunJohnny]

Don--you're embarrassed by that menu because it defines dining for our area for far too many people. The embrarrassment you feel is collective and powerless--that despite the effort of a hundred DonRocks, were they to rise up--the bland, homogenous and commercial has already achieved critical mass. Convenience long ago suspended disbelief.

I think Steve is right as to the cause of embarrassment. That is why this small, but doughty band of e-Gulleteers must persevere in our mission to bring culinary enlightenment to our little world here in DC Metro-land. Today DC/Delmarva - tomorrow the world!

Oh, if we can't do that, at least we have a great time trying.

[Steve Klc]

Which is why how many of us who don't live anywhere near there made the effort to go out to that relative Silver Spring wasteland of congestion and wasted opportunities to show support for Red Dog Cafe? Like Don, we're suckers for that glimmer of light at the end of a tunnel because if we don't pay attention to the glimmer, well, you know what happens next, a Panera opens in the space after the small independent glimmer fails to connect with its audience.

[FunJohnny]

You raise a problem that, while a threat to the independent restaurants here, is a real menace in most of the country outside major metro-hubs -- that as soon as a successful restaurant establishes itself, it will be subject to enormous and perhaps irresistable economic presure to be bought-out by a chain -- and most Americans are offered less and less culinary opportunities outside the corporate food empire.

I heard that Bob Kinkhead was associated with a group that is trying to build some kind of support network for independent restaurants and their chefs. Anyone got any info on this organization??

Edited May 27, 2004 by FunJohnny (log)

[morela]

I heard that Bob Kinkhead was associated with a group that is trying to build some kind of support network for  independent restaurants and their chefs.  Anyone got any info on this organization??

Here:

http://www.ciraonline.org/whatis.html

What's ugly, though is when a independent restaurant starts to use its affiliation as PR.

It's like saying 'organic, fresh and family-owned' one too many times.

Chains are bad, but what's really bad is chains and no alternative. I'm looking forward to Ann Cashion's place in Silver Spring; it will probably take forever to actually open. It freaks me out the way chains can open in a matter of weeks. Need fungicide.

By the way, what is our definition of chain? Jaleo isn't a chain because its people care...

Edited May 27, 2004 by morela (log)

[WoodleyGrrl]

By the way, what is our definition of chain?  Jaleo isn't a chain, because its people care...

Ok, that is one of the silliest things I have ever heard.

So you mean even though a place has more than one outlet, if they "care" they are NOT A CHAIN??

What is you definition of "care"?

[morela]

By the way, what is our definition of chain?  Jaleo isn't a chain, because its people care...

Ok, that is one of the silliest things I have ever heard.

So you mean even though a place has more than one outlet, if they "care" they are NOT A CHAIN??

What is you definition of "care"?

No. You're right. There's no rationale...

I'm grumpy.