Country Ham Benedict @ Marietta
Marietta (now Peaches Shrimp & Crab) is a great Southern style restaurant near the border of Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy, an area where new and delicious places are popping up all the time. We had been here for dinner before so we knew they had great food, especially the Marietta Burger, but this was our first try at brunch. There were three eggs benedict options: ham, mushrooms, and salmon and I went with the ham to get the classic baseline. I'm sure they're all good, but here is how the country ham eggs benedict scored.
This is what the actual eggs benedict looks like under all the salad
Base: Brioche. Not the typical benedict base, but a nice choice. The thickness really helps keep the bread from getting soggy, especially with the level of toasting on the bread. Overall a great base for the dish.
Score: 5
Non-Egg Protein: Country ham. What came with the benedict was more of a prosciutto, so not what I was expecting for something called country ham. It also wasn't on the benedict, just laying between the two brioche pieces and was a little difficult to combine with each bite. However, the meat was so flavorful and there was more than enough, the minor inconvenience of the setup didn't really matter.
Score: 5
Eggs: A bit disappointing. The eggs were a bit small for the large, thick pieces of brioche and both had a layer of overdone yolk. There was still enough runny yolk to balance out the strong ham flavor, but not enough egg to go around for all the meat and bread. The eggs have room for improvement, but they were still ok for an eggs benedict.
Score: 7
Oh look! There are eggs! But you can see the overdone yolks around the edge.
Again, you can see that thick layer all around the yolk area. But also, runny, so it balances out.
Sauce: Hollandaise. The hollandaise itself tasted fine, helping to temper the overpowering flavor of the meat, but the setup was a little weird. Instead of being poured on top over the eggs, it was put in a small hole in the brioche under the eggs. Not only was there a small amount, but it was concentrated in pretty much only one part of the brioche so it was difficult to combine with the rest of the dish. Overall, the hollandaise was like the meat: a strong flavor but an odd plating.
Score: 3
Sides: Salad. Nothing special, with a little dressing and topped with some aged gouda. The plating was once again odd since the salad was covering the entire benedict, but the flavors combined well with the rest of the benedict.
Score: 3
Bonus: None
Total Score: 23/30
