The Search For The Perfect Sandwich: Breakfast With The Captain

If you don’t know Captain Breakfast, you’ve probably at least wondered about his car. The brightly-painted pick up with the under the sea/over easy theme is hard to miss around the ‘hood–and so when we decided to start a series evaluating breakfast sandwiches from some of the main thoroughfares in Ditmas Park, we knew the self-professed “longtime Breakfast Enthusiast” and guy who “truly enjoys making and eating breakfast and breakfasty things” would be the perfect person to help.

In Part One of the series, we tackle Cortelyou spots John’s Bakery, Superior Late Nite Deli, and Father & Sons Deli.

Next time? Well, maybe you have some suggestions–for sandwich spots and sidekicks.

Captain Breakfast came to be in the early 2000s, when a man living near McDonald and Ave. I went from simply cooking breakfast for his housemates to cooking breakfast for his housemates while wearing an old sailor cap he’d tracked down. He calls it “a slow snowball” from the cap to a music career, a one-of-a-kind ride and blinged-out breakfast suit, and an overall Zorro-esque lifestyle (as evidenced by the occasional fried egg Post-its around town–delicious reminders that The Captain wuz, in fact, here).

Since moving to the heart of Ditmas, the Captain no longer lives with those housemates from years’ past–but he still manages to cook breakfast for 200-300 people each year at Burning Man, and even brought his own special bacon to our meeting. Before the Ditmas Park Corner crew got a chance to try it, though, the Captain and I rated a few Cortelyou Rd. takes on the most important meal of the day.

Sandwich 1: Egg, American cheese, bacon, and hot sauce on a roll
From: John’s Bakery (1322 Cortleyou on the corner of Rugby Rd.)

The Captain says: Great ingredient and flavor ratios on the whole, but could have used a healthier helping of hot sauce. The bacon is high-quality and not too fatty. The American cheese provides cohesiveness that will keep it together till you’re ready to eat it. A great travel sandwich.

We say: We agree that the sandwich would be the easiest to eat on the run, and that the hot sauce was lacking. Though American cheese has its unenjoyable moments, it’s never offensive on an egg sandwich. A good standard.

Sandwich 2: Egg, cheddar/American cheese, and sausage on a croissant
From: Superior Late Nite Deli (1402 Cortelyou Rd. on the corner of Rugby Rd.)

The Captain says: This is the stick to your ribs sandwich of the bunch–a nice change up from the traditional bacon, egg, and cheese. The croissant adds a good sweetness. Ordered cheddar, but got American. Still a tasty sandwich, but would have been nice to try it the way we ordered it.

We say: We’re not usually huge on croissants–especially packaged ones–which made this luscious little killer all the more surprising. The sweetness of the croissant next to the spicy sausage was such a flavor sensation, we didn’t even mind the cheese mix-up.

Sandwich 3: Egg, Muenster cheese, and bacon on a bagel
From: Father & Sons Deli (1402 Cortelyou Rd. on the corner of Rugby Rd.)

The Captain says: The bagel wasn’t as heavy as I anticipated. While the Muenster was a presence in the flavor, the American cheese on the other two sandwiches made more of an impression alongside the bacon and egg. Again, high-quality bacon.

We say: The bagel was indeed lighter than we expected, too, and it was nice that they toasted it on the grill for us. We were surprised the Muenster got lost–so that was our bad, not Father & Sons’.

The Captain says: John’s, for flavor balance and portability.

We say: Superior for its ooey-gooey flavor mash-up ridiculousness–although we recognize we can probably never eat it again.

The Captain’s graciously-gifted Savory Sweet Bacon

Want to cook like the Captain? Check out his recipe for Savory Sweet Bacon, and once that’s finished, you can try his perfect breakfast sandwich…

• One fried egg
• Cheddar cheese
• Fried onions
• Two pieces sweet and spicy bacon

… while listening to “Wingz,” a song about a cuisine, admittedly, not traditionally associated with breakfast, but just too delicious to deny.

If you know someone uniquely-qualified to discuss breakfast sandwiches, or just a place you think we need to know about, tell us in the comments or email editor@ditmasparkcorner.com.