The city is expensive, but your next meal doesn’t have to be. In this new weekly column, we hunt down the best restaurants where you can dine like royalty for $25 per person or less.
Toast ’n Egg, a quirky little Korean sandwich spot, is a ray of light on a windy, unremarkable stretch of the Outer Sunset.
It’s hard to miss: Strains of Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa drift out each time the door swings open. Inside, two halves of a cracked “egg” hang from the ceiling, the translucent white and golden egg yolk perpetually suspended a few feet above a “frying pan” the size of a kiddie pool. It is an irresistible installation clearly meant as an Instagram background for customers (and their dogs).
The menu, which is accessed by way of self-serve kiosks, mostly consists of gilgeori toast, or Korean egg sandwiches, a popular street food that’s become even more famous on social media. Egg ‘N Toast looks to be an American dupe of Eggdrop, a South Korean chain with more than 200 locations that became popular for making fancy versions of the humble dish.
Here, there are 10 types of Korean sandwiches, from pork chop to double egg, all of which cost around $10. The price point is a refreshing antidote to “McFlation” conversation about the rising cost of fast food.
Cheaper still is the crab stick and corn toast sandwich ($6.95). The unusual combo harkens to two common dishes: Korean corn cheese, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Korean crab omelet. The sandwich starts with two pieces of toasted and buttered sweet bread, which cradle a light and fluffy egg omelet. There are kernels of sweet corn and strips of imitation crab scattered throughout, plus melted cheese, spicy and regular mayonnaise, purple cabbage and a dusting of sweet-salty furikake.
If you want to gild the lily, order dessert. The restaurant’s “croffles”—a hybrid croissant and waffle made with puff pastry pressed into a waffle iron—result in a very buttery waffle with a nice crunchy exterior. One is big enough for two people and can be topped with whipped cream and matcha, strawberries or Oreo cookies.
Make a meal out of it:
💰Crab stick and corn toast ($6.95)
💰 Matcha croffle ($6.45)
Total: $13.40
📍Toast ‘N Egg, 1838 Irving St., Outer Sunset