Across the street from Barcelona and Sadie’s on Edgehill Ave, Egghill sits tucked away and ready to serve the morning crowd. The new breakfast spot specializes in egg sandwiches, offering five staples with rotating specials—including some great vegetarian options—three types of sides and an assortment of beverages, including neighboring OSA coffee. Having opened its doors just a year ago, Egghill hopes to further develop its identity as a go-to breakfast sandwich spot for the Vanderbilt community.
Following class on Peabody, we made our way to Egghill, and despite getting slightly lost mid-walk, we still managed to arrive in under 10 minutes of leaving campus. Upon walking in, we were welcomed by head chef and owner, Parkes Brittain.
Egghill offers counter service where you can see the bustling kitchen right as you order. Brittain hustled around the intimate kitchen while making our meal and recounted his journey with cooking and opening the doors of Egghill.
“I’m from Nashville, and I come from a family of really good Southern cooks. My family always liked to eat,” Brittain said. “When I was a senior in college working on an honors thesis, I realized what I really wanted to do was pursue cooking as a career.”
As he flipped our eggs and garnished the hash with sprigs of green, Brittain described how his cooking journey from high-end cooking in expansive kitchens eventually led to him focusing on creating high-quality breakfast foods in this new compact kitchen.
“I wanted to do something different in a limited space,” Brittain said. “I wanted to focus on something more ingredient-focused while keeping it simple and working cleverly.”
Along with finding cooking as a passion, Brittain explained that he prioritized sourcing fresh and high-quality ingredients from local farms at his restaurant.
“We source food from local farms. Almost everything is from Farmer Dave, who works with a ton of different farms in southern Kentucky [and] northern Nashville,” Brittain said. “There is a local influence in all the food, like our sausage from Bear Creek Farms.”
We sat in a cozy corner of the restaurant with several small tables. Surrounded by colors of bright whites and yellows, the environment mirrored the colors of a sunny day or a sunny-side egg.
(Marissa Reaves)
While the aromas wafted through the intimate space, our mouths watered and our stomachs rumbled. Within about 20 minutes of waiting, Brittain brought out our steaming food.
Marissa’s Order: The Eggvocado sandwich with a side of grits
Most times, I find myself stifled by the lack of variety within vegetarian options at breakfast spots, but I was ecstatic to find that of the five sandwich options, there were two without meat. In a sandwich sans-meat protein, the eggs are the star, and I found these soft-scrambled eggs worthy of the title. The flavor mix of fresh avocado, arugula and tomato worked exceptionally well alongside the fluffiest eggs I’ve ever had.
The grits were super rich and thick and are reminiscent of your Grandma’s grits recipe. If you are on a budget, just grabbing a sandwich is more than enough to satisfy any cravings for a hearty breakfast beyond the confines of campus. For $12, the sandwich’s price is comparable to Proper Bagel’s avocado & egg sandwich, but I’d say Egghill takes the win, as it is definitely more filling and incorporates a variety of local ingredients.
Hannah’s Order: Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a side of tater tots and OSA cold brew
With my unique perspective of being a vegetarian with a bacon exception and someone with an obsession with any type of breakfast potatoes, Egghill checks a lot of the boxes I look for. With its pleasing aesthetics, the sandwich I ordered looked as delicious as it tasted. The fluffy, golden brioche bun covered in delicious aioli nodded to Brittain’s Southern roots. The crispy bacon had the perfect taste of saltiness next to the freshness of the arugula and hot egg. The potato hash perfectly mixed crunchy and soft textures. I left the restaurant feeling satiated and excited to share my experience of finally finding an authentic southern breakfast spot with all of my friends.
Our main complaints are that although the space is cozy, Egghill does not have a lot of seating, and on the weekends, it could get too full to be a go-to study spot. Also, although the OSA cold brew is robust in flavor, it is the only option available. We hope the coffee menu can be expanded so that patrons can start their day with the flavors of a latte or some other specialty coffee. But if you are in need of nourishing and filling food, Egghill is a great option for breakfast after a long night out.
