New in Evanston: A first look at Eggs with Benefits

Downtown Evanston has its first Korean breakfast spot, and I’m here for it.

I just recently returned from two weeks of eating around Korea. So imagine how excited I was when I returned home to find this Korean comfort food waiting for me! My new saying: There is no such thing as too much kimchi. Or gently scrambled eggs.

This is Eggs with Benefits’ second location – the first is on Sheridan Street in the Loyola District – and if the quality of the food at this fast-casual restaurant is any indication, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have locations in others would open in university districts. Their new Evanston location is at 527 Davis Street in the old 527 Cafe space.

I was thrilled to find out that the owner is none other than Will Song, the man behind BopNGrill (originally opened across from ETHS, now located near Loyola) and 10Q Chicken. I’m a fan, and not just because of the general deliciousness. Song is committed to making sauces from scratch and sourcing high-quality ingredients.

When BopNGrill first opened in 2009, Will made kimchi using his mother’s recipe, and it took quite a while. But now that he goes through a thousand pounds of kimchi a week, he outsources his vegetables to 80 Million Food, Inc., a local producer in Irving Park that makes Korea’s most popular fermented vegetables.

You can order on the screen at reception and wait for your food (always freshly prepared) or pre-order online and have it wait for you. We opted for the in-person experience and the food was ready within ten minutes.

This is a restaurant where eggs take center stage, which isn’t surprising given the name. So you can opt for an egg sandwich — a brioche bun filled with either soft scrambled eggs or egg salad and various toppings — or an eggshell, which features the same soft scrambled eggs paired with rice and other proteins like steak, tonkatsu (breaded) and fried pork chops ) and spam.

We chose the vegetarian Japanese curry hash bowl ($10.99), a very generous portion of fluffy rice, cage-free soft scrambled eggs, Japanese curry and a crispy potato hash patty on top, sprinkled with sesame seeds and fresh chives. The curry was very flavorful without being spicy. A side of sautéed kimchi gave it the little kick I like.