Eggs Benedict

The most celebrated origin story of eggs Benedict begins in 1894 at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City, where a regular patron named Lemuel Benedict reportedly ordered buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce to cure a hangover. The maitre d'hôtel was so impressed he put it on the menu with slight modifications — swapping the toast for an English muffin — and named it after its inventor.

A rival story involves the Waldorf Astoria hotel and a Wall Street broker named E.C. Benedict around the same time. Whatever the origin, the dish defined the upscale New York brunch for a century and spread to café menus worldwide as the benchmark of a skilled breakfast kitchen. A perfectly poached egg is not easy: it requires fresh eggs, acidulated water, a gentle simmer, and excellent timing.

At Cappadocia we offer eggs Benedict with four filling options, two of which bring Turkey directly to the table: pastirma (the ancient cured beef) or sucuk (the spiced sausage) replace the traditional bacon, creating a version of this 19th-century New York dish that would have surprised Lemuel Benedict and delighted him. Smashed avo with capers, and mushroom complete the choice for vegetarians.