Mickey’s Diner (Eggs in a Basket) – St. Paul, MN

Roller derby afterparties sometimes end up running late. Sometimes late enough that you shut the bar down and need breakfast before actually going to sleep. Not all the time, just sometimes…

We went to Mickey’s Dining Car in downtown St. Paul after a recent derby afterparty. I decided I’d had enough of being secretly disappointed with the Sputnik Burger I always get. I went with the One Eyed Jack this time around.

I won’t go into a bunch of details since I’ve reviewed Mickey’s before and haven’t had any problems with it. But when my sandwich arrived at the table, everyone exclaimed “Toad in a Hole!!!!” I had no idea what these insane people were yelling about, but apparently in Minnesota, a piece of bread with a hole in the top is called a “Toad in a Hole”.

Since I’m a librarian by training (yeah, they DO offer Master’s degrees in Library Science, thank you), I investigated this.

Here’s what I found. Minnesotans are straight wrong about the name of this dish. Toad in a Hole is actually an English dish of Yorkshire Pudding and sausages (which I’d probably love)(and will now force my friend Mandolin to make this for me the next time I visit her in London). Here’s what the ACTUAL Toad in a Hole looks like:

According to WiseGeek.com, “Toad in a hole is sometimes confused with eggs in a basket, the process of breaking an egg into a slice of bread with a hole in it, and frying the result. This is not the traditional definition for the term, although the two may be occasionally be mixed up by those unfamiliar with British foods.”

What these Minnesotans are woefully incorrect about is actually called “Eggs in a Basket” (although depending on what part of the country you’re from, it is sometimes called Bullseye Toast, Manhole Covers, or Bird in a Nest). And frankly, I’m not sure what I had was even one of these dishes. I don’t think the egg was actually cooked in the bread – I think the piece of bread had cheese melted on it and then had a hole cut in it with a circular cookie cutter. That way, the cheese is still on the underside of the bread circle – like in my photo from Mickey’s.

Here’s a photo of the super advanced cooking technique required to make Eggs in a Basket.

I’m not saying this thing isn’t delicious. I’m just saying millions of Minnesotan mothers are giving their children false information. That’s probably another reason the Brits hate us. The next time I order this at Mickey’s (or make one/seven at home for myself), I’ll be sure to walk around and spread the word that this is actually called “Eggs in a Basket”. I’ll also do it in a brazenly drunken English Cockney accent in honor of its mistaken British brother – and then I’ll headbutt the first person who tries to correct me. I just hope it isn’t D.Rough – she used to play rugby and isn’t likely to be phased by a move she’s done herself a million times on the rugby pitch.

Mickey's took the simple way out by renaming the sandwich all together! They call it the One Eyed Jack, which works for me. Safely played, Mickey. Avoiding controversy and confrontation - that's the Minnesota way.

Also, here’s MinorityWizard eating a delicious hot fudge sundae at Mickey’s. Ice cream may not soak up alcohol, but it IS tasty!

www.mickeysdiningcar.com