The Toasted Yolk Rolls Into Town with Eggs, Booze and Churro Doughnuts

A Houston-based brunch chain, The Toasted Yolk, is best known for its signature Toasted Yolk dish: a buttered piece of toast that pockets an over-medium egg in the middle. It, like many other things on the menu, is loaded with flavor. Huge Benedicts, layered toasts and girthy omelets are all crafted fresh in the kitchen and plated lavishly. While its strongest presence remains in Houston, the franchise’s newest branch recently debuted in Addison. Pure curiosity, an early morning appetite and a love for all things brunch lured us in.

For starters, the brunch selection is huge. A rectangular 1-by-2-foot cardboard placemat details (almost) everything the chain has to offer. Favorites like an apple-cinnamon French toast come alongside seasonal offerings like fried-chicken pancake tacos. Order a plate of The Toasted Yolk’s signature cheesy grits or dive into a plate of gravy-smothered biscuits. An egg-brisket scramble and fried-chicken Benedict both add uniquely Southern twists on brunch classics.

Healthier options include an avocado toast that comes with two poached eggs perched on top. Different seasonings and a splash of lemon add a kick to your typical avocado toast. Omelets are made with four eggs, cracked and beaten with sautéed vegetables, cheeses and meats. Yogurt parfaits, steel-cut oats and quinoa grain bowls add to the breakfast variety.

It gets better with the boozy drinks. The Toasted Yolk coffee is a dangerous option; a blend of Irish cream, Kahlua and house coffee is served buried under a shovelful of whipped cream. The sugar rush leads nicely into vodka-spiked cold brew, grapefruit mimosas or morning margaritas tinted with fresh squeezed orange juice. Sip from the salted rim on a $12 bloody mary or ask about the seasonal selection of rotating frozen drinks to cool down in the company of 100-degree Texas summers.

We had a little too much fun with the drink menu and sobered up with an order of churro doughnuts, an ingenious breakfast creation that combines the crispy texture of the churro with the doughnut. You can dip these bad boys into the bowl of warm toffee-caramel sauce that comes on the side. Bite into a crispy churro-like cinnamon shell that breaks into a fluffy cake doughnut inside, all smothered in a homemade caramel dip. It’s worth the sticky fingers.

The busy brunch crowd makes the place surprisingly inviting, despite being located a bit away from downtown Addison. A full-service bar welcomes those who want to stop by for drinks exclusively. If big portions, amusing drinks and sweet endings appeal to you, give the place a try.

The Toasted Yolk, 4580 Belt Line Road, Addison. Daily, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.