The Angry Egg’s logo will make you laugh — a cranky-looking oval with a cracked “forehead” and heavy brows in a deep scowl, sporting a chef’s toque and brandishing a spatula.
The name of Liz and Steve Hall’s new Manchester restaurant was inspired by an incident in their home kitchen, Liz says.
She was cooking breakfast one morning for her family when the whites of a frying egg started “spitting and jumping” in the pan, she says. “I said, ‘Wow, this is a really angry egg.’”
The Halls are an experienced restaurant couple, who met while working at Cavey’s in Manchester — Liz as a dining room manager and Steve as a sous chef. Steve has also worked for Carbone’s Kitchen in Bloomfield. The couple took over the former Sunny Side Up restaurant, opening their cafe in late March.
“We were going to do this in about six years when our son graduated from high school,” Liz says, with plans to open a general store in Vermont with breakfast, lunch and artisan crafts. By “freak accident” late last year, she says, they found out the Main Street restaurant was for sale, and decided to shift their vision to their hometown.
“We’re really happy to be here,” she says. “We’re really happy to give back to the community and be part of revitalizing Main Street in Manchester.”
THE ATMOSPHERE: The Angry Egg, with the motto “Come hangry, leave happy,” is a small, homey space with seating for 40 at comfortable booths and stools, and walls adorned with country-style decor and paintings by local artists. A digital Victrola mounted behind the counter sets the diner vibe with 1950s-era tunes. Weekends get busy, Liz says, which is when the restaurant’s self-serve Baronet coffee bar comes in handy for waiting patrons.
FEATURED/NOTEWORTHY DISHES: The Angry Egg focuses on breakfast and lunch, with traditional omelets, pancakes, sandwiches and salads alongside more unique offerings.
Big appetites will appreciate the “Angry Egg Sammich” on brioche with two eggs, Bogner’s thick-cut pepper bacon, Cabot cheddar, arugula and chipotle mayo, and the stuffed French toast, with mascarpone and berries layered between two giant slices of Texas toast. The “I’m Hangry” plate features a tour of the classics, with three eggs, bacon, sausage, two buttermilk pancakes and hash browns.
A veggie scramble is popular, with scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, tomato, basil pesto and sweet potato hash cake, and a breakfast casserole features two eggs, black beans, salsa, potato pancake and avocado crème fraîche. Belgian waffles are served with maple butter and seasonal fruit, and three-egg omelets are customizable with choices of meat, cheese and vegetables. Pancakes are available with a gluten-free option.
“We’re trying to be a little different than the other breakfast restaurants,” Liz says. “A little more creative, different than the standard breakfast fare.”
Breakfast runs all day, but lunch starts at 11, with a variety of sandwiches: a BLT, chicken, tuna and egg salad; a fresh-roasted turkey sandwich with Swiss cheese, Bibb lettuce, thick bacon and cranberry mayo and a patty melt, with caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce and choice of cheese on ciabatta. A portobello mushroom sandwich on brioche features roasted pepper, goat cheese, caramelized onion and arugula. The house salad, with assorted vegetables and lemon balsamic dressing, can be topped with an egg or choice of protein.
Blackboard specials run daily, giving the Halls a chance to highlight seasonal ingredients like soft shell crab sandwiches and other experimental dishes like a Greek omelet and an “angry” Benedict with spicy hollandaise.
Breakfast items are $4.95 to $9.50, and lunch options are $5.99 to $11.95.
HOURS AND LOCATION: The Angry Egg is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Mondays. 1095 Main St., Manchester. 860-645-0555 and angryeggcafe.com.
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