Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches are a distinctly New York thing. It's what the breakfast burrito is to Los Angeles or a Taylor pork roll to New Jersey, and exactly no one in New York calls it a BEC. It's a baconeggencheese.
The best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich you can have requires a ring of "chicola" bread from Addeo Bakers on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. To sound like a true local, ask for "cheegola" bread, a Neapolitan-style pronunciation of ciccioli or pork rinds. (Similar to chicharrones.) Some people know this also as lard bread. Back in the day, when the Neapolitan language was still spoken on Arthur Avenue, it was called "n'zogna bread."
Only made Thursday through Saturday, the dough is brushed with lard that the bakers render themselves. Pieces of crispy smoked pork are sprinkled in, and the dough is folded over. More lard gets brushed on, and more pork... you get the idea. It is not diet-friendly, but it is outrageously delicious. Arthur Avenue regulars who drive in from the suburbs often joke that it doesn't last the car ride home.
Chicola bread can't be shipped or frozen. You have to come to the Bronx to get it. It needs to be enjoyed as soon after baking as possible. If yours manages to survive the night, put it in the toaster oven and use it for the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich of your life. I like to add grated pecorino or Parmigiano cheese to beaten eggs, scramble, and then add a teaspoon of chopped chives. For even more bacon, you can also fry chopped pancetta and add it to the scrambled eggs.
Addeo's has two locations. There's a storefront at 2352 Arthur Avenue (pictured above) and around the corner at 2372 Hughes Avenue. The bread is baked at the Hughes Avenue location, and the first generation of Addeos lived above it. I prefer the store on Hughes Avenue for its beautiful mosaic floor and tin roof. However, both locations have the same products. The shop clerks go back and forth between the two with an old grocery store from Caldors. (Remember Caldors!?)
Want to know what's best to buy in each Italian food shop on Arthur Avenue?
Download the The Shopper's Guide to Little Italy in the Bronx. It contains the complete itinerary of the Shopping & Tasting Tour! Two people can share each purchase, so find a friend and shop for the best Italian food this side of Italy!
