One of the Bathroom Books Reviews .
Are you old enough to remember when McDonald’s restaurants started serving at 11 AM? There was no breakfast. Also, you hadn’t heard of Chicken McNuggets, McFlurry desserts, and certainly not McCafé. It was 50 years ago when Herb Petersen changed the fast-food world. As luck would have it, I was there.
It was a social gathering much like many others. In this case, some Santa Barbara folks were invited for the usual cocktails and canapés at the home of Herb and Barbara Petersen. They had moved from Chicago a few years before to take on the task of opening some restaurants for the now famous franchise. Since I seldom turn down a party invitation, I happily joined the fun.
While engaging in the usual casual nonsense, with the other guests happily chatting, Herb asked me if I would join him in the kitchen. Since it was clear I was not needed to help serve snacks, and our conversation didn’t require privacy, I couldn’t help but wonder what my host had in mind. He was not quick to disclose it, but simply proceeded to repeat a process that he had obviously been practicing.
Let’s be clear, this was no efficiency or galley kitchen. The stove offered ample space for plenty of pots and room for bunches of burgers and buns on a griddle that was really at “home on the range”. With no shortage of space in the refrigerator, out came a few of the dozens of the eggs in sight. Soon there were English Muffins, Canadian Bacon and a slice of Kraft American cheese. Then off the rack came a device with several iron rings about an inch high that Herb said was crafted by an area blacksmith. (I tried typing ferrier, but got into a word fight with WORD).
After a few short minutes on the griddle and artful stacking of ingredients, Herb offered what he proudly called (drum roll please) the “Fast Break Break-Fast”. But you know that’s not the end of the story.
Recently I wondered if anyone else knew about this first attempt at naming one of the world’s most famous meals, so I called California. After a brief search I found Herb’s son David who not only knew the story, but had written a book to honor the memory of his late father.
Seems folks had been knocking on his restaurant door hoping for food hours before they opened. He had decided to solve the problem with his version of the old favorite “Eggs Benedict”. Naturally “corporate” took a long time to warm up to the idea. And though they never used it, Nabisco had claimed his first choice for a name.
Interestingly, no one is certain who came up with the name that brought the breakfast sandwich such fame. But by now you know why the story of the Egg McMuffin and its inventor, Herb Petersen is called The Good Egg.