eggs Benedict, a brunch staple consisting of poached eggs and Canadian bacon or sliced ham on an English muffin, topped with hollandaise sauce (a rich and creamy concoction made with egg yolks, butter, lemon juice or vinegar, and various seasonings). Traditional strip bacon is sometimes used in place of ham or Canadian bacon.
The dish is believed to have originated in New York City during the late 1800s, but theories differ regarding how and where. One of the more popular claims goes to Delmonico’s Restaurant, often cited as the country’s earliest fine-dining establishment (1837). In the 1890s—though some sources give the 1860s—Mrs. (or Mr.) LeGrand Benedict (or Benedick), a frequent patron, reportedly found nothing she wanted on the menu and asked chef Charles Ranhofer to create something. The result was eggs Benedict. A competing story has Mr. Lemuel Benedict ordering the first eggs Benedict at the Waldorf Hotel (now the Waldorf-Astoria) in 1894—notably, with toast and bacon rather than an English muffin and ham. In any case, the respective chefs at each restaurant continued to serve the dish thereafter, and it has remained a popular breakfast item across the United States and elsewhere ever since.
The lasting power of this dish may be due to the ingredients that are so easily replaced by more-regional ones, whether it is corned beef for an Irish rendition or crab cakes in the Washington, D.C., area. Other variations include eggs Florentine (prepared in the same manner as eggs Benedict except with spinach used in place of the Canadian bacon or ham) and the Creole-style eggs Sardou (poached eggs, artichoke bottoms, and creamed spinach, topped with hollandaise sauce and sometimes shrimp), which was named for the French dramatist Victorien Sardou, who frequented New Orleans, where this take on the dish originated.