Feature

Lay Ladies Lay

Widen your sunnyside-up horizons with specialty eggs.

By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite
Published Apr 1, 2007

(Photo: Kang Kim for New York Magazine)

Quail
An ideal amuse-bouche; what this speckled egg lacks in size it makes up for in delicious flavor and creamy texture. Find it at Greenmarket’s Northshire Farms stand ($5 a dozen) at Union Square and on menus all over town, from Fatty Crab to Gordon Ramsay at the London.

Pheasant
In spite of a high yolk-to-white ratio, a lower level of cholesterol compared with a chicken’s egg, and a delicate flavor, the lovely pale olive-green pheasant egg has yet to make its mark on many local menus. They’re $3 a dozen at Greenmarket’s Quattro’s farm.

Chicken
In the coming months, the Greenmarket will overflow with pastured eggs and the pastel-hued ones that inspired a paint line. Knoll Krest might have the longest queue and Windfall the strictest rationing policy, but you’ll also find them at Tello’s, Flying Pigs, Northshire, and Violet Hill.

Duck
It’s a hen’s-egg world, but consider the duck variety: it’s superrich with a brighter orange yolk, and duck eggs make for killer scrambled eggs, omelets, and desserts. Find them at Quattro’s for $1 apiece, and on the menus at Centovini, Tocqueville, and the Spotted Pig.

Turkey
Be the first on your block to fry up this beautifully speckled specimen. After they’ve mated with gobblers, hens lay an egg a day, and common predators include raccoons, skunks, and exotica-seeking patrons of Quattro’s, where they go for $6 a dozen.

Goose
Highly seasonal and quite hefty, goose eggs boast a rich, unusual flavor that some like in omelets and quiches. In Eggs, Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux recommends using them for his curry-spiced leek flamiche, a flan from the Champagne region. Available at Quattro’s for $3 apiece.