Food review: Andouille sausage eggs benedict

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Two poached eggs atop grilled andouille sausage, crawfish and jalapeno hollandaise, English muffin, side of home fries
Food rating: 9 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Wow--what can I say--yet another superb brunch dish from Maverick. Not only did it taste amazing, it was inventive and I'd say the best seafood eggs benedict I've had in San Francisco. I loved the creole flair of this dish, and the meticulously-balanced ingredients. To allow the crawfish to really shine, the chef knew exactly how much to tone down the smokiness and spiciness of the andouille and jalapeno. The creamy hollandaise and egg yolk brought out the flavor of the crawfish and tasted like fresh crab drenched in butter. Add a little kick to that plus some smoked meat, and life is good. I've been looking for a loooooong time for an eggs benedict that's worthy of a 9.0. I wouldn't change a thing about this dish aside from maybe the home fries. They were just slightly crispy and not greasy, but just a tad dry here and there. That's just filler anyway and I'm not really rating those. But as far as eggs benedict is concerned, this is the reigning champ. Anyone up for a challenge?

Food review: Smoked cajun andouille sausage

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Spicy smoked barbeque pork andouille sausage
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

You've gotta be really into sausage to eat this much sausage by itself--which I'm not--but I wanted to try something other than the same old pork ribs and beef brisket that I always get at Memphis Minnies. It was definitely way too much sausage, especially given how greasy it was. There was a little puddle of orange grease that was left after I squeezed it out of the sausage before I could eat it. Yes, I'm also one of those people who blot their pizza with a napkin. I can handle some grease, but not when it's the only thing you taste. Such was the case with this sausage. It tasted like spicy barbequed fat, and that's about it. Like I said before, I don't think it was meant to be consumed this way and prefer it mixed into something like an omelette or jambalaya. So that being said, I will not be ordering this again (the mac-and-cheese was good though).