Biscuit Bars That Elevate Breakfast | Tasting Table National Edition

When it comes to breakfast sandwiches, it's hard to challenge the biscuit as the ultimate bookend. All butter and flake, the pastry quarantines egg and cheese deliciously.

This one-handed masterpiece has been a longtime staple of takeout dining in the southern quadrant of the country, as anyone who's been to North Carolina's Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen can tell you.

Now, chefs are elevating the biscuit sandwich to cater to the hurried masses, specializing in bespoke varieties ideal for takeaway:

Empire State South Atlanta is no stranger to the biscuit, but chef Ryan Smith's version (click here to download the recipe) shines at this new Midtown restaurant. Morning guests can customize such fillings as meat (fried chicken, bacon or country ham) and spreads (pimento cheese, arugula pesto or pepper jelly).

Peels This New York restaurant has already received accolades for its sweets, and the savory pastries follow suit: Each buttery puck needs no more adornment than a dab of jam. But add-ons for its Build-A-Biscuit menu–like redeye gravy, creamed collards and sausage–prove purism is beside the point.

Dahlia Workshop Biscuit Bar The primary function of this Seattle warehouse is to host the baking operations for all of chef Tom Douglas's restaurants. Before 2 p.m., it also doubles as a biscuit-sandwich emporium, where egg meets fennel sausage, Fontina and pepper relish at one turn, fried green tomato, bacon and remoulade at the next.