Eggs Benedict is the brunch classic: ham and a poached egg in hollandaise sauce on a slice of toasted muffin. The architecture is precise — the split English muffin toasted and buttered, the ham warmed through, the egg poached to a just-set white and flowing yolk, the whole crowned with hollandaise, the warm emulsion of egg yolk, butter, and lemon. Variations swap the ham for smoked salmon (eggs royale) or spinach (eggs Florentine), but the formula holds. It is a dish of technique — poaching, emulsifying, timing — which is why ordering it is the classic test of a brunch kitchen. Rich, indulgent, and unapologetically old-fashioned, eggs Benedict turned breakfast into an occasion and remains the dish by which brunch menus are judged.