Egg-flation is getting the Big Apple scrambled.
The price of eggs is so clucking ridiculous that New York City’s food carts, bodegas and delis are charging more for the iconic — and usually affordable — bacon, egg and cheese sandwich.
Cafe Manhattan in Midtown put up signs last week declaring all egg sandwiches will have a $.50 surcharge — and its manager Gin Yun told The Post he still can’t make ends meet because he’s shelling out four times more than just a few months ago to buy cartons.
“Oh my God, the price of eggs has gone crazy,” Yun said. “I can’t keep this up, I’m serious. I haven’t made profit for the last two months.
“Four months ago, 30 dozen eggs cost less than $50. Now, 30 dozen eggs cost me $227.”
Maria Chuqui, 36, a cook at the Mexican Food and Breakfast food cart at West 77th Street and Broadway, had a similar tale of egg woe.
She said two months ago a box of roughly 240 eggs cost $90. The same box now costs $217.
“I have never paid so much for eggs,” Chuqui said.
“People don’t want to pay more for eggs, but I will have to raise prices soon,” she said. “I sell and egg and cheese for $4 and an egg, bacon and cheese for $5. I will have to raise prices by $1.”
The shell shock is the result of a bird flu outbreak that’s forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens every month — a precautionary measure against the disease that has driven egg prices to more than double their cost in summer 2023.
The national average price for a dozen eggs reached $4.15 in December, approaching the previous record of $4.82 set two years prior — and the US Department of Agriculture forecast that prices could increase 20% this year.
The egg-flation has forced New York Attorney General Letitia James to warn businesses against price gouging.
“Eggs are an essential grocery staple in households across the state, and New Yorkers should not pay ludicrous amounts just to feed their families,” James said in a statement.
Everyday New Yorkers are cracking under the egg price pressure, even before any gouging — and not just for their beloved BECs.
They’re flocking to far-flung grocery stores selling cheap cartons, such as the Bryant Park Whole Foods, where the consensus is they’ve got the cheapest eggs in town.
Flushing resident Mohammad Khan stopped in at the Bryant Park Whole Foods on his way home from work just to take advantage of its prices, which were as low as $4.69 for a dozen.
“It’s $9.99 for a dozen eggs in Flushing,” he told The Post.
“At other supermarkets like Food Bazaar a dozen eggs is $8,” another shopper said. “I came to Whole Foods just for the eggs.”
A Whole Foods shopper from Jersey City stopped in for eggs because her local supermarket was all out over the weekend.
“Eggs were out of stock at the supermarket in Target in Jersey City this past weekend,” she said. “Whole Foods prices have stayed the same. $5 is a decent price for organic.”
The egg-travaganza at Whole Foods, however, is forcing the store to start rationing eggs.
“We are currently experiencing difficulty sourcing eggs that meet our strict animal welfare standard. For now, we’re limiting purchases to 3 cartons per customer,” a sign taped to the store’s door informed customers.
Bodega owners and their customers — who are generally lower-income than Whole Foods shoppers — are also having a rotten time with the high egg prices.
“Some bodegas are even considering selling eggs by the egg,” said Fernando Mateo, who heads the United Bodegas of America.
Mateo said most bodega owners know their communities can’t afford the skyrocketing costs.
“They feel that this is affecting the poor and not the rich,” he said.
Still, the group is encouraging bodega owners to be good eggs and not raise prices, Mateo said.
“It’s social responsibility, that’s what it boils down to,” he said.
