West Egg, Roman Lily
For our second wedding anniversary, the missus and I went out in search of brunch. One of our favorite places is West Egg, over on Atlanta’s west side. Apparently, it’s now everybody’s favorite, because fully half the joint was apparently being used as a waiting room for the other half. The parking lot sure didn’t make it look that packed, but it was pretty nuts. So we went off in search of something else.
We ended up at Roman Lily Cafe, which I’d heard about but never actually been into until today. The good news is, the place has a nice, quaint atmosphere and a modestly adventurous menu. The bad news is, if you want to make use of it you’ve got to get in there before September 30th, when Roman Lily closes its doors forever. (I recommend the Santa Fe eggs, as did my waiter.)
The skinny is this: The rents on the block over there are skyrocketing (actually, doubling) and lots of places look like they just can’t keep up. Roman Lily’s retiring, the craftsman-style decorating place is moving out and the gifty shop across the street is shutting its doors. Sounds like Atlanta’s one-millionth tapas place is going into Roman Lily’s spot.
Here’s something I can’t quite figure out, though: Is that stretch of shops over there in Inman Park or Old Fourth Ward? I thought the Johnny’s over there was the Inman Park location, but Roman Lily (at the other end of the same block) is apparently in Old Fourth Ward. We drove around a bunch of little streets around there that I’d never been down before, and eventually came out on Edgewood east of the Inman Park MARTA station (not quite where I thought I was).
This is one of the things I dig about Atlanta, stumbling on little areas I didn’t know about the day before. But where the heck was I, technically?
Those shops are in Old Fourth Ward. The confusion over Johnny’s probably stems from the fact that it just moved from Inman Park (Caroline St) a handful of months ago, so it probably still identifies itself as the “Inman Park” location.
It’s too bad about Roman Lily, that’s been a staple there for years.
I ate at Roman Lily for the first time this weekend and it was quite tasty. I didn’t know that it was closing down:/
I’ve always wondered what neighborhood those businesses are considered to be in. I just assumed that the Old Fourth Ward started to the west of Sampson St. and Inman Park was east of Sampson St. Is there a good resource with the exact mappings of the Atlanta neighborhoods?
Paulie, Johnny’s used to be on Elizabeth St, right?
Yes, Johnny’s used to be on Elizabeth and yes, that’s where the confusion comes from.
I live within a block of the corner in question and it is, in fact, the OFW.
Map ideas? Neither the Chamber of Commers or the GCVB are helpful, the closest I’ve come to a decent boundary map http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Ward_(Atlanta)
Also, this intown real estate site has a good list of links that may (or may not) help document the boundaries?
http://www.atlantaintown.com/related.php
I’ve actually walked down highland looking at the neighborhood signs, and tried to figure out where the dividing line is.
The most authoritative definition comes from Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Units. Old Fourth Ward is a part of NPU M. Inman Park is part of NPU N. The dividing line is a railroad. Here’s a Google map to the exact O4W / Inman Park Border on Highland Av, although the tracks are hard to see from the satellite view.
Roman Lilly is a loss, a cook there told me the trick to excellent grilled portobello mushrooms once (marinate briefly in something oil based to seal in the juices). Hopefully, like Cafe Diem they can jump from an overpriced spot and become more successful in their next incarnation.
Pcheen across the street is a great place, one of our favorites when we leave va-high.
http://pcheen.com/
Sadly, Roman Lily isn’t moving, it’s closing down. Maybe we’ll see the stars behind it again some day, but the folks I talked to said they’re moving on to other things.
Here is the map of neighborhoods I use:
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/maps/neighborhoods.pdf
Can’t help you with Roman Lily, but thanks for the pointer to West Egg. Had never heard of it, but had brunch there this morning. Full, but not as crowded as when you visited… seated immediately, great service, great food. I’d never heard of the place, but we’ll be back. Thanks!