Best Brunches
My love of food is well known. And my love of booze is second to none. Brunch is the magnificent tradition that combines the two beautifully. It’s the best excuse to start drinking at 10 o’clock in the morning when avoiding religious services.
I’ve started touring the city’s brunch spots to see which one’s top the list. Everyone’s heard the raves for The Flying Biscuit. While it is good, I don’t really want to spend my lazy Sunday morning standing in line forever. A great alternative is The West Egg Café on Howell Mill Road. They have a great menu with the standard fixings, plus a few other gems like black bean cakes and green tomato breakfast wrap (and thankfully no hokey Fitzgerald theme). You can also find me there for lunch, with tasty sandwiches and free wi-fi if you can’t leave the Powerbook behind. No booze, though.
Another treasure is Ria’s Bluebird in Grant Park. Situated on Memorial Drive across from the Oakland Cemetery, it’s a hip little diner that serves breakfast all day – perfect for those of us who can’t manage to get ourselves up in the morning. Bring your vegetarian friends, as there are many tofu and “soysage” selections. Carnivores like myself dig the tasty biscuits and gravy. No booze, but you can head next door to Six Feet Under afterwards.
The Inman Park Patio also offers up an eclectic array of brunch items including frittatas and decadent ricotta-stuffed french toast. Some of the other options are a bit frou-frou such as the grapefruit créme bruleé (a caramelized grapefuit half served with yogurt sauce), but the parmesan grits made a fan out of me. They’ve also got an impressive wine selection.
Last but not least, the Sunday Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead is the most ridiculously indulgent brunch I’ve ever been lucky to attend. It’s buffet stations feature over 100 artfully presented items . Mounds of freshly chilled shellfish, freshly prepared sushi, and exquisite cheese are available. I seriously had to be led away from the peppercorn seared tuna. There are the required carving stations serving roast beef, pork and lamb. Additionally, the dessert is a chocolate lover’s dream. The fountain of chocolate is available for fruit and cake dipping, as well as petite cakes and tarts of every kind. Top it all off with a few delicious mimosas.
Thumbs Up Diner in Inman Park. You have to get there early because the line builds up. I’m there almost every Sunday morning. Easily, easily, easily, the best brunch in all of Atlantaland…
Hey; co-winky-dink. I just posted on a great brunch I had this morning at Cafe 458. http://www.laurafries.com/archives/cafe_458.html
Lets not forget Crescent Moon in decatur, one of the most filling, delectable, and cheapest brunches available outside of waho. also rarely a line out the door…
This weekend we went to hand and hand to try their brunch for the 1st time. We were a little skeptical there would even be one b/c there was no one there, but they had an awesome brunch menu! the Union Jack was huge and delicious as was the Pub Hollandaise.
Sunday went to Radial on Dekalb. Great specials and the vegetarian biscuits and gravy rock. A great alternative to Ria’s which always has a huge wait.
I’ll have to give the nod to Neighbors, especially when it’s nice enough to use the patio. Sat & Sun they go till 3pm. Prices are affordable and the staff is good. I make it to Flying Biscuit about once a year but have been disappointed the last few times. I’m pretty tired of Thumbs Up too — but there is a location in East Point (by East Point Tavern) that I haven’t tried yet. Getting hungry…
I’m with Daniel. Thumbs up. Without a doubt. Biscuit is good but always crowded and a little overrated. Neighbors? Neighbors still smells like an ashtray on weekend mornings from the middle aged meat market the night before. The menu is limited and appealing options are few.
Great pics, Lori!
Be sure to check out Radial on DeKalb Avenue…it’s never been crowded when we’ve gone and they have an AWESOME homemade cinnamon roll (a giant one, big enough to share.