Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Barbeque Kitchen in College Park is 61 years old. The city has grown up around the restaurant, which has itself grown, but it still retains its feel and its approach to food. Breakfast is an important part of Southern cuisine. An early flight gave me the chance to enjoy their breakfast. I went for the special breakfast with two small pieces of fried chicken. They were great, the eggs were great, the grits were creamy and tasty. The biscuits were excellent; I took one with me for later. The coffee was good and plentiful. And everything was amazingly cheap. Great taste, hearty food, good value is a pretty good definition of Southern breakfast.

I had the opportunity recently for breakfast at Old Hickory House in Northlake. The neighborhood is changing with new development but Hickory House is still there. The place was packed for breakfast. I went with their classic gravy and biscuit breakfast. It was very good: huge, fluffy biscuits; smooth gravy with bits of sausage. Their breakfasts are very reasonably priced, too.

I started off my meeting at Williamsburg with breakfast at the Williamsburg Lodge, one of the several hotels at Colonial Williamsburg. The room keeps up with the colonial theme. The service was very welcoming and friendly. My veggie omelet was good. I must, however, take issue with the biscuits. They had a strong taste of something like beef tallow, a flavor I don't really expect in a biscuit. And perhaps most important, they were small, something you might expect tosee come out of a Suzy Homemaker oven. I raise this point because biscuits are an essential element of Southern culture and Williamsburg Lodge is part of a site devoted to historic recreation. I think it is reasonable to expect a killer biscuit here. Consider my disappointment to be officially registered.

Farmers markets---the real markets where wholesalers move produce by the truckload---often have good restaurants and North Carolina seems to be particularly good at it. That's why I decided to get up early and drive to the state farmer's market for breakfast. When I saw the two pigs guarding the restaurant parking lot---this is one of the pair---I knew I had made the right choice. Since I had come this far for breakfast, I decided to go all in and order the sampler. The festivities started with this very nice beaten biscuit. The sampler lived up to its name. Each portion was relatively small but it all adds up, trust me. The ham was the standout in my view: salty, hammy, chewy, and tender. The sausage was outstanding---see the gravy below. The scrambled eggs were perfectly done. The pancakes were good but I decided to concentrate my efforts elsewhere. I really enjoyed the apples, too. I also teed up a new biscuit and slathered on the gravy. Just look at i...

Donnie's is a local mainstay. They moved from near I-85 to the Skye Hill Kroger mall several years ago but this is my first visit since that move. I am happy to report that Donnie's remains a purveyor of good food and good value. The owner chatted with regulars as the plates marched out of the kitchen. I ordered the breakfast special with a sausage patty. This didn't come off the steam table---I waited for it to be prepared. The eggs were freshly made and very nicely done. The sausage was very nicely seasoned with traditional Southern flavors. The grits had a great texture and nice taste. I took the biscuit with me and enjoyed it in the car along with the rest of my coffee. This was a good breakfast, an excellent value, and a refreshing way to start the day.

Moose Cafe is a gem located at the entrance to Asheville's Farmers Market, one of those serious, wholesale truck farm markets that draw food nerds like magnets. Moose Cafe clearly takes advantage of the ingredients brought to their door; I'm sure they also reach out to other local purveyors for items that may not come through the gates of the market. They list several local partners, for example, for their meats. The large restaurant was very busy. My server was very friendly and efficient. The manager explained that they open their doors at 7 AM seven days a week. They clearly take their work ethic seriously. Breakfast started with this superb biscuit and outstanding applesauce. The biscuit was tender and the size of my not-inconsiderable palm. The applesauce was clearly homemade and full of apple flavor. The menu contains a number of breakfast items. But I chose the all-you-can-eat breakfast, so big I couldn't show it all in one photo. The scrambled egg...

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of my computer's uninterruptible power supply beeping. Its plaintive cry told me that I had just lost power. The winds from Irma had peaked the previous afternoon. Perhaps the rain-soaked ground had finally given way under some tree. In any case, there was nothing I could do, so I turned off the UPS and went back to sleep. When I finally woke up, I was hungry and a little down. Breakfast at home was out of the question. Matthews Cafeteria seemed like the perfect solution. My first attempt at driving there led me to a downed tree; a little backtracking brought me to Matthews. The line for the steam table snaked through the restaurant. But the Matthews folks are pros and it moved swiftly and smoothly. The crowd was a cross-section ranging from a young family with infants to the DeKalb County Bomb Squad. Everyone was happy to be there. Tables were easy to come by. I sat down and ate my traditional Southern breakfast: egg...

Monell's in Germantown has been a favorite stop for me for 20 years. Little did I know that the Monell's empire has grown to three locations. One of them is next to the airport in this beautiful mansion. And they all serve breakfast in their trademark family style. The interior is beautiful; this must have been an amazing house in an earlier mansion. The first floor is filled with giant tables. It only took a minute to be seated even on a busy Saturday morning. The first round of service kicks off the festivities with bread: sweet rolls and biscuits. Of course, a big bowl of gravy goes around the table, too, and it was tasty. A few minutes later, the dishes start to come fast: their signature fried chicken, sausage, bacon, corn pudding, cheese grits. I lost track at some point. Everything was outstanding. I don't normally eat fried chicken for breakfast but I really enjoyed it. As for drinks, they serve both coffee and sweet tea. The sweet tea was outstandi...

Hot Little Biscuit occupies a strategic corner in Virginia Highlands. It has a few tables but is mostly a takeout place. I stopped by to pick up a sample of their marquee item. The biscuit seems to be of the beaten variety; it has a soft, sponge-style interior. My personal preference is a flaky biscuit---I think that a little heft holds the spreads better and generally fortifies one for the coming day. The biscuit had been brushed with butter before it went into the box, but flavored butter and jams were 50 cent add-ons. I found that policy to be very disappointing. I would think that a container of one spread would be the most welcoming way to serve these biscuits.

This article in AV Club led me to one of those new corners of my Southern food experience---peanut pie. It follows the same basic recipe as pecan pie but with peanuts substituted. (Who thought about making nuts into pies, anyway? The result is very good but I never would have thought of it on my own.) It sounded like a great idea. And while I was at it, why not make it chocolate? This is the pie fresh out of the oven. And this is a slice as part of my breakfast. I am a peanut nut and I really enjoyed this pie. The texture makes it a very different experience from a peanut butter sandwich. The nuggets of peanut embedded in the sugary, chocolaty matrix give you little pops of peanut flavor. I think much of the success of this pie relies on using fresh nuts; I found mine at Buford Highway Farmers Market. Store-roasted nuts in a jar would be much harder and not as flavorful. Sorry, Yankees, you will have to come down South to experience this little gem.

Peter's Pancakes and Waffles is just outside the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I managed to snag a counter seat for breakfast and was lucky to do so. The food here is truly excellent, which means long lines. I ate breakfast at 10 AM and still faced a wall of hungry faces at the front waiting for tables. I ignored the strong hint in the restaurant's name (it is Peter's Pancakes and Waffles, after all) and ordered an omelet with biscuits and gravy. The omelet was excellent, fluffy and rich. The biscuits and gravy were outstanding. I sat in front of the griddle and watched the pancakes roll out. They were beautiful specimens, perfectly round and tall. I also saw a pair of strawberry waffles being prepared. The waffle looked excellent. Covered with waffles and ringed with whipped cream, it was a heart attack on a plate and a wonderful way to go.

I had a wonderful breakfast at Ruth Ann's. The restaurant has several rooms to seat lots of people and is cheerily well lit. The staff is appropriately friendly and ready with the coffeepot. Patrons enjoyed their breakfasts, talked, and visited with each other. I ordered a veggie omelet with hash browns and a biscuit, then added a bowl of tomato gravy. The omelet was tender and rich with good, fresh vegetables. The hash browns were superb---some great crunchy bits around tender potatoes. The tomato gravy was the highlight of the meal to me as I don't think I have ever had it before. It was probably made by mixing crushed tomatoes into a white gravy. The entire gravy had enough tomato juice to give it tang but not so much as to water it down. The bits of tomato gave a nice textural contrast. The biscuit was of the beaten style and very fluffy. I used it to sop up every last bit of that gravy. One word of caution to the disabled---the bathroom doors are too narrow to...

Korner Kafe is on one of the main drags in Lewisville. It's a bright, comfy place with the perfect atmosphere for breakfast. They do serve all three meals---it's a classic coffee shop complete with counter seats. Here is my veggie omlette breakfast. Everything was outstanding. The omlette was rich with both eggs and tasty cheese; the vegetables were just crisp enough to give a great texture and lots of flavor. The hash browns were crispy and caramelized on the outside, tender on the inside. The biscuits and gravy were superb: the biscuit was tender, the gravy had just the right consistency and a good helping of sausage pieces. Service was outstanding, warm, and welcoming.

Biscuit Head is an outstanding practitioner of the find Southern art of biscuits. Being in uber-hip West Asheville, they also offer trending alternatives like tempeh. But I think it's safe to say that most of the dozen or so people who stand in line at any one time are waiting for biscuits. Here is a biscuit au naturel. It's known as a cats head biscuit because it is the size of the head of a cat (and a scarily large cat at that). A large toppings bar provides a selection of fruit preserves and other toppings. Here is a biscuit with their pork sausage gravy, one of about a half-dozen varieties of gravy they offer. The texture of the biscuit is a little hard to parse out with the gravy but I suspect that these are of the beaten variety. Mine certainly gave a very tender, soft texture when I cut it with a fork. As you can see, the sausage comes in healthy-sized chunks. The sausage itself isn't your standard supermarket variety; both the color and the taste are very...

Country Cooking is in East Atlanta. It's a very popular spot this morning with lots of people lined up for the steam table filled with good things: eggs, biscuits, grits, fried green tomatoes...A sign at the start of the line announces "NO TRANS FATS; REAL BUTTER" I limited myself to cheese eggs and biscuits. The biscuit was good, more of a batter base. The cheese eggs were soft, fluffy, and rich. High volumes ensure that everything is fresh. This is a very good neighborhood spot.

As part of my lovely visit to the CECS group at Virginia Tech, I stayed at the Inn at Virginia Tech and breakfasted at Preston's. The breakfast buffet is, I believe, the only option in the morning. The service on my first day was very good; on the second day it was a little spotty. Overall, this was a very good breakfast. The omelet station cranks out great custom creations. You know you're in the South when breakfast features biscuits and creamy gravy. (No Virginia ham, though.) The fruit was excellent. Everything on the buffet was very fresh.

I've written several times about the comfort afforded by a decent meal while traveling. Paschal's cafeteria stands at the airport are a welcome respite from the grind of 21st century air travel. They serve a classic Southern breakfast. The line at Paschal's is always by far the longest of any of the concessions. This morning, my eggs were fluffy, my gravy smooth except for the occasional nuggets of sausage, and the grits were creamy. The service at Paschal's is always extremely gracious. As my mother said on one of her visits, it's just nice to have decent food while you're traveling.

The Silver Skillet was one of the first entries I posted on this blog and, being new to the area, had only been there a few times. I decided that the Skillet deserves a more reflective review. The Skillet is a good 60 years old at this point. It's a Georgia Tech institution. I see colleagues there regularly (sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good). But clearly it has a wide following---the 14th Street bridge construction put a dent in their business, so a lot of people must cross the great I-85 chasm that separates geeks and suits in order to have their breakfast. The Skillet wears its age well. It doesn't play up its quaintness or its fame. It's just one of those places that never changes. The piece de resistance of the Skillet is the biscuits and gravy. The gravy is silky smooth. Luscious is the best term I can think of to describe it. The biscuits hit the perfect balance between flakiness and moistness. I think that lunch at the Skillet isn...