The Flying Biscuit, Atlanta, GA

Our Quest for the Perfect Brunch is a global endeavour that takes us all over. In this particular case we were out to get the best possible Brunch that the city of Atlanta had to offer. Luckily, we had our friends Analia and Julian to point us in the right direction while visiting the South.

Where to go for Brunch?

In their mind there was no doubt. We needed to pay The Flying Biscuit a visit before returning to the Northeast.

TFB is an Atlanta institution. Although it has a few locations at this point, we decided to visit the original cafe where it all started. The restaurant is eclectically decorated, to say the least. Paintings of sunflowers decorate the walls while light fixtures and ventilation tubes are naturally included in this surreal landscape. The neighborhood where this establishment is located is also very interesting. Little Five Points is the hippie/biker/indie/? neuralgic center of Atlanta and there are many cute stores and interesting characters to be acquainted with as you stroll around the streets of this area. Furthermore Virginia Highland, another very interesting part of Atlanta, is just a few blocks away.

It should seem obvious to you that biscuits are one of the specialties here. You would not be wrong if this was your guess. And they are goooood! In fact, just next to the restaurant, there is a to-go shop where you can get them by the dozen.

Still, there's much more stuff to be enjoyed here. We decided to first share an appetizer (which was completely unnecessary, given the amount of food that was served to us later). We got a couple of orders of Fried Green Tomatoes. They were wonderfully cooked and were topped with cashew-jalapeno and goat cheese. Just amazing.

I was committed to have a full Southern Brunch experience, so I decided not to hold back and have a healthy portion of whatever caught my attention. And so, I ordered The High Flyer. Sounds cool, huh? It was awesome. This entree does not fit in one plate. Part I consists of 2 eggs made to order, a biscuit, 2 home made chicken sausage patties and "creamy dreamy" grits. Don't know what grits are? You obviously have not been to the South, then. This Wikipedia article should make things clear: Grits 101.

What is the other half of this dish?

It's a stack of organic oatmeal  pancakes accompanied by warm peach compote (a typical Georgia product). Although it was not an easy task, I have to admit I did manage to ingest all this food. It was just that good. I am still thinking about those grits...

Ana decided  to have a light fare....

Her meal consisted of a green salad topped with apples, blue cheese and a very abundant portion of grilled chicken. Still think this was the lighter fare? Just to make things clear Ana added a side of house roasted potatoes and biscuit. It is true that she could not finish her dish, but still she gave it her best effort.

Overall, we can't complain. Food and company were excellent. It was Summer in Atlanta while it still was Winter in Boston. Certainly not far off from the Perfect Brunch...

Husk, Charleston, SC

Questing for the Perfect Brunch is not an easy task. Sometimes it involves sacrifices. In this particular case, it required of us to have a meal at Husk, a magnificent restaurant in Charleston, SC.

Truth be told, we had originally planned to have dinner at Husk, but it was impossible for us to get a reservation at a convenient time, so we decided to have Brunch here instead. I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons getting a reservation was hard is that Husk is one of the happening restaurant in the US these days. It was chosen the best new restaurant in the US by Bon Appetit Magazine in 2011 (by the way, we have also visited the Number 10 pick in the list, Bondir. But that is another story.).

The chef-owner of this establishment is Sean Brock, who was recently portrayed in a full article in the New Yorker. Sean is all about local ingredients and bringing back Southern Cuisine to the spotlight of the American restaurant scene. I'm sure he's a hands-on kind of person as we ran into him at Husk while leaving the restaurant and he thanked us for our visit. Southern Hospitality at its best.

The restaurant is located in a beautifully conserved old house in the Charleston historic district.

This house has two main highlights as far as we are concerned. While we waited for our table we got to experience one of local marvels that Charleston has to offer: the joggling board. Think "sideways rocking chair". The other is the wonderful balcony where we sat and enjoyed our Brunch.

I won't describe the menu in detail but it seems that all dishes cooked at Husk involve the participation of a pig one way or the other. I guess this is how Sean rolls in SC. And that is certainly fine by me.

I ordered a Fried Chicken BLT. What is this? Just a BLT with an added full piece of Fried Chicken. It was as superb as it was obscene. A perfect meal. An interesting detail was the lightly toasted bread that was used to "house" this delicacy.
Ana decided to have an appetizer and a side, instead of a full plate. She had pig ears lettuce wraps accompanied by the most magnificent bacon corn bread you could imagine. In this particular case, images are worth a thousand words. Unfortunately for you, a taste is worth a thousand images... so you'll have to visit Husk if you are curious at this point.

All in all, it was fantastic. Go visit!

J. Christopher's, Savannah, GA

After a number of years planning a trip down South we finally visited Georgia last weekend. We left Boston with 45F and arrived in Atlanta with a blissful 70F. Savannah was even hotter and -if possible- sunnier. So, when it came to finding a place for lunch, I would not accept anything without sidewalk sitting. J.Christopher's turned out to be the place. Located on the residential side of the historic district, this diner had outdoor tables, sun umbrellas and a handful of cool-looking brunchers (and Barbie-looking waitresses!). I'm not proud to say, though, J.Christopher's is far from your local, hippie brunch spot... It is a GA franchise, with at least 15 locations only in Atlanta and an indoor decor that looks a lot like Chuck E. Cheese. Luckily, the mirrored window glass allow you to enjoy the gorgeous view of the street without worrying about what lies on the other side.

We actually quite liked the food. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that when it comes to Southern food the more butter the better, and breakfast was no exception (it is also very hard to find a salad that does not come with meat, or something candied). So, after carefully going over every option in the menu (which includes Blueberry crunchcakes -with granola mixed in-, poached eggs nestled on a bed of smoked turkey, crispy bacon and sliced tomato atop an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce, and a number of "signature breakfast skillets" -oven-roasted potatoes mixed with a combination of ingredients, such as spinach and bacon, or ham and mushroom, topped with two sunny side up eggs and served with an English muffin) I went for what I considered to be a "healthy option": roasted red peppers and black bean quesadillas in a spinach tortilla. Cheese, peppers and beans came in equal portions and it was a great mix. Super tasty. I downed it with a ruby-colored half OJ-half GJ and some coffee, for which I got a whole thermos brought to the table just for myself.

Diego also went with one of the specials. A crab cake Benny that had hearty portions of crab cakes instead of ham/bacon with over-roasted potatoes. It came perfectly dusted with paprika, a detailed that Diego loved.

So, great location, good food, awesome weather. If only it wasn't a chain store....