Which Came First, the Duck or the Egg?

A good question, food eaters. In the case of my recent supper at Miller Union, it was the egg that first graced our table.

Normally I would scoff at the idea of paying $9 for an egg ... even given the rise in prices related to highly pathogenic avian influenza (don't worry; eating eggs or poultry will not give you bird flu). However, the farm egg appetizer at Miller Union is the one exception.

Photo from Miller Union's dinner menu page

According to our server, this delicacy is prepared by cracking a fresh egg in a bowl of house-made celery cream, which includes some garlic, some herbs, some other tasty things that make it incredibly aromatic and rustic. It's baked for a short period, then flashed again so the egg gets a satisfying golden coat. The appetizer is presented to the table with a platter of crispy grilled bread and a massive ceremonial silver spoon, which you use to break the yolk, stir up the creamy sauce and then scoop it onto bread. It's so good that despite the fancy price tag and my dry-clean only dress I went finger-first into the starter and did not look like the most ladylike customer as I put bite after bite in my mouth.

This was undoubtedly the coolest presentation of eggs to grace my table. Texture-wise what you spoon on each slice of bread is a combination of heavy sauce and lightly cooked egg whites. By mixing the yolk into the already thick cream, you get a velvety, buttery quality. It's equally simple in construction and elegant in execution, and it alone is worth the trip.

Then they bring you the duck.

Well. I ordered the duck, anyway; there's a whole host of regularly changing entrees you can choose from. But if it's there when you go, I promise it is all it is quacked up to be. (Get it? Quacked up? OK, you're right, review of fancy restaurant is probably not the best place for a lame pun. Moving on.)

Tender, rare duck breast at Miller Union

The seared duck breast is the most well-seasoned piece of meat I've ever eaten. Oh my heavenly days, y'all, it was all I could do to cut each tender slice into a bite-size portion so as to savor every morsel.

Rare duck breast is reminiscent of beef tenderloin in texture. The tenderness is unparalleled. It has a salty, herbed, flavorful crust and then a slight metallic tang of iron, in case you didn't already know you were eating incredible meat. It cut like a stick of butter.

The duck was served on top of polenta (it's kind of like a thicker version of grits) with pieces of onion,slightly sweet sliced figs and bitter, peppery arugula. I don't want to entice Chef Steven Satterfield (also a co-owner) to raise his prices, but I felt that $32 was a bargain for the quality of this meal.

We didn't save room for dessert (I'm telling you, that farm egg app is rich), but there is a dessert menu, and it includes such things as balsamic ice cream and what looks suspiciously like an edible version of a whiskey mule. So keep your sweet tooth in mind when making reservations.

Oh, Oh, Oh! Sweet Brunch of Mine

One of the first things I heard when I moved to Atlanta in 2013 was that I had to eat at Flying Biscuit Cafe.

This directive came from my mother, and it came as we were driving (not quite lost) in search of a backway to Target. We passed a corner restaurant in the city's Candler Park neighborhood and the line was wrapped around the building, then around the block. It looked like the place to be on a Saturday morning. And at least one weekend a month, a fleeting thought goes through my brain: "We should go to Flying Biscuit for brunch!"

Said fleeting thought finally stuck around long enough to become action this past Sunday. Though parking was complicated (there's no dedicated lot nearby, so I hope you're great at parallel parking!), the line was only a dozen people and we were seated in about 30 minutes.

Do you think 30 minutes is too long of a time to wait for brunch? Go, then, because that leaves more room at the inn for those of us who crave brunch like what's served here.

The Flying Biscuit has breakfast all day, which is fabulous. But if you're not an "I will eat eggs, bacon and grits at all hours of the day and night" type of person, the restaurant also features a ton of non-breakfast eats too. Arriving at prime Atlanta brunch time like we did made that decision hard on me -- did I want an egg-y meal or should I sway to the side of the Coca-Cola Chicken BBQ Burrito?!

After settling on eggs Benedict, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. Flying Biscuit is a fun little place. It has exposed elements that give it a casual industrial air. The walls are painted in bright colors and big, bold patterns. Well, what you can see of the walls, that is. There's so many awards in the front room it's clear to see why that line I observed existed! The tablecloths are bright green, dated floral and vinyl-covered. The napkins are purple. You are surrounded by cheerfulness and the smells of hot black coffee, baking dough and bacon.

Swoon.

When the Southern Style Biscuit Benedict arrived, I scolded myself for waiting so long to eat here. How could I have let this fare escape my palate for more than two years?

I've never had a biscuit like this one. Because it's served open-faced with this meal, you can't tell that the unopened biscuits are approximately three to four inches high. They are dense, slightly sweet; the domed outer crust hiding a flaky carb surprise inside.  It is not at all a traditional Southern style biscuit in the manner I was raised to eat biscuits, but, as the guy in my favorite YouTube video says, "Oh my goodness; Oh my damn."

Not to worry, hungry people: pretty much every meal comes with the famed biscuit.

My open-faced biscuit was topped with pimento cheese, turkey bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise, then sprinkled with fresh basil. My mouth had a flavor explosion. The pimento cheese, like the biscuit, was unlike any I've ever had. The creamy spread had chunks of onions and a generous kick of spice. The turkey bacon was beautifully caramelized and had the perfect consistency. The buttery colored hollandaise and the golden yolk of the eggs seeped into every crevice of the biscuit, so every bite made you want to close your eyes and pretend you lived in this piquant alley of restaurant heaven forever.

And then you take a forkful of all that and dip it in the side of grits? Mother of Pearl.

The menu describes these grits as creamy and dreamy, and I'm at a loss for other adequate words. They remind me of the Charleston-style grits Mama makes (read: butter. milk. heavy cream. lots of it). So thick! So savory! So ... I don't want to use the word "dreamy" again, but let's suffice to say that these are the Frankie Avalon of the grits world.

Boozy Bonus (of the non-alcoholic variety)
This must have just been a day of brunch firsts for the Meatetarian, because I had another something I had to let my people know about. It is this delicacy called the chai tea latte. You may be familiar with this via Starbucks or other coffee shop menus and thus are thinking, "Why on Earth do I even read this girl's stuff?! If she doesn't know what a chai tea latte is she clearly has no idea what she's talking about."

Well, now I do, and now I will be getting them on the reg. From here. It's spiced ice tea mixed with dairy -- I didn't ask, but judging from my research on how to make them at home, "dairy" is a blend of milk and vanilla creamer -- and is the perfect not too sweet breakfast beverage.

I was so excited about the one I tried that last night I attempted to make my own!

Guess what, folks. My days as a barista are limited. Reckon I'll be heading back to Flying Biscuit after work to get my fix.

Maybe with some grits on the side.

L'eggo My Chicken and Waffles!

I've been waiting for ages to find the perfect time to write about my favorite Virginia Highlands restaurant, The Family Dog.

We ate here the first week I moved to Atlanta and it pretty much stuck as the best place on the planet. It's within walking distance of my apartment (which makes returning from a night of boozing reminiscent of college), it's affordable, it's an incredible atmosphere and the food is damn good. Though I'm not writing about them today, I recommend whatever fish sandwich happens to be on the menu, the smoked duck quesadilla (it's enough for a meal, promise), Rosebud pimento cheese with spicy saltines and the oyster po'boy, which occasionally crops up on the summer menu. There are exactly zero disappointments that come from this place. Rosebud, FYI, is another one of the four restaurants owned by Chef Ron Eyester -- the other two are Timone's and Diner.

I give a thumbs-up to the chicken and waffle melt.

The most recent visit to Family Dog was for a specific purpose. Its new menu was released, which included some tempting new brunch and breakfast items. Namely, chicken and waffles.

Somehow, despite being born and raised in the South, chicken and waffles bypassed me as a traditional meal. Then suddenly three years ago everyone is going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for chicken and waffles. It's like if your restaurant didn't have an ode to chicken and waffles you deserved to shut your doors and suffer in silence at lack of customers. But none of the restaurants I frequented offered chicken and waffles, and I wasn't exactly seeking it out. I've heard the best come from Ms. Gladys Knight herself, so look forward for a second C&W write-up when I make it over there!

There are two chicken and waffle options on the new Family Dog brunch menu. First is under the sandwiches category: fried chicken and waffle melt. The second is the chicken and waffle plate.

I ended up with both -- new menu = slight confusion = wrong dish brought to the table = new order put in -- and it was the closest thing to perfect food heaven I'd felt in a while.

The sandwich was the original order, so in the confusion it came out second. Thus, I shall start with a look at the plate. The fried chicken was boneless and doused in this sweet pepper sauce. It added a sour tang that made each bite of chicken + waffle + syrup just divine. The chicken was thick, moist and came out nice and hot. And I'm not sure what the waffle makings in the back are, but this was no Eggo. This was a deep caramel-colored waffle crisp on the outside, light and fluffy within and dusted with powdered sugar. I easily could have eaten the entire thing and forgotten about the sandwich ... but I wanted to give both a try. I took tiny bites like the kind a 2-year-old takes of peas they're trying to avoid eating. Except I wasn't trying to avoid eating it because it was revolting, but rather it was so delicious I wanted to savor each forkful.

When the sandwich arrived, I was already pretty full. I was not prepared for the tower of tastiness that was placed in front of me. If you've ever had one of Chick-fil-A's new (I think new?) chicken, egg and cheese sandwiches, you've had a fast-food version. It's two of those fabulous waffle triangles and heaped between is another mouthwatering chicken thigh (fried, boneless and sauceless), freshly scrambled eggs and Tillamook cheddar.

*** Pardon me while I take you on a quick field trip to Tillamook County in Oregon, the land from whence this cheddar comes. Go explore the website. It's fun. And it makes you wish you were a full magazine owner who could disappear off to Oregon at the drop of a hat and go watch cheese being made.

Now that you're fully versed in Tillamook cheddar, you can understand how the cheese plays an important part in the chicken and waffle melt at Family Dog. I mean, in order to be a "melt" a sandwich must contain cheese. Plus it's a mild cheddar, which I think was great for this sandwich. Don't go in here expecting a light chicken sandwich when you order this, either. No veggies, no aioli, no fancy: just chicken, egg, cheese, waffle. Oh, and syrup to dip in. Hot syrup.

Clearly I'm over here salivating just thinking of chicken and waffles. I have no idea how this meal escaped me for 26 years, but man am I glad I finally got some to gnaw on.

Both of these dishes are getting added to the list of "Dallas' Favorite Food at Family Dog" ... which is to say, everything on the menu.

Cinco de Taco

Like every fast food junkie who's hit up T-Bell at 3 a.m. in an effort to fulfill the desires of post-drinking food needs, when I heard the chain was offering free biscuit tacos on Cinco de Mayo, I jumped at the chance. I forced myself to wake up early (because the nearest Taco Bell is in the exact opposite direction of my office), make myself presentable and join the throngs of 20-somethings arriving promptly 7 a.m. to see whether or not we'll deign to be so-called "breakfast defectors."

By "throngs of 20-somethings" I mean me and the one other car that showed up at 7:02 a.m. The throngs are the ones who rolled out of bed at 10, assumed that only hungover college students cared about free food and marched en masse to Taco Bell only to realize that they  had been duped by those of us who have jobs, must be awake before 7 a.m. and hang on to every reminder of our inebriated college past by taking advantage of free food whenever offered. So, by the time the throngs arrived, there were no free biscuit tacos left for them, and now they're doing what kids do these days and posting mean things on social media.

Meanwhile, as these young things were sleeping, innocently assuming there would be free food awaiting them in three hours, I moseyed into my office, bacon-egg-cheese biscuit taco and bacon-egg-cheese A.M. Crunchwrap in hand, excited to celebrate this mostly American holiday with some very American things: fast food, free fast food, bacon and biscuits.

The A.M. Crunchwrap: bacon, egg, shredded cheddar and a hashbrown patty,
all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

I began with the A.M. Crunchwrap. As my bestie and favorite fellow 3 a.m. T-Bell frequenter Gena knows well, I am a mad fan of the Crunchwrap. The regular Crunchwrap Supreme is a layer of beef, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce and various other taco toppings stacked on a flattened hardshell taco, all wrapped in a huge soft tortilla. Dip that into some sauce and you've got one of my top five fast food items! Now, there are no vegetables in the A.M. Crunchwrap. It is carb and protein loading to the max. You've got the flour tortilla still, but this time it is wrapped around a hashbrown patty and topped with chopped bacon, scrambled egg and the signature Taco Bell shredded cheddar cheese, plus a kick courtesy of some sort of jalapeno cream sauce.

It tasted good. Like, I would go back and get it again after approximately three days of jogging around the neighborhood twice a day good. I liked that the bacon was crumbled, because you didn't have to worry about only taking one bite and suddenly the whole strip is coming out ... and then you're left with naught but egg and cheese. The scrambled eggs weren't bad. They didn't necessarily taste like something a Michelin star chef would put out there, but they weren't rubbery or hard and were sufficiently salty. Alas, the sauce (and for some reason this always happens with Crunchwraps) ended up all in one corner, so it wasn't until I was two-thirds done with my breakfast that I even realized there was sauce in it. And that was a shame, because the sauce gave a freshness and a zing to the salty flavors of the protein and carbohydrate ingredients! So, note to self, next time I'm ordering an extra tub of that on the side for dipping.

The issue I have with the A.M. Crunchwrap is the "crunch" part. In the regular menu Crunchwrap, that tortilla shell crunches quite satisfactorily when you chomp down, plus the iceberg lettuce and the tomatoes give a little bit more texture. The morning variety, sadly, does not provide that same experience. Though putting a hashbrown inside is a good idea in theory, it's easy to execute poorly. There was no satisfactory crunch from a crispy fried shredded potato patty. It was as if someone hadn't let the oil get hot enough in the fryer before dropping them in, so they absorbed too much oil and came out greasy. Fix that issue, add some more of that sauce, and this ain't a bad way to start the morning if you don't want to spend a fortune at Panera for a "healthy" carbohydrate-laden breakfast or are tired of your regular Chick-fil-A and McDonald's fare.

Onto the real reason why I showed up at Taco Bell at 7:02 a.m.: the biscuit taco. Yes, I got the bacon here again (there are sausage varieties of both), but if you've been following me, you undoubtedly read my post about bratwurst and thus my diatribe against breakfast sausage. So, bacon it is!

I knew it was going to be tough to convert me, a Southern born-and-bred woman who grew up on soul food and fresh-made biscuits cut with a jar top, to something like this. But I tried to go in with an open mind, and hey, it was free. Plus, it looked cute! Great packaging -- a little cardboard taco shell holder that claims "The world is your biscuit. Devour it." I unwrap this delicacy and think, "Heck yes, I will devour you."

Then I took a bite.

Bad news, y'all. Despite its promising exterior, the biscuit taco was lackluster.

The bacon, egg and cheese biscuit taco, wrapped in its signature packaging,
along with the day's receipt for "a Cinco de Mayo miracle."

The biscuit part of the taco is interesting. The inside is crumbly and gives you the mouthfeel of a biscuit, but the outside is almost rubbery. I mean, I understand that food science was involved here and Taco Bell had to figure out a way to get a soft, buttery, typically not flexible biscuit to bend into a taco shell shape, but it's by no means my favorite thing on the Taco Bell menu.

The construction of the biscuit taco was pretty genius: like a regular taco that has ground beef topped with stuff and cheese on top, the biscuit taco featured ground meat (bacon, in my case), the same scrambled eggs as on the A.M. Crunchwrap and again, that shredded cheddar.

Y'all I'mma be cleaning bacon off my desk for a while. The half-inch thick generous helping of crumbled bacon did not want to stay in the biscuit taco. It was messy. Not something I would recommend eating in the car while driving.

Do I appreciate Taco Bell feeding me for mostly free (I bought the Crunchwrap)? Yes.

Would I call myself a "breakfast defector" after this morning? Nah.

But if I ever do need to break out of my traditional spicy chicken biscuit boredom (not sure that sort of boredom exists; I really like spicy chicken biscuits) and have a few spare minutes to wait for a perfectly fried hashbrown patty to stuff in an A.M. Crunchwrap, I'd go back and grab one. They do say variety of the spice of life, especially when that variety comes with a side of spicy jalapeno sauce.