Sundays seem to be a very popular day in the heart of Atlanta, especially for brunch/lunch. People coming from church or just those wanting to get a good early Sunday meal in. The eateries are just alive with people enjoying their life, celebrating birthdays, having romantic weekends or just enjoying the food.
Because of this, there are lines and long waits to get into some of the best and just most popular places.
We wanted to try out Egg Harbor Cafe. It's in Buckhead and shares the building with apartments, office buildings and Watershed - both are very popular and highly rated.
Egg Harbor Cafe has been around quite a while (since 1985 according to the mug above). It has a homely atmosphere and because of that, it's odd to find it where it is. When you're seated, it feels like you shouldn't be in the city and instead, just outside at a country diner-type place. But, this is part of its appeal - to be able to see the contrast of the bustling cosmopolitan city from where you're seated; in a charming country place.
We both went for a combo choice from Aimee's Gourmet Griddle, choosing the Harbor Signature pancakes - made with whole wheat. The eggs (with cheese) and bacon were great, but the pancakes were some of the best I have ever tasted. The best thing for me, was that I finished almost all of them. Despite visiting the States many times, I just can't expand my stomach enough to be able to always finish the stack of pancakes they give, especially early in the day. These, however, were different. The whole wheat really contributes to this as well as the flavour - giving the pancakes their own delicate flavour and sweetness. The coffee was pretty good too.
To pick back up on the long lines, our wait for the Egg Harbor was under an hour, with all the seats in the shared entry way of Watershed and Egg Harbor, full. Watershed was very enticing though. It was full to the brim with people and they had an upbeat New Orleans-sounding jazz band. I later came to find out that this is Watershed's thing. They have Sunday Jazz Brunch, with Ruby Red's Band, playing there, making the whole Sunday brunch experience fun and optimistic.
We had to pop in while we waited, and thought we would order something. This is when I had my first experience of beignets. What a deliciously light, perfectly sweet, fried dough puff parcels these were. We also had biscuits but these were an over-order on our part... One day I can hopefully do a full review experience of Watershed - especially for their famous Wednesday-only fried chicken.
For a look at the homely options of Egg Harbor Cafe, click here.