Sunday, May 04, 2008
Food
The morning after
New and noteworthy brunch spots
CREDIT:Courtesy of Ray’s Restaurants
By Kirsten Ott
PREP YOURSELF
Iron your Dockers and Polos—the J. Crew-vibed Ray’s on the River and Ray’s Killer Creek has lowered their Sunday brunch price to $23.95. The chain’s been serving its cornucopia buffet for more than 22 years. Several serving stations offer more than 50 menu items. The made-to order omelet station offers real bacon crumbles and other tempting fillers. If you’re in the mood for the standard breakfast, help yourself to the farm-fresh scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese grits, hashbrowns, Applewood smoked bacon, country sausage, eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles, French toast, freshly baked breads, muffins, scones, croissants and bagels. Feeling more like lunch? Start with the salad bar, which is teaming with greens, pastas and cheeses. The entrée station is lined with trays of appetizing favorites, including sliced flank steak with red wine demi glaze and penne pasta with smoked mushrooms and bacon, and seasonally rotating dishes, such as flounder-wrapped crab and other seafood selections. If you have any room left in your stomach, the desserts are indulgent and worth the cheating on a diet. Don’t miss Ray’s signature banana pudding. Ray’s on the River is located at 6700 Powers Ferry Road in Sandy Springs. 770-955-1187. Ray’s Killer Creek is located at 1700 Mansell Road at Alpharetta. 770-649-0064. www.raysrestaurants.com.
GOOD LIBATIONS
Would you rather just keep drinking when you wake up? Vita, Tony LaRocco’s new Italian restaurant in the old Mick’s location in Buckhead, now offers a bellini brunch every Saturday and Sunday. For $6 a pop, these tasty bellinis are a Georgia peach’s dream cocktail. Or spice it up with a Bloody Mary, the ultimate hangover cure, for $5. The choice menu heralds four to five brunch items, such as spinach frittata, French toast with Italian country bread and the Vita omelet, all of which are served with fresh fruit and roasted potatoes. 2110 Peachtree Road. 404-367-8482. www.vitaatl.com.
BET THE FARM
From Lorenzo Wyche (of the Harlem Bar and Rare) comes a new concept in the first meal of the day. The Social House is a quaint and intimate gathering place for breakfast served throughout the day. It seats about 50 folks now, but when the deck construction is complete, many more people will be able to dig in to the down-home dishes like New Orleans-style bread pudding; chicken and waffles; the whole farm breakfast sandwich (a triple-decker stacked with two farm-fresh eggs, bacon, sausage and gouda cheese stuffed between two pecan butter-brushed Belgian waffles); fried green tomato crepes; and Georgia blueberry pancakes. 1663 Howell Mill Road. 404-350-1938. www.socialhouseatl.com. SP
When she’s not checking out restaurants, interviewing chefs or nodding off after her fifth glass of wine, Life, Food & Style Editor Kirsten Ott dishes culinary and cocktail insights. E-mail her at kirstenott@sundaypaper.com.