Tuesdays with TT: CT at Highland Bakery

I am taking this week off and handing over the reins to my eater in crime, CT. Bon Appetit- TT.

Every year, my office sends us away for our annual training. This year we were in Atlanta, the land of great chefs such as Top Chef’s Richard Blais and Kevin Gillespie. So I decided to take this opportunity to write my inaugural solo restaurant review. It was my first time in the “deep south” and fortunately my friends and I found a local to provide us with some advice on where to eat in the city.

We arrived early Saturday morning, so first thing on our minds – Brunch! Based on the advice of our local friend, we jumped in a cab to Highland Bakery.

When we got there, the place was packed – a great sign for any brunch spot but unfortunate for our hungry tummies. In the front area, there was a take-out counter – everything baked fresh on the premises!

So we decided to each have a mini-cupcake to hold us over. Others got the red velvet and chocolate varieties. They all seemed to happily gobble them down. I saw one with a raspberry on top and had to get it!

It was delicious! The frosting was raspberry-vanilla and not too sweet. The cupcake itself was a vanilla cake with raspberry bits swirled in and super moist. A perfect start to a meal! And only $1 – $1.50 for each.

About 30 minutes later we got seated at our table. We knew right away that we would be ordering the sweet potato pancakes based on our local friend’s advice; however since everything on the menu sounded delicious and we all just had a sweet cupcake to start, we decided to share the pancakes. And boy am I glad we did! It was a huge plate with just the right balance of sweet and cinnamon though not overpowering the rest of our meals.

As this was my first time to the south, I wanted to try the shrimp and grits, but I was also concerned that I wouldn’t like grits. I asked the waitress if I could taste a bite of grits before ordering and she happily obliged.

I wasn’t immediately won over by the taste, but I decided to get it anyways. And it was the right decision. The dish came with a huge bowl of grits with 6-8 plain shrimp and a cheesy jalapeno sauce. With it was fresh baked jalapeno bread which was amazing! Light and buttery with bits of chopped jalapenos – just enough kick without burning your mouth. Everyone at the table loved it!

The other girls got Crab Cake Benedict (with crab cakes instead of the traditional Canadian bacon), tofu scramble, and an Italian veggie sandwich. Everyone agreed that the bread was fresh and delicious across the board. I tried the Crab Cake Benedict and it was great! Real crab and lots of it – barely any filler in sight! The eggs on top were perfectly poached and just a little runny to flavor the grits. YUM! I didn’t try the sandwich or tofu scramble. My friend with the sandwich seemed to like it enough as it was gone quickly, however the tofu scramble got “just ok” reviews.

Overall, this was an excellent recommendation by our local friend and we all had to roll ourselves out the door. The food was delightful and the service was great. If I’m ever in Atlanta again, I will definitely be going back and also trying the peanut butter French toast. We saw a few pass by our table and wow! It looked like another heavenly treat.