Brunch at Artisan Foods Bakery & Cafe

My husband and I have wildly divergent ideas on breakfast. I like things to taste good. He likes them convenient. So one Saturday morning, his brilliant plan for breakfast was that we'd both enjoy a leisurely morning in our jammies eating cold cereal and watching TV. My husband thinks cereal is a special treat, because we hardly ever buy it. He never realized that I never buy it because I associate it with sad people sitting by themselves in the dark, eating cereal out of mixing bowls, with only the cold flicker of the television set for company. Yes, I am aware that this indicates all sorts of insane things about myself. I don't care. I'm never waking up and thinking "Yes! Cereal!" If you see me eating it, it's because it's my least objectionable option.

Anyways, I threw one of my fits and we ended up having brunch at Artisan Foods that day. I feel like everyone wins when you're not eating cereal for breakfast.

Artisan Foods is easily one of the best restaurants in Roswell. It's consistently rated high by the AJC, Creative Loafing, Yelp and Urbanspoon. Tucked away behind the Raiford Art Gallery in the Historic District, it consistently serves out high quality breads, pastries, scones, croissant and more six days a week. Tuesday through Saturday, they serve breakfast and lunch in their charming dining room and adjacent porch. When I was in grad school one summer I'd come at least once week to eat French toast and use their wi-fi while desperately trying to stay on top of my research project (If you're wondering how I did, please note the lack of M.Ed. after my name. I'll try again, hopefully this summer.)

The aforementioned French toast is a thick, eggy slice of brioche served with fresh fruit and a lemony creme anglaise drizzle. I like to get an order of chicken sausage with mine, which comes as free formed patty flecked with peppers. It's a little dry, but a quick dunk in the warm maple syrup that comes with my french toast fixes that nicely. Sweet and spicy is a magic combo.

My husband likes the omelets. They are perfectly made, with delicate, crisp brown edges and your choice of fillings. Today I'm getting Eggs Sardou, a creole riff on Eggs Benedict that includes fresh baby spinach leaves and artichoke bottoms. Artisan's hollandaise sauce has a touch too much lemon for my taste, but the artichokes need the extra acidity to come to life.

We also sample a "croignet", their version of the super trendy cronut and also sold at Roswell Provisions   (In fact, Artisan Foods supplies many of the baked goods sold by Provisions.) and a beignet. Between Artisan Foods and Adele's, I'm calling the beignet race in favor of Artisan. Soft, pillowy and dense, it comes mounded with the traditional powdered sugar and can be ordered either one or three at a time. One of my favorite things here is the "Yuzu Basil Orangade". Yuzu is a sour, asian citrus fruit and Artisan Foods blends it's juice with orange juice and a muddle of basil for a slightly more complex take on traditional orange juice.

So yes, brunch in Artisan Foods Bakery and Cafe's warm, sunny dining room is quite a bit better than eating cold cereal in the dark. My husband will never admit it though.




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