Sugar Shack in the Back (from the owners of the Fickle Pickle)

Bagel bombs and mini-quiche 

I want to be good. I want to eat only healthy, organic vegetables. I want to be a vegan until 6PM every day. I want to run marathons, do yoga and eat only locally farmed, sustainably raised eggs. I want to be good.

Then Andy Badgett has to go and open another goddamned restaurant.

Badgett's been kicking around historic Roswell, owning and operating several great restaurants including Asher, Relish and Pico Autentico. However, he's best known for Fickle Pickle Cafe, a Canton street mainstay as long as I've lived in Roswell. I don't go as often as I used to. There's more choices in the neighborhood than there used to be. But you still can't beat a basket of fried pickles fresh from the kitchen served up alongside the Oooey Gooey sandwich (grilled pimento cheese and pepper jelly, on whole grain sourdough.) Yum.

The Sugar Shack in the Back takes the barn behind the Fickle Pickle, which was previously their events facility, and transforms it into a cozy little bakery. We know from the dessert selection at the Pickle, that Badgett and his staff can put together a mean carrot cake cookie and red velvet cupcake. This bakery concept takes that and cranks it up to 11, adding breakfast pastries, made to order biscuit sandwiches and coffee. Vanilla glazed beignet share a case with jalapeño cheese bagel bombs and an assortment of flakey turnovers, both sweet and savory. You can watch the guy behind the counter rolling cookie dough in a bowl of M&Ms and laying it on a cookie sheet.

Frosted cinnamon rolls 

Tuesday was the "Friends & Family" preview. It was advertised on Facebook, so we decided to try them out for breakfast. (Disclosure: Since this was a special event, our meals were complimentary.) Years ago, Fickle Pickle experimented with a breakfast menu and my husband spied the return of his favorite and most lamented chicken biscuit ever at The Sugar Shack. I, of course, had to try the Ooey Gooey biscuit. The chicken biscuit was as good as remembered. It's a flakey, buttery biscuit, stuffed with a fried chicken breast, cheese and an egg cooked to order. My biscuit was filled with pimento cheese, bacon and sweet red pepper jelly. Both were very good, though my sandwich could have benefited from warming up the pimento cheese before serving. The cold wad of cheese was a little off-putting. I told my server when she asked for feedback and she promised to follow up.

The reason elastic waistbands were invented

The glass case wrapping around the room was only partly filled, but the ice cream freezer was fully stocked. An enthusiastic member of the staff explained that made to order ice cream sandwiches are part of the offerings. Choose a cookie and then your ice cream and someone will assemble it right in front of you. They'll even do it with one of their cupcakes, which sounds like a good enough reason to wear stretchy pants for the rest of my life.

They only serve coffee and lattes as drinks right now. Orange juice is reportedly on it's way. These are nothing fancy, just something to wash your pastry down with. I enjoyed my chai latte.

Time will tell if this bakery will stick around. The location, tucked away behind Fickle Pickle doesn't do it any favors. Parking is notoriously tricky there, but during the week, there is overflow at Founders Hall across the street. Or you can do what I'm likely to do and park at City Hall. It's only a half mile walk. It's not hard. But the food is well worth the trip and the owner has a great track record. If you are looking for a casual breakfast option, this is a great place.

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