An Insider's Guide to Historic Roswell

Historic Roswell is amazing, especially Canton Street. There's so much to see and do and it just gets more exciting every year. When I first moved to Roswell and discovered Canton street, there were only a handful of shops and restaurants. Now it's becoming a destination dining scene with frequent activities like Alive After 5, First Friday Art Walks, and the upcoming Roswell Beer Festival. It's getting pretty crowded over there. Here's my picks for the best spots in Historic Roswell with a focus on avoiding the crowds.  Soon, you too, can be a smug, suburban hipster like me.

Parking

Even the back alleys of Historic Roswell look really cool. 

Parking can be a nightmare on Canton street. There are only a couple public lots and they fill up quickly, no matter the time of day. At night, they become valet only. I always park at the nearby City Hall. It's free, there are 400 spots available, and no one seems to know about it. Yes, it's a tiny walk and it's dark at night. Get over it. It's not that far, even if you are walking all the way to Woodstock road and you are in Roswell, not east Atlanta. It's aggravation free parking.

Drinks

I really like the bar at the Mill Kitchen & Bar. It's lots of lovely dark wood, excellent crafted cocktails, a large selection of bourbons and good service. I'm kinda meh on the rest of the restaurant, but the bar is a winner. If you are just looking to meet someone for a drink, go here.

Steak and Eggs Benedict at Little Alley. 

Brunch

I have a couple picks here. If you are in a rush, or just want something light, check out Roswell Provisions. They serve pastries, coffee, tea and hot chocolate all day. On weekend mornings they have a limited selection of hot items, like breakfast sandwiches. They have limited seating when they are busy, so you might find yourself on a park bench across the street.

For a longer brunch, go next door to Little Alley Steaks. They don't advertise it, but they do a great, not terribly expensive brunch menu on Sundays. It's not well known, so the restaurant isn't as crowded as it usually is and the service is excellent. I reviewed it more completely back in October.



If you had too much fun the night before and you are getting up late, PURE taqueria on Alpharetta highway is practically empty at 11 am when it first opens and does a latin inspired brunch menu on Sundays. If you like their food, but hate their crowds, this is a good time to visit. Just note that since they aren't a traditional brunch place, they don't serve orange juice or coffee.



  Dinner

Short rib burger at Artisan Foods

There are so many places to get dinner in Historic Roswell. But if you want something quiet and not busy, hit up Artisan Foods Cafe on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night for their weekly Burger & Beignet special. They do a short rib burger on a soft brioche bun that is amazing, along with ground lamb, turkey, shrimp and vegetarian options. At ten dollars, it's not a cheap burger and sides are extra, but it's very good quality. You'll have the restaurant almost to yourself and as they don't have a liquor license, they allow you to bring your own bottles. Depending on how much you drink with dinner, that might balance your equation a bit.





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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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Brunch at Little Alley Steaks

Sunday morning, my husband told me to get dressed for brunch. "Where are we going?" I asked. It was sort of late in the morning and most brunch places would be packed. Was it really worth it to go out and wait in line for a table somewhere, when I could just scramble some eggs and mix up some muffins in the same amount of time?  "It's a surprise." he told me. I love his surprises. So I got dressed and we went over to Little Alley Steaks to enjoy their Sunday brunch.

Brunch at Little Alley seems like a hidden gem. Everyone knows about Little Alley's fabulous dinner service, featuring melt in your mouth steaks by Linz, a beautiful bourbon bar and amazing sides created with fresh, local ingredients. At night, the restaurant bustles with noise. Expensive people wearing expensive clothes sip expensive wines.  Servers in impossibly white aprons serve sizzling hot steaks on cast iron pans, drizzled with herb infused oils. It's a big, dramatic, exciting place to see and be seen.

But brunch? Quieter. More casual. The dining room is almost empty, except for a few other couples. Our waiter is quietly attentive, rather than the ostentatious "How may I serve you?" attitude they have at dinner. The brunch menu follows Little Alley's aesthetic of picking a couple things to really excel at. They have a selection of omelets with various fillings, as well as the expected "steak and eggs" and several riffs on the eggs Benedict. The menu fills out with an array of salads, appetizers and the surprisingly amazing grilled tofu (Seriously. This is a must try.), all from the dinner menu.

I tried the filet mignon and eggs benedict, featuring velvety soft sous vide eggs, beurre blanc sauce and perfectly medium slices of filet mignon over a toasted english muffin. It came with a choice of cheese grits or roasted fingerling potatoes. The grits were soft and creamy with just the right amount of gooey cheese and topped with crisp bacon crumbles. It reminded me of risotto.

My husband had the steak and eggs. It featured another perfectly cooked steak, alongside two sunny side up eggs with delicate, crispy brown edges, a toasted english muffin and a green peppercorn sauce in a tiny gravy boat. I want my own gravy boat! Do you have any idea how much I love gravy? Don't answer that.

The prices are lower than for dinner, but still a bit higher than you'd pay at Thumbs Up or Flying Biscuit. This isn't a neighborhood flap jack joint. It's intended to be an occasion, just like dinner. But if you want to sample their cuisine, without dealing with the crowds, this is a good opportunity.

So why is brunch at Little Alley so under appreciated? It might be the lack of advertising. They don't list the brunch menu on the website. It gets an occasional mention on their Facebook page. We knew about it from the placard they hang on the sidewalk on Sunday mornings while brunch is being served. It seems very much like the owners want to keep brunch a little quieter and less fraught than the dinner hours. And that's just fine with me. I like knowing that when my husband wants to treat me special, there's a lovely secret brunch place waiting for me on Canton street.

UPDATE:

I get asked frequently about prices for Little Alley's brunch after publishing this piece. Since they don't post a menu anywhere, it's tough to decide if this is within your price range. So I snapped this picture on a recent visit. This is only half the menu. The other side is the stuff they also serve for dinner and you can find those prices elsewhere. Hope this helps you decide to visit Little Alley. It's one of the best restaurants in Atlanta and worth a trip any time of day.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Little Alley now offers a brunch buffet. The price is $26.95 per person, according to their Facebook page. I haven't been yet, but I bet it's as amazing as the rest of their food. Someone go check it out for me!

 

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