sunrise biscuit co., marietta, ga

I always warned my readers (is the plural even necessary, much less singular?) that this would be a dumping ground for my chaotic and unpredictable whims for online publishing. My latest idea is to provide insight on the restaurants where I end up from time to time. I always avoid the chains when I can and it seems that I can never really find good, quality information about some of these smaller establishments. So if you want an honest, not-picky, rarely critical review of some interesting little spots that I happen upon in my day-to-day journeys, then read on! Otherwise, go stick a pork rind in your ear.

Today, I was out and about around my home turf and realized a small, uncrowded breakfast shop on Canton Road on the left just before you hit Hawkins Store Road going northbound. It is called the Sunrise Biscuit Company and if you know how much of a sucker I am for a good biscuit then you know that stopping in for a taste was not a want but rather a necessity.

I am usually wary of places with few or no customers and it's generally a rule that it's off limits, but there were a couple of nice motorcycles in the parking lot and if you know anything about the average motorcycle rider it's fairly certain that they usually have the inside scoop on good grub. Besides, it was about 9 AM, well after the construction crew rush so it may just be a lull before the lunch rush.

The place is well kept. It has a small, local feel but a little more well-maintained than most ordinary breakfast/lunch-only restaurants that I'm used to. The waitress, Tami, greeted me kindly when I entered and showed me to a table. One patron was just leaving and the motorcycle couple was still seated at the table next to me so I didn't really break my rule. Tami asked what I'd like to drink and it being the morning and all my response was the usual, a nice cup of regular coffee. That decaff crap is for hippies and old people that can't handle the caffeine but still need to prompt their bowels that have been trained so well in the Pavlovian style. Besides, decaf (one 'f' or two??) seems so unnatural.

The cup of joe was larger than the usual cup and I appreciated that I didn't need an ice cube or two in order to drink it immediately without parboiling my tongue. In the style of Goldilocks, it was "just right."

Now it came time to order. I asked Tami what was good and she started rattling off pretty much 80% of the breakfast menu. She mentioned the bacon and biscuits and gravy so I asked her what I could order to try both without too much of one or the other, a good balance. She suggested the sunrise breakfast which was two eggs cooked to order (I take them scrambled), choice of meat (bacon, duhr!), choice of potatoes but I could substitute sausage gravy, and of course a biscuit. Perfect! She asked for my name and from then on she called me by name, Jehoshephat Larkins, for the rest of the morning. (nah, I told her my regular, bland name)

After reading that Belgium is on the brink again and how many more layoffs are expected at GM and Rubbermaid (woo hoo, a good news day!) the order arrived. Mmmm, smells and looks delicious!

The eggs were fork-scrambled and cooked omelet-style, folded, and presented on the plate. A little on the oily-side, but I should have tasted them before adding salt and pepper. They were already fairly salty from the pan and I put it over the edge. Still pretty good and cooked without browning the eggs, always a plus in my book.

The biscuit was rather tasty, light, just fluffy enough, and browned perfectly! I added some sausage gravy to the rest. The gravy was rather run-of-the-mill and too thick/lumpy for my preference, but it did have real sausage bits and grease in it and it seemed to be made by hand rather than from a packet (not that I verified for certain with the cook) so maybe it had just been simmering for too long from an earlier breakfast rush.

Oh, the bacon. Talk about tasty! I complimented Tami on the bacon and she said that it is applewood-smoked. And the thickness is just right for cooking. You get a little bit of crisp, but also the tenderness of the cured meat. It had a nice smoke flavor with a very distinct maple syrup flavor that seemed to come from the smoke rather than artificial flavoring. I'm no expert on such matters, but it seemed authentic.

So, if you're ever in the greater Marietta area and are looking for a good breakfast, this is definitely an option. There are a few other good breakfast/lunch places around as well and I'll post about them as soon as I revisit one of them.