The West Egg, a brunch restaurant located in the Westside of Atlanta, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. West Midtown, once a heavily industrialized region of the city, now hosts many art galleries, shops and restaurants. The up-and-coming area’s past and present can be seen in the decor of West Egg. The combination of modern and antique industrial furnishings complements the white and grey walls. Heavy, dark steel light fixtures hang above the bar as a reminder of of the region’s history. Oversized white subway tiles cover the right side of the restaurant while long green curtains hang down the left. Vintage steel windows converted into mirrors overlay portions of the tiles.
After a 20-minute wait on a Tuesday afternoon, during which I admired the light fixtures and color palette, my family and I were seated at a school lab table, similar to those at Grady. We perused the menu, which includes West Egg’s all-day breakfast, salads and sandwiches. The options ranged from daily pastries– which included white chocolate cheesecake, sweet potato pie, banana pudding, Coca-Cola cupcakes and other mouthwatering sweets– to a portabella panini which was served with mushrooms, arugula, red peppers, goat cheese and almond pesto on ciabatta.
After a few minutes of deliberation and a recommendation from our waiter, I ordered the BBQ pulled pork– with coleslaw and pickles on herb focaccia with french fries, while the rest of my family chose different dishes. All were between $8 and $11.
About 15 minutes after we ordered it, our food arrived. We had ordered a wide variety of very beige food that was served in generous portion sizes. I began to dig in. To my disappointment, the French fries were barely warm to the touch.
They were seasoned perfectly, but simply too cold to truly enjoy. I then turned to the pulled pork, hoping for a better result. I immediately bit into a large chunk of fatty meat. I carried on, optimistic for the better second bite. While the meat itself had improved, the pork was not very well flavored and although the top slice of the focaccia had a perfectly crunchy texture, the bottom slice was soggy. The lack of barbeque sauce was too noticeable to ignore, so I requested a side order of it. Once I spread the sweet and spicy condiment on the sandwich, it improved greatly.
While I was struggling to enjoy my meal, my sister could not stop raving about hers. She ordered the Blue Plate, an item on the breakfast menu. It came with two eggs, which she ordered over-medium, a biscuit, a choice of meat and either roasted garlic grits or skillet potatoes. She chose turkey sausage and the potatoes. The potatoes, in contrast to the fries, were steaming when bitten into and flavored just as nicely. The eggs were wonderfully cooked; the yolk was just barely, but still noticeably runny, the way my sister loves it.
The breakfast option was definitely the best on the table. The rest of my family made the mistake of not ordering what this restaurant specializes in. Unfortunately, I was far more impressed with the layout of the restaurant than the food itself, but my sister would say otherwise.
