Many people say the last thing Atlanta needs is another Italian restaurant. But I beg to differ. Like many others living in the Morningside area, I had been waiting for the Italian restaurant Timone’s (pronounced tih-moh-neyz) to reopen after it closed for renovations last fall. Timone’s is chef Ron Eyester’s third restaurant in Morningside Village, stationed adjacent to Rosebud and across the street from The Family Dog, his other two restaurants. Eyester was recently a contestant on the show Top Chef, and I was intrigued at what additions and changes he would make to “top” the restaurant off.

As I walked up to the establishment, I was greeted by the sound of the Talking Heads song, “Once in a Lifetime.” David Byrne’s crooning of “same as it ever was” described the opposite of what the establishment seemed when I stepped inside.

To my left was a fridge full of various bottled and canned drinks as well as items like fruit salad. On the other side of the door were many shelves stocked with everything from giant jars of Nutella, to artichoke hearts, to paper towels. Adjacent to that was a deli counter containing a multitude of meats and large dishes, including macaroni salad and pickles. This addition of a deli/small grocery seemed like a gutsy move because Alon’s Bakery, which has a large grocery section as well as its actual bakery, is right across the street from Timone’s.

Before the renovation, Timone’s operated like a traditional restaurant: a hostess seated customers at tables, and then a waiter came to take orders. Now, patrons order at the counter and wait for their food to come to them. I ordered the white bean bruschetta ($6.50) to start, with a slice of white pizza ($4) and the Three Salad Sampler ($8).

I sat down, and my bruschetta arrived me only a few minutes later. I was curious about how the traditional dish would taste like with the white beans, and although I enjoyed the sweet tomato and the crunchy celery, the large ratio of beans to classic ingredients made it much chunkier and heavier than I expected. Its name was fitting, though, as beans were definitely the focus of the dish. Before I could even start my second piece of bruschetta, my pizza and salad platter arrived. The white pizza was something I had eagerly been awaiting, as it was my favorite dish from the restaurant before its renovations. Boy, did it deliver. Each cheese topping on the pizza had its own distinct taste and texture—gooey, creamy, nutty—but their differences didn’t stop them from blending together perfectly. The crust melted in my mouth, and I would have eaten the entire giant slice had I more room in my stomach.

The salad platter was up next, with a scoop of tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad neatly placed on a bed of mixed greens. I laughed when it came out; it was plated more like an ice cream sundae than a salad. I sampled the egg salad first and was surprised at how even the distribution of the yolk and egg was. It was sweet and light, and the lack of crunch worked well when eaten with the greens.

I then moved on to the tuna salad. It was good but nothing special. I probably could have made something similar at home with a can of grocery store tuna. I wished the dish had come with crackers or something of the sort, for the slight bitterness of the greens weren’t the best compliment. Still, I enjoyed it.

The chicken salad, though, was a whole other story. It might have been the nature of the chicken, but it was more like a little pile of chicken pieces than chicken salad. The chicken was dry and a little rubbery and my least favorite out of all three salads.

I took the leftover bruschetta and salad to go, and took much joy in flattening the metal around the top of the circular take out containers. Thankfully, I didn’t need to talk to anyone during the walk home; between the beans, tuna and cheese, my breath was probably horrendous. It was a small price to pay for such a good meal, and I plan on returning to Timone’s to eat more white pizza slices than I care to share. And honestly, how bad can a place be when you can get pizza and a giant jar of Nutella in one trip?