Recently my family and I visited Chicken and the Egg. Tucked back into a nondescript strip mall in Marietta GA, Chicken and the Egg is a large but cozy space that’s designed with soft colors and rich wood tones.  Once you enter the restaurant, you walk past the well stocked bar (which, on that day, held large punch dispensers of sangria; a wine room is located behind the bar) and step down to enter the main dining room.

We were there during brunch hours and Chicken and the Egg has an extensive brunch menu. From the “before brunch” portion of the menu we ordered fried okra. The tasty okra had a fairly thick but still crunchy cornmeal coating and was served with a grainy Creole mustard sauce.

The okra got us off to a good start, but we were all looking forward to our main dishes. My son ordered the FGT (fried green tomato) BLT with a side of fries. The sandwich was served on buttery, toasted challa with thick sliced bacon, shredded lettuce and zesty pimento cheese. This huge sandwich with it’s tangy, crisp fried tomatoes was the best dish of the bunch. The fries were great, too. My son said they were some of the best he’s had and who is a better judge of French fries than a 12 year old boy?

My daughter ordered the veggie omelette with two sausage links and a biscuit. The open faced omelette was beautiful with fresh, bright tomatoes, sauteed spinach and mushrooms. I’m not sure, but I believe the sausages were made in house. I’ll have to check on that and let you know. What I do know is that sausages were plump and delicious. The biscuits at Chicken and the Egg are fluffy tasty goodness.

Hubby ordered the Southern cast iron scramble with eggs, rustic, skin on roasted potatoes a biscuit on the bottom, gravy coating the top and bacon…well it was supposed to have bacon. Unfortunately the bacon was M.I.A. and we had to ask the server to bring some. It was quite a manly dish and he enjoyed it. The eggs were cooked well, nice and fluffy, the chunky potatoes were seasoned nicely and the bacon was delicious.

Now to my meal.  First let me preface this portion of the review by saying that when I see corned beef hash on a menu I’m going to order it, guaranteed. I get excited about corned beef hash, maybe more excited than I should be. Unfortunately every time I order it I’m disappointed and this was no exception. ( BTW I apologize for picture quality. My phone and I just could not get this right)
The potatoes were slightly underdone giving them an unpleasant texture. There was little corned beef and it was was ground so very fine that there was nothing bite into. I couldn’t taste much corned beef at all.  The menu specified onions, peppers and garlic in the dish, but none were visible. It could have used a spin in a skillet as well.

We finished with an order if donuts which were on the “before brunch” menu but the kids just couldn’t get behind the idea of having donuts before the meal. I was shocked by this development, so much so that I find it hard to put into words. The order contained three donuts ( one chocolate one vanilla and one strawberry) and each was large enough to cut into four pieces to share.  Sorry I don’t have a picture of the donuts but they were so good I couldn’t get a pic before they were gone. It was a fun and tasty way to end the meal.

Our server was pleasant but a bit clumsy and forgetful (no sorghum butter for the fluffy biscuits, long wait for him to return to the table) which doesn’t bother me much but annoys my husband.  He was friendly and knowledgeable,  with time he’ll probably get better.

Over all the food was good but the restaurant has the potential to be great.  They use fresh, local ingredients and their passion for quality is apparent.   I hope to get back to Chicken and the Egg soon for the fried chicken at their family style Sunday supper.