Breakfast in Atlanta: Biscuits, Grits and Pancakes

Breakfast in Atlanta runs from a lemon pepper chicken biscuit in Grant Park to shrimp and grits near the stadium. Five places that local coverage keeps naming are Bomb Biscuit, Buttermilk Kitchen, The General Muir, Atlanta Breakfast Club and The Little Tart Bakeshop, and the sections below explain what each is known for.

What does breakfast in Atlanta usually look like?

A Southern morning table has a few fixed points. There is a biscuit, which should be tall, layered and buttery. There are grits, a hot cornmeal porridge that can be creamy or coarse. There is gravy, a peppery sauce made from sausage drippings and flour. And there are eggs, pancakes or fried chicken, depending on how hungry you are.

Atlanta adds its own layers on top: Jewish delis with bagels and pastrami, bakeries with breakfast sandwiches, and Caribbean and Mexican kitchens that serve all day. Decide whether you want a plate you eat with a fork or something you carry to the car, and the choices narrow quickly.

Which Atlanta breakfast places do people go to?

Each of these appears in at least two independent outlets, one of them recent.

Bomb Biscuit. The Infatuation's breakfast guide places it in Grant Park and describes buttery, layered biscuits, the lemon pepper chicken biscuit and a separate takeout entrance. Atlanta Magazine's chef guide has a chef recommending the Pimento Chick biscuit.

Buttermilk Kitchen. The Infatuation lists the Buckhead restaurant for large biscuits, a pimento cheese omelet and chicken and waffles. Atlanta Magazine's older brunch list also describes made-from-scratch dishes, including buttermilk pancakes.

The General Muir. At Emory Point, The Infatuation praises its weekday breakfast, including a pastrami and egg sandwich on rye and chewy bagels. Atlanta Magazine's brunch list ranked it a Jewish-style deli brunch.

Atlanta Breakfast Club. Atlanta Magazine's chef guide has a chef recommending the shrimp and grits, and The Infatuation's stadium guide lists gulf shrimp with creamy grits, peach cobbler french toast and a chicken and waffle sandwich.

The Little Tart Bakeshop. A chef told Atlanta Magazine it serves the best breakfast sandwich in town, and The Infatuation's bakery guide lists its fruit tarts and quiches. It suits a pastry-and-sandwich morning.

What should you order for Atlanta biscuits and gravy?

Judge the biscuit before the gravy. A good one splits into layers, tastes of butter and holds together when you press it. Then look at the gravy: it should be peppery and creamy, with enough sausage to taste, and not so thick it sets on the plate.

If you are not sure, order the biscuit with a single topping and add a second visit for the next. Bomb Biscuit's lemon pepper chicken and Buttermilk Kitchen's large biscuits are different ideas of the same food, so trying both tells you which you prefer.

Where can you get an Atlanta grits breakfast?

Grits show up at the breakfast table in many forms. Atlanta Breakfast Club is known for gulf shrimp on creamy grits, a plate that works as a late breakfast or lunch. At other places, grits come as a side with eggs. Ask whether they are stone-ground, cheesy or plain, and whether they are made in house.

Creamy grits should be smooth and loose enough to run slightly when you tilt the bowl. If they set like cement, they have been sitting. Season them to taste, but taste first.

How do Atlanta pancakes and breakfast sandwiches compare?

Pancakes are a sit-down order: you want a table, syrup and a knife and fork. Buttermilk Kitchen is known for its buttermilk pancakes in the Atlanta Magazine list. Sandwiches are the opposite: a biscuit, bagel or brioche around egg and meat that you can carry. The Little Tart Bakeshop's breakfast sandwich and The General Muir's pastrami and egg on rye show how far the idea stretches.

Choose by how long you have. A pancake breakfast takes the better part of an hour, and a sandwich can be done in fifteen minutes.

How do you judge a breakfast plate so your rating helps the next person?

Rate what you ate, not the whole morning. Write one line on the biscuit or grits, one on the eggs or meat and one on how long you waited. Many popular Atlanta breakfast places draw lines on weekends, so say whether a weekday visit was easier. The Atlanta brunch guide covers the later end of the morning, the tacos guide covers breakfast tacos, and the bakeries guide covers pastries.

How can you rate and keep Atlanta breakfast spots in Mosey?

Mosey is a food app, and breakfast is easy to log. Only a place and stars are needed, but you can rate the dish by name, such as the lemon pepper biscuit, add a tag such as Good Portions or Quick Service, and attach a photo. The ratings page shows how.

Save each spot to a list called Atlanta breakfast, with a note on what to order and the best time to arrive, and send the invite link to the friends who eat with you. Tag the people at your table and they can add their own rating of the same meal.

See also the Grant Park guide, the Atlanta town hub and the US food guides.

Next time a biscuit is worth remembering, open the Mosey app, rate it by name and add the place to a breakfast list your friends can build with you.