It's Follow Friday - Meet our Tweep of the Week @ChefPatricBell

West Egg Café on Atlanta's Westside is where many Atlantans head for their morning eye-openers and belly warming breakfasts.  What does Executive Chef Patric Bell do between bites?  He tweets funny stuff.  Please don't laugh with your mouth full...

Who's Open on Labor Day?

Forgot to clean the grill? Don't have a staff? No worries! Here's a list of restaurants that will gladly cook for you and yours on Labor Day. Hope it's a great day!

Ray's Killer Creek will be open and serving its signature seafood, beef and chicken dishes to Alpharetta diners. Both the Buckhead and Sandy Springs locations of Uncle Julio's Fine Mexican Food will dole out their generous plates of Mexican specialties and chilling margaritas in a mucho lively atmosphere. Spice Market, in the W Atlanta Midtown, will be open on Labor Day to welcome guests to a globally inspired holiday. Have the gang meet you at Marlow's! With six locations conveniently located in neighborhoods all over town, Marlow's Tavern will be serving their classic American tavern fare that's sure to whet any appetite.



In Virginia Highland, La Tavola Trattoria and The Original El Taco will respectively serve up authentic Italian and plenty of fiesta fare. Both Atkins Park locations -- Virginia Highland and Smyrna -- will be open on Labor Day with staples such as Big Green Egg-smoked all-natural chicken breast, wild Georgia shrimp and grits, fresh North Georgia trout and lots of cold libations and brews. Atkins Park Virginia Highland starts the holiday early by staying open late on Sunday, September 5.




In Midtown, RA Sushi will be keeping folks happy on Labor Day with their deliciously fun menu of sushi, like their fan favorites Tootsy Maki and Viva Las Vegas roll. Buckhead residents can satiate themselves after a full day of Labor Day sale shopping with an incredible dinner at Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse featuring menu items such as a grilled porterhouse veal chop or pan-roasted Maine lobster.




Westsiders can sidle into YEAH! BURGER for all-natural beef, bison, turkey or veggie burgers, toppings, sauces and sides, as well as shakes made with organic milk. Night owls, note Ormsby's is open late the night before Labor Day as well as being open on Labor Day to quench beer thirsts and provide classic game action like darts, for instance. West Egg Café, near the White Provision complex on Atlanta's Westside, will be open Labor Day, serving breakfast and locally roasted Batdorf & Bronson coffee from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Ahhh, Moving!

Tell people you're moving and you'll get one of three responses: "I hate moving." "You poor thing - good luck." "I have a bad back."

So, yes, we are moving. Going through many years of memories and sending them to that big recycling heaven in the sky. Anyone remember The Martini Club? Filibuster's? Insignia? Fishbone? The MLA team has now been given a history lesson on the Atlanta restaurant scene!

We are leaving Buckhead and heading to the Westside. Our new office at Lumberyard Lofts should be ready in March. But, wait, what about February?

Since MLA is already a green office with most everyone tele-working, we're pretty much set up for a month of office-less-ness. And Fifth Group is letting us hang out there once a week just so we can see each other in person. Otherwise, I expect you'll find us at Octane or West Egg.

Our new address is 1425 Ellsworth Industrial Dr./30318. Our phones stay the same 404-816-3068. March will be here before we know it! We're looking forward to having Bone Garden Cantina as our office cafeteria. Come by for a margarita once we've moved in.

Oh, and there's still time to come over and help out if you don't have a bad back and you like moving!

Sara in the City: West Scrambled Eggs

I'm loving the Westside resurgence - great interior design and art stores, trendy boutiques and unique loft living spaces are popping up all over the area. And the revitalization doesn't stop with shopping and housing - Some of the best restaurants in town, including acclaimed Bacchanalia, The Real Chow Baby and my personal faves Figo and Taqueria del Sol, are located on the west side of town.

So when my beau and I went looking for a great breakfast, we traveled westward towards West Egg Cafe. Launched in 2004 by a "recovering attorney," West Egg is the perfect mixture of new culture and down home cuisine. A bakery, coffee house and restaurant all in one, the cafe displays original artwork and was voted "Best Breakfast" and "Friendliest Wait Staff" by Creative Loafing and Taste of Atlanta, respectively.

The wait was long, but when you're the Best Breakfast in town, that's not a surprise. Luckily, we got bottomless cups of coffee to sustain us til were seated. When it came time to order, I decided on the Peachtree Platter, a unique take on the bacon and eggs breakfast. Scrambled eggs were complimented by a fresh biscuit, fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese grits (they found a way to make grits more Southern) and a little slice of heaven on earth, brown sugared bacon.

My beau, perfering a simpler meal merely told the waitress he wanted "standard bacon, eggs, biscuit." Living up the "Friendliest Wait Staff" title, she knew exactly what he needed, "You want the blue plate with grits," and served up a great, homemade breakfast with extra, extra cheese on his eggs. (Just the way he likes it!)

The bill hit the spot too - at under $20 for two, this breakfast should also be named the "Best Steal" in town!

Visit West Egg Cafe seven days a week, from 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends to 4 p.m. every day.