Atlanta Brunch: Morningside Farmer's Market and La Calavera Bakery

We were driving to brunch one morning when we spotted the Morningside Farmer's Market. I'm a sucker for farmer's markets because of the local mom and pop stores that have booths there and of course the fresh veggies and fruits. While perusing through the market, I spotted La Calavera bakery.

I would highly recommend checking them out! The amazing smells from the fresh breads at the booth makes the cold trip worthwhile. I bought a few different types of bread, and loved all of them. My personal favorite was the one pictured below. It's some type of sweet cornbread, but i've already forgotten the name.

There use of organic sprouted breads makes them unique. All that really means is that they use the grains/lentils when they after they sprouted but before it becomes a full-fledged plant. This gives the advantage of less available starch and more available proteins, minerals and nutrients. Plus for people who have trouble digesting starchy foods, this leads to improved tolerance. Conventionally bread makers use ungerminated lentils/grains. (In case your wondering this benefit hasn't been proven through research, but is more of a trend catching on these days)

La Calavera Bakery

DELICIOUS (but I can't remember what it was called) 

Bakery Website: http://lacalaverabakery.wordpress.com/pantastico-pictures/
Market Website: http://www.morningsidemarket.com/
Timings:Every Saturday morning 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM (8:00 AM Jan – Mar)
Address: 1393 N. Highland Ave Atlanta GA 30306 

Atlanta Brunch : Rise and Dine

Continuing with the Brunch theme, I ventured to Rise-n-Dine with another brunch enthusiast.

Rise-n-Dine 

Sadly no website :-(

Brunch Monday - Sunday : 7 AM - 3 PM

Address: 1565 N Decatur Rd, Atlanta, GA 30307

What to order: 

Food: As usual my brunch buddy and I always get something savory and something sweet. Our sweet dish was the challah french toast with bananas and maple syrup. I have to say I'm not that impressed compared to most other brunch restaurants. For our savory dish, we built our own omelete with goat cheese, onions, portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers and spinach.  The food was simple and descent, but nothing to brag about. In retrospect, we should have probably ordered other items on their menu like the sweet potato pancakes and the Greek omelet. If I was to go back, I would probably try both of those.

Drink: If you order coffee, I've heard that they will give you the coffee to-go at the end of your meal. As I mentioned previously, I love fresh juices so I stuck to my freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juices, which as usual were delicious.

Atmosphere: Located near Emory, Rise-n-Dine is a small brunch spot. It has a very diner-feel from its tiled flooring to the eclectic mirror decor. While it's size maybe small, its popularity is not. The lines outside the establishment are crazy! Don't even think about trying to go here without a reservation on a weekend because the wait times can be an hour long. Plus the service is very slow during those peak hours.

Prices: $-$$ Rise-n-Dine has very reasonable prices compared to many brunch places. It won't break your wallet.

Parking: There are lots behind and beside the restaurant and additional parking at the CVS lot. I've never had trouble finding parking, but I have heard that this can be a challenge.

BOTTOM LINE: Cute brunch place with a clever name and descent food that you should avoid in peak brunch hours.