After a week of complaining about the cold and feeling sick, I decided that it is about time to get out and go to a couple of my favorite spots in Atlanta.
First spot: One of my favorite coffee shops, Octane
Octane is located on Howell Mill Road, in midtown Atlanta. This location is one of the two that they have in Atlanta.
Octane is more of a neighborhood coffee shop turned into a trendy spot by the locals of the area. Because of its proximity to Georgia Tech and King Plow Arts Center, it is full of students, creators, and business professionals working on their computers or simply conversing with each other.
To me, folks in this coffee shop make the best artisan coffee in the area. Also, they serve pastries made by Holeman & Finch, which is another great spot in Atlanta.
For a quick cup of coffee, work on your computer, or make a friend or two go to Octane.
You will love it.
Second spot: West Egg Café
West Egg Café is just a couple of blocks away from Octane. It is a restaurant that serves Southern Breakfast/Comfort food (and all-day-breakfast) with a modern twist. They also serve lunch and dinner.
When you enter the restaurant you see a nice coffee bar and a pastry section on your right if you want to grab and go.
If you are planning to sit down and eat, you have to make a decision about where you want to sit. They have seating available in their large dining room or outside in an outdoor terrace. I was by myself so I chose to sit at the bar. However, when the weather is nice I love having my breakfast outside.
In addition to having a great menu, West Egg Café serves my absolute favorite coffee brand, Batdorf & Bronson Coffee. If you have never had their signature blend, “Dancing Goats”, you have got to try it. The smooth taste of “Dancing Goats” with hints of chocolate, almond, and spice will take your coffee taste buds to a new level of goodness.
Especially if you are like me, and prefer to have your coffee with no sugar or cream.
I have to mention here, Bardorf & Bronson has a coffee shop in Decatur, GA that you can go and taste all their blends. Another favorite spot of mine…
After going over the menu and hearing the specials, I decided to try one of the specials of the day; Portabella Frittata.
As I was waiting for my food, I ordered a cup of coffee.
See, the thing about West Egg’s food is that every time a server comes out of the kitchen (which is right next to the bar) with plates of food in her hands, you can’t help but want her to come to your direction. Everything that comes out of that kitchen looks and tastes amazing.
I know this because over the many years I lived in Atlanta, I tasted almost everything on that menu.
When the nice lady, who was my server, came out of the kitchen with a mountain of arugula on top of a thick frittata, all I wanted was for her to come over to my way.
And, she did.
The Portobello Frittata that I ordered was exactly what I wanted to ear for breakfast that day. A thick frittata topped off with chunks of Portobello Mushrooms, tomatoes, and arugula that is flavored with homemade lemon vinaigrette.
I just love it when chefs create such amazing dishes with simple ingredients.
I loved it so much so that I could not help but to come home and re-create it in my own kitchen. It was as easy as whisking some eggs with milk into some cooked chunks of Portobello mushrooms and topping it off with arugula flavored with my version of homemade lemon vinaigrette.
For some reason, I forgot to add tomatoes and realized that it had tomatoes in it when I was editing pictures for this post.
Oh well, you can add tomatoes if you want but even without tomatoes, it is great.
Simple, beautifully plated, and delicious… I can tell you one thing; this Portobello Frittata is going to make an appearance on our Sunday breakfast table more often than not.
If you ever visit Atlanta and want to have a good Southern food with a modern-artistic twist, you should stop by West Egg Café.
It is really good.
West Egg’s Portobello Frittata
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 8 ounces Portobello mushrooms wiped clean and sliced into chunks
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1- cup arugula washed
- 2 ounces goat cheese I used Montchevre
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
To make the lemon vinaigrette:
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 tablespoon shallot finely diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet in medium heat. Add 1-tablespoon vegetable oil. Allow it to get really hot.
- Add the chunks of mushrooms to the hot pan ensuring that each piece has enough room to cook. Cook mushrooms until they loose some of their juices, 6-8 minutes. At the very end, add 1-tablespoon butter and ensure that all mushrooms are coated (glazed) with butter. Transfer mushrooms in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Crack eggs in a large bowl. Add milk, salt and pepper and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add half of the cooked mushrooms into the egg mixture. Using a spatula, give it quick stir.
- Pour the egg and mushroom mixture back in the skillet (you can use the same skillet or a smaller skillet) ensuring that the mushrooms are evenly distributed in the pan. Put a lid on and allow it to cook in medium heat until edges are set, 5-6 minutes. This will make a slightly wet frittata in the middle. If you want more of a dry frittata, cook an additional minute or two.
- In the mean time, make the lemon vinaigrette: Whisk lemon juice, lemon zest, shallot, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the arugula. Mix to ensure that all the arugula leaves are coated with the vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning and add if necessary.
- Using a spatula, slide the frittata to a plate. Place the rest of the Portobello mushrooms in the middle of the frittata.
- Using your fingers, divide the goat cheese into small chunks and scatter them on the frittata, around the mushrooms.
- Place the arugula in the middle.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @foolproofliving on Instagram and hashtag it #foolproofeatsA recipe inspired by West Egg Cafe – Atlanta’s “Portobello Frittata” that I had on February 4, 2014.
The opinions and photographs on this blog post belongs to me (Aysegul Sanford) . I was not paid or compensated in any way to write about the two places mentioned on this blog post.
Cate @ Chez CateyLou
That frittata looks amazing! And thanks for the Atlanta tips – I might be going next month so will have to check out West Egg!
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you Cate! 🙂
Shannon
Thank you so much for this beautiful inspiration! I made this this morning! I wanted to make a mushroom fritata and thought I knew what I wanted…. I’m so glad I did a quick search and found your post! It was DELICIOUS!! I would not have thought to put half mushrooms in and half on top! Nor would I have used goat cheese! And the salad on top was the perfect finishing touch! It was healthy and super tasty!
Thanks again,
Shannon.
https://www.instagram.com/vasquezshannon/
Aysegul Sanford
Oh this makes me so happy Shannon. This frittata is one of my favorites as well.
Thanks for letting me know. Cheers!