Murphy’s
Cinnamon Roll
French Toast
Georgia White Shrimp and Grits – Andouille Sausage Stew, Poached Egg
Part three of what was in essence a rolling four-stop breakfast/brunch on Saturday, Murphy’s came billed as one of Atlanta’s most loved restaurants by locals – a neighborhood spot in Virginia Highland focused on traditional American comfort foods where friends and families gathered and lingered as waits for a table often topped an hour…it seemed a sure thing until everything but the wait proved overhyped and underwhelming. A pleasant space with a first-come-first-served bar and multiple dining areas in an old brick building I was admittedly fortunate to land a solo seat at the bar immediately on my arrival as couples and quartets waited in the heat and humidity but with service perfunctory at best the meal started ominously with a cinnamon roll removed from the pastry case and microwaved, the tangy frosting slowly sliding from the otherwise dry dough – a trend that would continue with a $10 single slice of challah French Toast that was anything but saturated with custard and generally mundane. Hoping, for once, that savories would save the sweets the final nail in the coffin arrived as the $14 “shrimp and grits” – a peppery soup surrounding good grits but overcooked shrimp and an egg better called hardboiled than poached; the dish apparently deserving only an “I’m sorry about that hun, the kitchen is real busy” when mentioned to the waitress. Me? I was sorry I’d driven to Murphy’s in the first place…and not the least bit apologetic about the omitted tip.
http://www.murphys-atlanta-restaurant.com/