J. Christopher's, Kennesaw GA

This is Marie, contributing an article about breakfast. Recently, my brother came for a visit. He is more of a hearty eater than I am. For one thing, he likes bacon. Although we have a number of excellent breakfast places, my current dietary limitations mean it's not quite as much fun to go to places like the delightful Stilesboro Biscuits. On his first day here, we went to a national chain restaurant. I decided that for his second day here that an alternate had to be found. Which is ironic, because we wound up going to a chain after all - the difference being that it was a local chain that started right here in Marietta. Karl suggested J. Christopher's, and I am glad he pointed it out because otherwise I might not have known it was that local. They currently have 22 stores in Georgia and Tennessee.

J. Christopher's has a somewhat more idiosyncratic decor than the place we'd gone to the day before. They have quite a bit of art up on the walls and rest of the decor looks interesting and non-industrial. I would like to see whether some of the pieces are provided by local artists - some had that look (even if one was the obligatory re-working of "Starry Night" and another was a Warhol type).





The menu has some interesting things on it, and when I can eat waffles again I would like to try the seasonal Gingerbread waffle. Although the selections have cute names that I prefer not to use when ordering, it's still a good variety of tasty food. We each ordered from different bands of the breakfast spectrum, and each of us seemed pleased with the color we chose. The savory crepe that Ivy ordered looked quite interesting; that might be something I'd try after the visit for the waffle, or if it's still out of season when we're by next. My brother's breakfast skillet was better left with him, as I took one look at it and knew that even without bacon, that would only get finished if I shared. My own breakfast was the Irish oatmeal with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins, along with a side of sausage and raisin toast. Somehow they managed without any milk to make that oatmeal creamy and smooth. The tea was Tazo, which is a good bit better than the Lipton's I've wound up settling for at some places!

Although the food was tasty, the service was really the high point. Although as happens occasionally, several of the wait staff come up to admire the baby, our server was attentive and on task. She brought out extra hot water for my tea, picked up a flung toy, and cleared up after we were ready and not before. Overall, a satisfactory and pleasant experience was had by all.

The menus and signage are definitely professional, but one thing I like about them is the note on the menus that items may differ by location. If they are indeed serious about that, and individual franchises get to have their own specialties, that would make this a really good place indeed. It warrants further exploration.