Restaurant experiment: Radial Cafe

Radial Cafe

1530 DeKalb Avenue at Mell Avenue Northeast

Atlanta, GA 30307

404-659-6594

http://radial.us/

“small carbon footprint | big local flavor”

That’s Radial Cafe’s slogan that’s prominently displayed on their website and business cards.  Dave and I ended up here for a late brunch.  Due to the lateness of the hour on a Saturday, the place was pretty empty.  There was plenty of parking in the lot out front too.  Since it was kind of hot, we eschewed the patio in favor of the air conditioned inside.  We were seated in a roomy booth near the bar.  As the booths were made of wood, Radial had helpfully plopped pillows  atop the firm benches.

Looking over the menu, we noticed a lot of vegan offerings.  Good to know for the vegan in your life (if there is one).  Dave and I eventually settled on the Red Flannel Hash ($8.99).  The menu describes it as “Corned beef or turkey sauteed with onions, red bell peppers and oven-roasted red potatoes; topped with two fried eggs and served with whole wheat toast.”

I was sad since after our orders were taken, I spotted an unobtrusive, small, postcard-sized piece of cardstock  by the sugar and salt/pepper.  I thought it was just a comment card so I paid no attention while deciding what to order, but later I picked it up for something to do while waiting for our food and realized it was the specials.  So yeah, definitely look at that card.  I was sad that I missed out on scrapple!  Argh!

Dave ordered a cup of the “Organic, Shade-Grown Coffee” ($2.79 for an endless cup).  The menu notes that Radial serves coffee from Selva Negra, an eco-friendly coffee farm in Nicaragua.  Dave and I have actually visited Selva Negra so we were excited to see it on the menu.  Not quite the same as drinking it on the farm, but still delicious.  Dave was interested in ordering a bloody Mary, and Radial kindly gives out tastes so you can see if their mix if something you’d like to consume a full serving of.  Or maybe the waiter was just anticipating this situation.  Dave ended up passing on the Mary and going with the coffee.  Apparently their bloodys are an acquired taste.

 

Mmm, yum!  We both had the corned beef option instead of the turkey.  The default egg method is over medium but you can get them done differently.  Quite rich, I must say.  Good portion size.  There was also a small basket of muffins as a complimentary side.  I am glad the hash turned out well or I would have been kicking myself over not getting the scrapple.  The special blend of herbs remained a trade secret (Dave asked about the herbs)…see if you can figure it out.

 

Our server Harry (or that’s at least what was printed on our check) was a gregarious guy, joking and smiling which added to the overall positive experience.  So all in all, a radiant time at Radial Cafe!