Breakfast and Beer.

Totally in that order. I waited until 1:15pm for the beer. Given the Badgers are on and I’ve been up since 6am, that is more than plenty of time to wait for a beer to get into my belly. It’s slowly dribbling down to my belly to both cool and warm it at the same time. It’s amazing how beers can do that; make you both chilled and warm. Thankfully it’s the warm that stays, making you all cozy from the inside for the rest of the afternoon.

Or so goes the plan.

Why was I up at 6am? Oh good Lord because I’m mental, most likely. But I got some TV-viewing in (Heroes and Grey’s; later came The lovely lovely Doctor x 2 but that’s a whooooole other story of frankly scary obsession) before Roomie and I decided to go to brunch.

Today’s excursion took us into downtown Tucker, Georgia, as a few weeks ago we had seen a shop there right on Main Street that looked like a little diner. That place was closed, but the place two doors down seemed to be quite open (if the big OPEN sign was any indication), even if empty. Sure enough: the owner noticed us peering in and waved us into his place. We figured: why not?

Thus begins the PSA portion of this blog: The Restaurant Review.

First off, anything with a Gator on it is good in my book. Anything New Orleansian is good by both of us. When the owner waved us in to a completely empty shop, it was with warmth and pride and explanation, as opposed to apology, that they had just opened for breakfast the weekend before. That day, they’d only been open an hour. He and his family are true New Orleans’ natives, which, in one look to my Roomie, made me realize that this was definitely going to be a treat.

So we chose a booth at Rotagilla and after salivating over a menu of authentic creole dishes, settled on a creole omelet and traditional shrimp and grits. Our waiter Anthony, decked out in all the colors of Mardi Gras, was very pleasant and accommodating; the coffee dark and delicious. Other patrons started shuffling in and taking their own sleepy spots along the wall. The owners made time to talk with everyone. We had noticed name carvings in the brick and as the building was once a Masonic Lodge, made up a story as to the ghost who once bore the land-borne name “Peyton” that carved above our table. (Alas! This is why you sometimes just shouldn’t ask: it turns out it was just the owner’s daughter’s name.)

If I had one complaint about the restaurant, it would only have to be the service time. It was nearly 40 minutes between the time we ordered and the time we were served. This was only a problem in that a) we were very hungry and b) the lack of people in the place seemed to make the slow service even more frustrating. Busy place = Expectations of waiting. But more on that in a bit…

That being said? All in all, I do so highly recommend Rotigalla in downtown Tucker. The food was more than good: it was wonderful! (obligatory photo of my meal here!) Other customers were just as friendly as the owners: we recommended the grits to our neighbor’s and another lady suggested we MUST return for the gumbo (or was it jambalaya?). I’m thinking both. As for my one complaint, here’s the thing: that is also part of this little place’s charm. It’s the type of place that you DO go hang with your friends over brunch for a couple of hours; if you want an in-and-out place, go hit the Waffle House instead. And though by no means would I ever knock the Waffle, it is absolutely lovely to find a little local gem like this nestled in a little friendly town. I hope to go back for lunch sometime since their dinner menu looks even better than breakfast. Just not today because a) I’m chock full of shrimp and grits and b) there’s another beer calling my name.