gato bizco cafe

last weekend steve and i took a trip to see my favorite band the dismemberment plan play a show in atlanta. we had a great time at the show and the next morning went looking for agoodbrunch place. the first place we tried had a 45 minute wait, and with our time frame to get home, just didn't work. a quick internet search led us to the gato bizco  cafe, which was obviously fate for this cat-loving gal. this place is tiny! there's only a handful of booths and some bar seating. when we arrived i put my name on the list and i was told 15 minutes, which was doable for us. we weren't waiting outside in the sunshine more than five minutes before they seated us at a booth. under-promise and over-deliver is a surefire way to get people to love you. the theme of this place is cats. (gato bizco means the cross-eyed cat in spanish, in case you're wondering). there are cat trinkets and photos of cats everywhere- but not so much that it looks like a hoarder house. as a proud cat mama i wanted to t

nice alternative to the flying biscuit, but.... ... there are a few things to think about.

first, thegoodparts.
this place is almost never as busy as tfb across the street. while you may want to go ahead and get on tbf's list first, you will probably be able to get into the bizco within five to ten minutes.
the biscuits here are far superior to tfb's, if you like your biscuits made southern-style (flaky, tender, huge, and sans-sucre).
the sweet potato pancakes are to die for.
the staff here is far quirkier and far friendlier than across the street.
you'll more than likely end up spending agoodbit less here for a meal that is at least asgood(if not more) as what you'll get across the street.

now, the down side.
the place has a funky musty odour, especially near the back, which probably has more to do with the age of the place than anything else.
the biscuits, when purchased individually, are $2 a pop. while they're big and taste great, i don't know if they're really worth that much.
parking is just as bad as it is for tfb, for obvious reasons.
and when you leave, you'll probably want to take a shower and change clothes before going anyplace nice, as you'll smell like a grease pit.

all in all, i love this place. i don't go out for sunday brunch much anymore, but when i do, i usually head here first.