if only hugh had been there...

so today my parents came up to celebrate my early birthday at...drum roll please..the five and ten!!!!

token birthday picture of me and ellen. please note the matching squinty eyes and skinny arm pose..further proof that in 36 years, I will be this precious woman (just kidding, she's not that old!!)

so the five and ten is one of Athens' best restaurant owned by Chef Hugh Acheson aka my favorite unibrowed Top Chef Masters contestant. The website says it best actually...

To Athens he is a guy who owns those restaurants, has one eyebrow, a wife far better looking than he is and two young children who are the apple of his eye.

He also owns the National...and has the best sense of humor EVER. needless to say I prayed the entire car ride there that he would just happen to be chilling at his restaurant today. no dice. Before my parents even had a chance to glance at the menu I made them promise there would be absolutely no singing today. For my 18th birthday at Paula Deen's Lady and Sons, they let it slip it was my birthday and a freaking opera singer crooned to me for about 27 hours. hello embarrassing. Annnnd then the hard decisions began; Dad and I decided on the eggs benedict and Mom got coerced into getting the special omelet of the day-somehow I don't think she was too disappointed

this eggs benedict was served on a delicious potato pancake instead of an english muffin!

the omelet was perfectly seasoned and stuffed with thick braised bacon, cheddar cheese, and spicy kim chi. it also came with a little side salad and this great potato pancake (different from the eggs benedict though)

Our meals were delicious and we wolfed them down in record time. Surprisngly we were satisfied but not stuffed, so our interests turned to the dessert special on the board. We decided that instead of drinks (since I don't turn 21 until a week from tomorrow), we surely could split two desserts). At this point the waitress brought us our check, and we had to inform her that we were not done stuffing out face, dessert menu please!! We decided on the Vanilla Creme Brule and the Special of the day: Peach Cobbler with Whipped Cream and Spiced Plum Sorbet

yes, those are cookies accompanying that delicious jar of vanilla creamy goodness, and yes they were equally delicious. that plate was all but licked clean

also all but licked clean. the spicy sweetness of the sorbet cut right through the sugary sweetness of the peaches. even though by the end of this I was pretty full, I definitely could have eaten another one of these

Overall, this was probably the best brunch I've ever had in Athens. Yeah, we have some good ones (The Grit, Mama's Boy, The Last Resort..), but nothing really beats fine dining. It was pricey, but worth it fo sho. But let it be known, I will keep coming back until i catch a glimpse of my beloved chef unibrow