a couple weekends ago i made the 4-hour drive west on i-24 to see my high school friend luke wed his best friend bailey.  the wedding was lovely in a lush estate outside the city, and the band played us into the night as we danced and laughed under romantically lit tents, reminiscing with old friends about our teenage years.

earlier that sunday, though, i had strolled into town in the young afternoon and needed something to eat, for the reception was quite a ways away.  i asked my kind airbnb host meg for a local recommendation, and she was quick to reply that urban grub had a good brunch and wasn’t too far from the apartment.  sounded good to me!

after parking over on gilmore avenue, i dodged the drizzle and was warmly greeted by the hostess.  she quickly seated me at a table for one on their covered patio, a perfect spot among the industrial fans, space heaters, and cool autumn winds.

my waiter chris approached with a glass of water, prepared to take my order.  i informed him that i had only about an hour before i needed to go get all dolled up for the wedding, and he was quick to get to business.  i told him i had been eyeing their eggs benedict with crab (they call it the oskar bennie), and he was happy to say it was one of his favorites, a great choice for a first-time visitor.  done and done!

chris hurried over to put in my order and then was back in a flash with the most darling basket of homemade buttermilk biscuits i’d ever seen.  they were accompanied by freshly salted butter and from-scratch blueberry jam.  uuhhhh, yes, please!  these little pouches of heaven were the perfect starter, and i enjoyed them throughout the meal with dem preserves and butter.  mm!

mm, bizkits.

in nearly no time at all, my brunch was swiftly served in front of me.  looks tasty, doesn’t it?

i wasted no time digging in, mainly because i was short on time but also because i didn’t want my dish getting cold.  the hollandaise was not too hollandaise-y and had a nice spritz of lemon that was pleasing to the palate.  the eggs were poached to perfection, not too runny but not too cooked.  now, i have never personally poached an egg, so i don’t know what makes me a poached egg expert, if anything, but the only experience i have myself is when i watched mary willa do it up in greensboro.

the english muffin was nice and crispy and didn’t get soggy from all the sauce.  the only thing that truly seemed to be missing was more crab.  i was expecting generous lumps of crab piled atop each side of the muffin, but there was only a spoonful sitting in between, not enough if you ask me.  i would love to have had a bit of crab with each bite of the muffin and egg, but that day was not the day for it to happen.

the grilled asparagus was a welcome addition to the plate, but if i’m being completely honest, those gouda grits were the star of the show.  i couldn’t shovel them in my mouth fast enough, giving no second thought to how all that cheesy and buttery indulgence wasn’t doing my waistline any favors.  as my mother would say, “apply them straight to my hips!”  hehe.

overall, the atmosphere here at urban grub is a bit of hustle and bustle.  it’s a big restaurant, so there are lots of tables, which means lots of hungry customers.  it was a touch louder than i would have liked, but since i was by myself, i didn’t mind too badly.  plus, with nothing to really hear, i was able to watch as the falcons marched on to victory against the local tennessee titans.  rise up!

i could easily picture myself spending a lazy sunday afternoon here with the girlfriends, nursing mimosas and snacking on biscuits all day long.  aw, yisssss!