Gravy

3957 N Mississippi

287-8800

Of any meal of the week, my most cherished is Saturday breakfast. It's always ordered in the afternoon when I'm completely starving, then consumed at a lazy pace while drinking tons of coffee and mulling over the options for the day. Unlike the Sex and the City gals, though, who eat their weekend breakfasts at the same spot every week, I'll drive clear across town in order to satisfy a craving.

One weekend it's Bridges' healthy grits breakfast, the next it's the Utopia Café's tofu scramble, Genies Bloody Mary, Zell's bacon waffle, the Bijou's oyster hash, or now, the new Mississippi restaurant Gravy, has me jonesing for biscuits and yes, gravy.

Much to my delight, Gravy's version of the classic breakfast heart-stopper is made with a brown gravy rather than the starchy white version. The sauce isn't too heavy, and is deliciously salty with a ton of crumbled sausage served over a fluffy biscuit. They also offer a tasty veggie version.

Worry not, though, Gravy's menu spans well beyond breakfasts made with starch and gravy. In fact, Gravy is particularly well-suited to the Low Carb Revolutionaries because breakfasts don't automatically come with potatoes. Instead, you choose from a list of sides which include double-wide bacon, a huge homemade sausage patty, triple glazed ham, fruit, hashbrowns, pancakes, etc. For the protein loader, Gravy offers The Dalise omlet, made with bacon, sausage, ham, mushrooms, onion, and cheddar; all that slathered with sausage gravy. Heathenous, but delicious. The steak and eggs breakfast comes in the unconventional rib-eye cut, far superior to the usual tough breakfast steak, and the country fried steak and eggs or pork loin and eggs rep for the Southern style meaty delights. Not entirely Atkins friendly, the corned beef hash is worth a few carbs, with a combination of thin sliced meat, shredded potatoes, and sautéed onions; a non-greasy, gourmet version of the original served in a big pile.

While I was disappointed by Gravy's Greco omelet, made with a watery blend of tomato, spinach, mushroom, and surprisingly bland tasting fontina cheese, the restaurant gives you the option of creating your own omelet or scramble, so you're not limited to their rather unconventional selections. They have a ton of ingredients, too, including vegan cheese, fake bacon, and tofu to satisfy your high-maintenance vegan friends.

On weekends, Gravy only serves breakfast, so don't be tempted by their mouth-watering lunch menu, complete with Southern-themed sides, like yams, gravy fries, or corn pudding. Rather, head back on a weekday and order up the Gravy salad made with kale, chard, bulgar wheat, sunflower seeds, almonds, raisins, and apples. Then order something completely unhealthy--gravy fries?--to counteract it. Speaking of unhealthy, Gravy serves cocktails (hooray!) so you needn't skip your Saturday morning Bloody. And honestly, a cocktail seems like a good choice considering Gravy's fresh squeezed OJ and smallish smoothies run you upwards of $3 and don't get you drunk.

A welcome addition to the new restaurant upcropping on Mississippi, Gravy is a sunny, friendly, and adorably decorated addition to the neighborhood. And while I won't be devouring fried egg sandwiches and gravy fries every week, I'll certainly be adding the restaurant to my weekend breakfast rotation.