Flying Biscuit Cafe Now Open!

The Flying Biscuit Cafe is now open!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my favorite daytime restaurant from Atlanta has now opened a Raleigh location in Cameron Village. Even though the restaurant has changed ownership over the years, I have still found their food as delicious as always, and have high expectations of this new branch (there are several around Atlanta and in Charlotte). Their breakfasts are my all-around favorites I have EVER had, and a few more menu highlights include the Love Cakes (three black bean & cornmeal cakes, with tomatillo salsa, sour cream, feta cheese & red onion), fried green tomatoes, and anything with their famous apple butter on it.

I’m having lunch there Tuesday, so will be sure to get back on if this new locale lives up to the original.

You can download the Raleigh menu here.

Update: Acree stopped by the Flying Biscuit this morning and this is what she had to say:

I had my doubts about a franchised Flying Biscuit, but when I stopped by this morning on my way to work for a cup of coffee and flying biscuit to go, I was pretty impressed.

With a fairly large space broken up into several rooms and nooks, the atmosphere was just as pleasant and cozy as the Candler Park location I used to frequent (and just did this New Year’s day) in Atlanta. Some things were oddly familiar, like the identical “homemade” ceramic sugar bowl and kitschy tablecloths, which were kind of comforting, but kind of just reminded me it’s a franchise.

My biscuit tasted different; it was more buttery and salty, less big and fluffy. Is the Raleigh location going for a less yankee-friendly version? The difference surprised me, considering the flying biscuit is the Flying Biscuit’s signature item.

The menu looks the same for the most part, with a few additions that graft in North Carolina cuisine, like the When Pigs Fly Quesadilla with North Carolina pulled pork. I was happy to see they kept my favorite, the Egg-ceptional eggs. (Yet, strangely, they changed the name of the Egg-stravaganza to the “Exx-stravaganza,” which makes no sense.)

There were plenty of staff, all very friendly and eager to serve. There was a good crowd and everything appeared to be running smoothly. I regretted that I had to be off to work and was unable to relax at a table with a full meal.

Finally, a breakfast-all-day restaurant in Raleigh!

Update to the update: Ladye Jane ate lunch there today and this is what she had to say:

I had super high expectations, and I have to say that it lived up to them. The biscuits did seem a little different, but still are the best in Raleigh, hands down. I also misspoke earlier when I said the restaurant had changed ownership, it hasn’t. Delia Champion, one of the original owners of the Candler Park location, is still running the show, and was at the restaurant today making sure that the standards are high, and that the spot is consistent with the other franchises. The big change in staff a long time ago was when the original chef (Chef Moon) left the group.

Everyone at my table ordered the same thing, so really the only food I can comment on is the Flying Biscuit Breakfast (2 eggs, grits, SOYsage, and a biscuit), which we all loved. YAY!

arthurb301/12 12:17 PM

Yum!

Lisa Jeffries01/12 05:53 PM

“less big and fluffy”

WTF. Bojangles - 1. Flying Biscuit - 0.

I’ll still try Flying Biscuit for myself to check out this (seemingly) disappointing news.

hackles1001/12 06:30 PM

Fired up about this place!!!

Tony Spencer01/13 11:28 AM

I don’t mind less big but less fluffy and more butter sounds disappointing. I’ll be giving it a try Saturday morning nonetheless. The menu looks fantastic.

Lisa Jeffries01/13 12:07 PM

Went last night for dinner. While it wasn’t a shabby breakfast by any means, I was a bit surprised about all the fuss.

This is where I rank the biscuits:

My recipe > Bojangles > Flying Biscuit

Now that being said, I’m a big fan of the opportunity to get breakfast anytime of the day and the fact that they open SUPER early (6am) - not that I’m ever up that early - and their country ham TRUMPS Bojangles.

The biggest disappointment for me was “Fresh Orange juice” on the menu came out of a bar gun or a coke dispenser. No kind of fresh.

It looks as if they’ll have a full bar which adds all kinds of possibility for a darn good brunch!

MMI01/13 12:59 PM

Re: “less big and fluffy…”

When The Biscuit decided to go the franchise route (can’t recall if it was a sale of the biz), this was one of the sacrifices made. My sources back in Atlanta were telling me about this several months ago, but no one is really sure of the reason why it was done. As for the fluffiness, I’d wager that it is at least one of two things: the type of fat(s) used and the presence of leavening.

A/P Flour just doesn’t have the rise potential that Self-Rising does, mostly because it hasn’t been doped with the proper leavening agents. You can get a biscuit to fluff higher by adding more baking powder to the mix. Just remember: (Baking) Soda spreads; Powder poofs.

I had NO idea this new Biscuit franchise was right in my backyard, much less that it was open already. I’ll be there ASAFP to give it my own test versus the originals—my first visit to The Biscuit was the 10th St. location, but my most recent was the immortal Candler Park joint.

MMI01/14 02:19 AM

OK, I hit up The Biscuit tonight, and was well-pleased. First, I should point out that an acquaintance of mine is apparently helping run this spot, but that didn’t have anything to do with my enjoyment of my meal.

The biscuits are not what they used to be, but they’re still pretty damned good. The rest of my meal was outstanding—black bean cakes with eggs (the menu said over-medium, but these came scrambled. That probably worked better for the recipe), roasted tomatillo salsa & sour cream.

Despite being a new establishment, service was excellent. In fact, they are probably overstaffed right now, just to make sure everyone gets enough training and the service stays superb. I should point out that the Raleigh menu is a little different than the menu at other Biscuit locations. Specifically, my dining partner was Vegan and the Raleigh spot does not have the tofu scrambles that other locations serve. I happen to LOVE tasty critters, so I had no problems!

I am assuming that this was somewhat of a soft opening, since I have yet to see any advertising for the new venue. There was a crowd there at 8pm on a Tuesday, so here’s hoping they can get some good word-of-mouth going!

Jay Cuthrell01/14 09:59 PM

This is made of win.

ben01/15 11:03 AM

My wife and I went the other night. We’d been talking for years about the lack of a reasonably-priced breakfast joint in Raleigh that fills the gap between Finch’s and Vin. This might be it. The food was good, not great, but that’s fine. The biscuits, I thought, were pretty damn good, fluffier and not as salty as a Bojangles biscuit, and I think they were sprinkled with sugar. The prices weren’t too bad, but probably overpriced by $1 to $2 per item. But that’s understandable; it’s in Cameron Village. We’ll definitely be back, that’s for sure. Didn’t have coffee, so that will be big. If the coffee is bad, it will hurt my chances of going back.

MMI01/15 01:36 PM

I had coffee the other night, Ben. Not bad at all.

APM01/16 09:08 AM

I was disappointed that there weren’t the vegan/veggie items that are on the Atlanta menu. Someone mentioned soysauge, but my husband and I didn’t see it on the menu and when we asked about it the manager said it’s not going to be on the menu. BUMMER!

MMI01/16 02:32 PM

There were a few acceptable items for you, APM, but not nearly as many as are available at the Candler Park & Midtown locations. Keep bringing it up—it wouldn’t be hard to add items that already exist elsewhere.

GD01/21 01:20 PM

I ate here Monday morning. It was excellent. Well worth every penny.

The bacon was great, the eggs were amazing and the biscuit was better than I expected after reading some of the responses from the wanna be food critics here.

Glenda Atkins01/27 10:43 AM

Had heard much about it and went there for breakfast. Will not go back. Prices are too high for the amount of food you are served. The wait person I had did a really bad job of giving me service ( I use to manage restaurants and wait staff so I have high expectations)
Finch’s which is an old Southern establishment here in Raleigh does not have the electic art taste The Flying Biscuit does but I am still dealing with the grease level in my system from this breakfast and I don’t have that problem at Finch’ s plus have great coffee poured often.
If you want breakfast in Cameron Village for the better quality it’s either still McDonald’s or Carolina Cafe but not The Flying Biscuit.

MMI01/27 11:31 AM

LMAO! I’ll respect the Finch’s loyalty (been there—it’s tasty), but you immediately lose credibility with the McDonald’s comment.

joshua02/16 11:45 PM

Second worst meal in years. The only positive thing I can say is that I kept the meal down. Biscuits are the signature item, yet you have to request them with your meal, or they bring them, and then I wish they had not. Just stay home and make some biscuits out of a can. Cheaper and tastier. They even were unable to make eggs right.

Just don’t waste the time.

Can only imagine the original was better. Franchises don’t guarantee quality.

MMI02/17 12:10 AM

Biscuits out of a can should NEVER be an option. Just sayin’.

Melanie Smith04/18 06:48 AM

Great food and service certainly no issues with my visit, 3 time we have eaten there. They just got several new vegetarian items on the menu as of yesterday. Try the oatmeal pancakes with peach topping, they were excellent!

mrs tart05/14 09:11 AM

rude waiter lee. He rushed to get rid of me. Not busy at all. He brought me food. Said come find me if you want anything else. He asked me if I wanted anything else after he brought me food. He not want to write down order after i asked him to. He would not volunteer. He would write down my order. Then he stopped in the middle of writing it down. I had to ask him again. He wrote it down. He brought me the bill,then ran away. Not come back.

ral9005/14 09:29 AM

Believe it or not most servers can remember a whole 4 top much less a single order, I can only imagine how rude you were to begin with, the poor server trying to do their job and you telling them how to do it. think of it from thier point of view if they came to you and told you how to do your job how nice would you be? Judging from your review above, not very. I’m sure the employees at the restaurant will not miss you.

hackles1005/14 10:19 AM

borderline retard mrs tart. She not want to sound coherent. She come on blog. She no type no good. She unhappy with service. She no understand that waiter take order how waiter desire. Bring food to table, bring bill and then not come back. How service works in America. She should no go to restaurants anymore, and if she want complain, she learn how to not write like 3rd grader.

surfbgull05/19 10:17 PM

A new fave for breakfast ITB. Not sure what the negs are talking about (poorly cooked eggs?? bad biscuits????), but I imagine their McDonalds habit has pulled them back into the comfort zone of cardboard-sodium delight. Would you like “cheese” on your “eggs?” I do wish they had the veg options - but my closet carnivore cravings are quite content (great sausage!). I’ll Be Back. And I pity the fool who tries to compare the FB with the McD! Finches? Well, that’s an “FB” of a different order (Fat Back, namely). Half the menu, yummy as it is, should come with a complimentary Lipitor shake. Or medical release form.

Perfect Moment Project08/10 07:53 PM

Oh yeah. We spent a wonderful morning at The Flying Biscuit recently.
But it was the Flying Biscuit in Atlanta.
Take a look at the photos. Flying off the plate biscuits. Definitely my last meal in Atlanta:
Sometimes you just gotta have a biscuit

MMI08/11 09:40 AM

I hate to say it, but your version of The Biscuit is not even close to what the place once was (and it looks like you went to the original in Candler Park vs. the one in Midtown).

That is not to say that the current, franchised version of The Biscuit isn’t great (that goes for Candler Park AND the Raleigh version). It is. Taking it to the business model that they did necessitated some steps that took the place down a notch. It’s still an “A-,” but it once was an “A+++.”

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Ladye Jane Monday, January 12, 2009