First Look: Buttermilk Kitchen, Chastain Park

Salads and starters, $3-$13; breakfast, $6.50-$15; sandwiches, $6.95-$11; sides,$1.50-$4.75; sweets, $3-$6.

4225 Roswell Road, 678-732-3274, www.buttermilkkitchen.com

There’s been a buzz around the opening of Buttermilk Kitchen because of chef Suzanne Vizethann — known locally for her catering work and cafe, The Hungry Peach, and pop-up, BYOBakeshop, and nationally as a 2011 winner on the Food Network’s “Chopped” series.

Vizethann brings those experiences to this comfy breakfast and lunch spot on Roswell Road, where the emphasis is on homey cooking, scratch baking and Southern flavors, all wrapped-up in chefy touches.

The look: Situated in a recently repainted bright blue bungalow that was formerly home to Cafe at Pharr, the atmosphere is a shabby chic mix of reclaimed wood, funky fixtures, painted brick walls and hardwood floors. A foyer with a bar leads to a window-lined corridor with a row of two-tops and the larger open dining room beyond.

The scene: One Friday around noon, both the front and back parking lots were full, as cars circled around to the shopping center next door, and customers trekked back to the entrance. Inside, a friendly host ushered the steady traffic to tables, while perky young servers tended to lunching ladies and escaped office workers.

The menu: Vizethann’s offerings include favorites from The Hungry Peach along with reinventions of familiar dishes. On the breakfast menu, look for the likes of Dad’s Waffle, topped with a medium-rare hamburger patty and maple syrup ($13), blueberry cobbler pancakes ($9), and flank steak and eggs with salsa verde and crispy potatoes ($13). Sandwiches top the lunch menu, including a pork belly BLT with fried green tomatoes ($9) and a Southern chicken Philly with pimento cheese ($9).

The drinks: On the liquid side, there’s Dancing Goats French press coffee in one-to-four-cup increments ($3-$8.95), fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice ($3) and organic iced tea ($2.50), as well as bottled Mexican Coke and Sprite ($3), and other soft drinks.

The extras: Beginning Oct. 30, Buttermilk Kitchen will host a BYOB fried chicken dinner on Tuesday nights, featuring pasture raised chicken from Grassroots Farms and a rotating menu of salad, cheese and dessert courses.