Those looking for a jolt of java have another place to get their fix. Huge Café opened last week at 1375 Peachtree St. NE, near the High Museum of Art as well as SCAD in Midtown. And while customers will find drip coffee as well as prepared espresso drinks, Huge steps into the progressive coffee movement with its offering of pour-over and iced coffee brewed using Japanese methods.
Huge Café attempts to serve as "a creative hub for people who are different," said restaurateur Karl Injex of the Sound Table, who was tapped for the project by design/ad agency Huge, with offices in the same building. Don't look for frappuccinos or flavored drinks. Instead, watch for Huge's Kyoto drip coffee system to be putting out smooth, low-acid cold-brew coffee made with beans from new Atlanta roaster Brash. Or a Hario V60 to please the pour-over crowd. On the sweeter liquid side is an affogato dubbed "Coffee and Cigarettes" that combines espresso with Morelli's tobacco ice cream and smoked, crumbled Oreos.
The food, prepared by chef Mihoko Obunai (co-owner of now defunct Repast who currently also dishes up noodles for The Sound Table's Ramen Freak most Mondays), also takes a Japanese bent. A tight breakfast menu includes bagels sourced from Flora & Flour, which can be made heartier as sandwiches and with toppings like wasabi or yuzu tobiko. Working in a tiny kitchen and following a minimalist mindset, Obunai is picking up the trendy torch-like Searzall to toast bagels upon request. Huge also offers a rotation of Sublime doughnuts. The lunch menu includes East-meets-West bites like the Belly of the Beast that sees pork belly, smoked Kewpie mayo and kimchi in a steamed bun; fried chicken with pickled daikon; a daily grain bowl; a bento box containing a rice ball, Sriracha popcorn and house-made pickles; and a cup of bone broth.
Huge Café is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Injex stated that he hoped to use the space in the evening for periodic pop-up events.
