We had a good Sunday brunch at Lagarde American Eatery in Chamblee. What printed on my receipt sums this place up: "American Cuisine with a New Orleans influence." One thing I like about Lagarde is you can book brunch reservations. I think it's always a plus if a restaurant offers brunch reservations so you don't have to wait. This place got pretty busy during our visit, but it didn't quite reach max capacity. The restaurant is in a cool-looking, modern, freestanding building in the Parkview on Peachtree development. Same development as the Windsor Parkview apartments (formerly Solis Parkview) and restaurants like Fudo (https://bit.ly/41zYhFn) and The Alden (https://bit.ly/3HbUrKb). Lagarde is from the same folks behind Il Giallo in Sandy Springs (https://bit.ly/43Yw6kY). This location, the original, opened in November 2019. A second location opened in Milton in January 2023. There's plenty of free parking on-site. Lagarde had a fun, casual, and relaxed vibe. There's a sizable wraparound bar and a variety of indoor and outdoor seating. They have both an uncovered outdoor patio (with umbrellas and string lighting) and a fully-enclosable patio. The indoor dining room has both table and booth seating. When we visited, there was live music outside. Fun elements include colorful wall graphics inside and a cow statue outside. Near the entrance is an oyster bar, part of the open kitchen. I love oysters and that was one thing that drew me to this place. Before our visit, I looked at Lagarde's menus online and was disappointed to see that raw oysters were only available on the dinner menu. However, at the restaurant, there was a daily specials menu (not online) that featured three kinds of raw oysters - a pleasant surprise. So, they did serve raw oysters at brunch. Here's most what four of us got: Daily Specials * Deviled Eggs ($9) - fried chicken with "Lagarde sauce" and house plain * Fresh raw oysters ' Blackberry x2 (VA, $2.75 each) - moderate brine, light finish ' Whitestone x6 (VA, $3.25 each) - mild salinity, clean mineral finish ' Smith Point x4 (WA, $3.00 each) - moderate brine, sweet finish Snacks * Short Rib Totchos ($10) - slow-braised short rib, BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese fondue, green onions Brunch * Salmon Benedict x2 ($18 each) - two salmon cakes (red and green peppers, onion, mayo), brunch potatoes, two poached eggs, Hollandaise * The Lagarde Plate ($13) - three eggs any style (sunny side up here), andouille sausage, tomato, and cheesy grits * Croque Madame ($14) - brioche, ham and cheese, Mornay sauce, sunny side egg, with brunch potatoes (cheesy grits also an option). Dessert * Bread Pudding ($9) - spicy caramel, and Oreo cookie crumbles and whipped cream Specialty Cocktails * Aviation ($10.50) - McQueen and the Violet Fog Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, creme de violette, lemon; chilled, up, maraschino cherry * Coffee x2 In general, the food was tasty. The Deviled Eggs came with five pieces. We ordered a "half and half" option where we got three with fried chicken with Lagarde sauce and two plain. I preferred the pieces with fried chicken with Lagarde sauce because they were tastier, but the plain was fine too. I'm not sure how to describe the Lagarde sauce other than it was a creamy, mildly-peppery, I think mayo-based sauce. The oysters were terrific. I didn't prefer one kind over another. I could barely tell the differences between them. What mattered was they all tasted fresh and scratched the itch. A couple oysters weren't shucked cleanly and had shell fragments. That's always annoying. Also, when the ice melted in my tray, my tray leaked water. The oysters came with cocktail sauce, mignonette, and lemon. We also asked for horseradish and hot sauce. The horseradish was nice and strong. We got three kinds of hot sauce, all local Samson's Bite Sauce Company brand: Ghost Pineapple, Mixed Chili, and Mango Habanero. The Short Rib Totchos (tater tot nachos) were excellent, my favorite. My tablemates and I disagreed on the consistency of the tots. I thought they were OK. Someone got a side of fries (not listed above). The texture of the fries was fantastic -- delectably crispy. The best thing about the Short Rib Totchos was the Swiss cheese fondue on top. It was really good. The Short Rib Totchos were on the regular brunch menu. We were also considering the Special Totchos on the daily specials menu. Those were made with Chicken Parmesan and mozzarella. The Salmon Benedict was good. The dish was well made, filling, and satisfying. The eggs were perfectly poached. The Bread Pudding was an ideal brunch dessert. It came with two giant dollops of whipped cream and Oreo cookie crumbles all over. The bread pudding itself had a wonderful texture and was rich and savory. I recommend it. Our table was too small to fit our order. I was rushed to finish the apps. Our server was Serena B. She was friendly and did a great job. During a busy brunch service, everything we ordered came out fairly quickly. read more