Recent Obsessions: Highland Bakery’s Peanut Butter French Toast

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It may have been my most decadent lunch ever, my ultimate plate of guilty pleasure. Yesterday we stopped by Inman Park’s Old Fourth Ward’s sunny Highland Bakery Cafe around 3 o’clock for a late lunch. I browsed the menu of sandwiches and salads, all ready to order the sensible roasted turkey on honey-wheat. Then I turned it over and found the brunch menu.

I’ve always been a serious fan of the pairing that Elvis made famous: peanut butter and banana. If a dessert includes both elements, chances are I’ll order it (and throwing chocolate into the mix never hurts, either). Highland Bakery’s brunch menu offers a breakfasty version of the classic PB&B sandwich—peanut-butter stuffed challah french toast with caramelized bananas. I read that description and was already mentally planning a return for brunch in the near future.

But when our server mentioned that brunch was served all day every day, I took it as a sign. So what if I’d probably need a nap afterward and wouldn’t be able to do anything productive for the rest of the day? That peanut butter french toast was calling my name.

Soon, a mammoth french toast sandwich arrived on my plate. The extra-thick slices of challah are encrusted with bran flakes—providing great crunch—and smeared with a layer of “real” peanut butter, the natural stuff that tastes like pure peanuts. Caramelized coins of banana are strewn all over the plate, and the whole thing is drenched in maple syrup. Anyone who could finish this dish on their own is truly commendable.

I made what I thought was a pretty good dent in it, but still left with a family-sized portion in my doggie bag. Fortunately, this french toast re-heats surprisingly well—and makes an unparalleled late-night snack.

Highland Bakery, 655 Highland Ave NE; 404-586-0772; highlandbakery.com

 

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