Two Chicks Eatin’: Sunrise and Shine

Jennings and Cordell’s delicious spread at SUNRISE The Breakfast Place. Photo courtesy of Jennings.

By Sarah Cordell and Morgan Jennings
Staff Writers

“Get up ‘n get crackin’” is the motto of SUNRISE The Breakfast Place, and Two Chicks did just that. We spent a leisurely Saturday morning down the Mountain in Decherd to grab our favorite meal of the day: breakfast. SUNRISE serves up traditional southern-style breakfast including sausage gravy, country ham, and chocolate gravy. Basically, this place serves everything you used to eat at your grandmother’s but don’t know how to make on your own. 

When we walked in the building, there were people spilling out the door. While no one wants to have to wait to be seated, we took it as a good sign that customers were willing to be patient for some breakfast. 

Once we got seated, it took a while to look over the menu and choose our meals. There are SO many options. Jennings decided on 2 eggs scrambled, 3 pieces of sausage, home fries, and a homemade buttermilk biscuit that she topped with grape jelly. She just could not resist getting an order of french toast that could only have been cooked with love and cinnamon. And if you know Jennings, you know it’s hard for her to resist a good glass of chocolate milk. The heroes of this meal were the wonderfully seasoned home fries and the fluffy and delicately sweet french toast. The grand total was $12.89.

Cordell chose the “Sunrise Special” for $6.49. This dish is customizable in the meat and bread options, so Cordell got 2 scrambled eggs, 4 pieces of bacon, home fries, and a biscuit. She added on the sausage gravy for $2.29 because no southern breakfast is complete without it. The bacon was smoked, crispy, and full of flavor. The MVP of Cordell’s meal  had to be the sausage gravy; while it’s not as good as Cordell’s mom’s, it was still delicious and a worthy competitor. 

We recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting a homestyle breakfast and an excuse to finally make that trip down to Walmart. Special thanks to community member Barbara Dale for this great recommendation!

As the semester wraps up and we head into the holiday season, we can’t help but say thank you to everyone who has contributed to our food journey up to now. Whether it was through words of affirmation and support, liking our posts on social media, or having a hand in the preparation of the meals we’ve eaten, we couldn’t have done it without you, and we are excited to get back at it in January! Until then, you can find us at either Reading Day Donuts at the Community Engagement House or Final Exam Late Night Pancakes in McClurg on Reading Day, Thursday, December 12. 

The Clurg hack you need to try before you’re without Clurg for a whole month is brought to us by Angus Pritchard (C’22). Pritchard likes to make a delectable sandwich whenever he can find fried catfish being served up in the Sea-to-Table line. He paints a hamburger bun with his secret habanero garlic sour cream recipe (you’re on your own with this one). Then, he adds red onion, grated carrots, cilantro, and slaw, all of which can be found between the sum line and the salad bar. He carefully places the fish on the sandwich and squeezes a lime to tie all the flavors together. 

If you’re still hungry after that, Pritchard suggests a hand-churned milkshake. Put two or three scoops of ice cream in a glass and fill it with whole milk. Slowly mix it together with a spoon. We’re told that’s the trick to getting the smooth but not runny texture that turns  an okay milkshake into a great one.

As always, feel free to send us your Clurg hacks or restaurant suggestions at cordesc0@sewanee.edu and jennimh0@sewanee.edu, or follow us on Instagram @twochickseatin. And remember, “Eatin’ speaks louder than words!