Chef Marshall Rogers has created a menu that will pique your palate without pushing things too far from comfort food.

There are so many little details that go into creating a successful restaurant. Of course you need a solid menu and a kitchen crew capable of consistently producing plate after plate of exceptional food. But there’s so much more than that. From the lighting to the music and even down to the flooring, a restaurant’s soul is the sum of a thousand parts, each one’s potential subtle, yet absolutely critical to the success of the place. You may not be able to verbalize it in terms of its individual components, but when you’ve dined at a place that’s done things right, you’ll remember it for a long time. Lucky for folks in North Fulton, the Slice Café in downtown Alpharetta has done things right.

There is a comfort level at Slice that inherently comes from its location, an older home right off of Main Street. Of course the building hasn’t been lived in for some time and its innards have been totally rearranged, but that home spirit still lives on. The old porch has been cleverly enclosed with all-weather windows. The upstairs seating area is lofty and open with a private meeting space that’s perfect for your next family or business get together. No matter where you sit, you’ll feel right at home.

Chef Marshall Rogers has created a menu that will pique your palate without pushing things too far from comfort food. Our meal began with one of Slice’s flatbread pizzas, this one studded with rare seared Ahi tuna paired with caramelized onions atop a roasted garlic and herbed goat cheese spread. The appetizer paired perfectly with the Asian Pear Salad studded with praline walnuts, thinly sliced pears and goat cheese. If you’re a crab cake fan, try Slice’s Maryland style crab cake with crispy capers, the briny crunch of the capers working to further enhance the natural sweetness of the jumbo lump crabmeat.

You could easily fill up on Slice’s salads and appetizers, but with an impressive selection of entrees, why would you? Speaking of homey comfort, try the Georgia grassfed-beef meat loaf, wrapped in bacon and served with roasted-garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli, chili ketchup, and portabella gravy. Or try the chicken-fried chicken with blue-cheese mashed spuds, spinach and pancetta gravy. We fell in love with the sliced duck breast with a pomegranate reduction and sunflower seed praline, served with a parcel of roasted butternut squash wrapped in Swiss chard. The dish walks the tightrope of savory and sweet without falling headlong into either. And there are plenty of seafood and steak options, plus daily specials to make each visit unique.

And while other mom & pop restaurants are struggling to keep afloat in these tough economic waters, the folks at Slice are already planning sister restaurants in the Alpharetta area. So head on over to Slice and introduce yourself. I have a feeling you’ll become a regular.

by Hans Rueffert

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Slice Café is located at 52 B, North Main Street just north of downtown Alpharetta.

For more information, visit them online at www.slicecafe.com or call 770.569.7511. For the recipe for Sunflower Seed Pralines, go to our Web site at www.northfultonliving.com

Hans Rueffert is the food editor for North Fulton Living, and a local food writer and TV host. Photography is by Amy Rueffert.