The Continent has landed in Fayette County.

After weeks of watching the building under construction,

Fayette County diners got their first sample of the European style of dining

at The City Cafe and Bakery last month. The restaurant, located near

the county administrative complex on Ga. Highway 85 in Fayetteville,

is this month's winner of The Citizen's Choice dining award.

If you haven't sampled the delicious food served in a

gorgeous building, run immediately to what is now the best restaurant in

the county. Owners Jorg and Doreen Schatte hail from Germany and

their touch is apparent. As you enter the room, you're immediately

transported to a courtyard in Europe. Exposed brick and

old-fashioned lamps give the diner a sense of walking through some of the

historic streets of Germany and France.

The restaurant also throws in a touch of Fayette County's

history with pictures throughout the restaurant illustrating the county's

past and a brief history featured on the back of the

menu. Both the history and the pictures were supplied by the county's

historian Carolyn Cary.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and each meal

has its own charms. Breakfast features a wide variety of muffins,

croissants and turnovers that can tempt even the most diet-conscious

diner to surrender to the absolutely sinful pastry selection.

For lunch, the cafe offers a wide variety of sandwiches and soups

that offer a perfect mid-day break. The Reuben is particularly good,

but other diners have told me the turkey burger and the City Cafe Stew

are also wonderful. Dinner is my favorite meal at the cafe because of

the ambience and the variety of menu items. Dishes include steak

au poivre, blackened swordfish and pork

medallions. Two particularly flavorful items are the Chicken Marsala and the ribeye.

Meals come with bread and salad and the only negative thing I can

say about the restaurant is the bread was not served warm. After

sampling the entrees, be sure to save room for dessert. The choices can

include cannolis, tiramisu, turtle cheesecake and a large variety of cakes.

Dinner entrees are in the mid-teens, while a delightful lunch can

be had for easily under $10.

Every time I've been to the restaurant, it's been crowded, which

is fairly typical for new restaurants. The buzz I've heard on the

street, though, is that this is the kind of restaurant Fayette's affluent and

food loving diners have been wanting for a long time. Hopefully, this is

only the beginning to Fayette becoming a dining destination.

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