If you have a hankering for it, Augusta has it
Web posted
Thursday, April 8, 2004
As throngs of visitors descend on Augusta for the Masters Tournament, we're guessing that the only greens they have on their minds are the ones used for putting.
Even the most avid golf fans have to eat, though ... right? Assuming you plan to nosh on something other than Augusta National's famed pimento cheese sandwiches during your visit, here's a quick culinary guide to Augusta's other claim to fame: good food.
DAY-BREAKERS: If you still follow your mom's advice not to skip breakfast, you can't go wrong at Al's Family Restaurant in North Augusta, where biscuits with cream gravy put the heart in hearty. Try the Working Man's Special for a true workout of a meal. Mally's Bagels and Grits on Washington Road offers a gazillion breakfast choices (we like the blueberry bagels), as does the perennial favorite of the sticky-finger set, IHOP, also on Washington Road.
QUICK BITES: Sandwich City on 10th Street is where homemade sandwiches, served assembly-line style, intermingle with CNN, shared newspapers and the shop talk of its lawyer/judge/reporter habitues. It's good, it's fast and it's informative. (Eavesdropping optional.) Try the tuna salad. Or head to any of WifeSaver's locations for fried chicken and side dishes served fast-food style but prepared as if Grandma herself staffed the kitchen. It would be downright criminal to bypass the macaroni and cheese.
FUNKY AND FLAVORFUL: Just about any place on Broad Street qualifies. There's the whole multiple-personality deal at Blue Sky Kitchen (throw a dart at a map of the world and its cuisine is probably represented on the menu) and the in-your-face snarkiness of Nacho Mama's. We like the Redneck Stir-Fry and Baja Burrito, respectively. Or venture down Wrightsboro Road to Yo Pizza, where sensory overload delightfully rules the day: the aroma of fresh-baked pizza, the eye candy of original art, the feel of fun.
EXOTICA: If utopia really existed, Bambu (on the lower level of the Partridge Inn on Walton Way) would be its centerpiece. From its color-changing indoor waterfall to its herb garden on the wraparound porch, this restaurant features fussed-over international cuisine that is truly out of this world. Or try Matsu Sige on Washington Road in Martinez, where sushi's so chic, it's off the charts.
SOUL FOOD: Now, this is authentic Augusta cuisine, and nobody does it better than Cafe 209 or Hot Foods by Calvin on Broad Street. You may thus far be blissfully ignorant of the wonders of fresh collard greens, fried catfish, homemade macaroni and cheese, and Calvin's cryptic bean pie - but one visit will permanently rewire your taste buds.
HOITY-TOITY: Not that there's anything wrong with that. Upscale restaurants such as Bistro 491 in Surrey Center, Chow on Broad Street, D. Timm's on Sixth Avenue, La Maison on Telfair Street and Cafe du Teau on Central Avenue serve up seconds and thirds of elegance. The Bistro's Soup of Yesterday (prepared a day in advance for optimal flavor-mingling) is not to be missed.
BOFFO BUFFETS: Bobby's Barbecue in Warrenville offers a spread of shredded pork, coleslaw, mac'n'cheese and veggies that test the limits of all-you-can-eat endurance. (Don't forget to tip the piano player.) The area's many Chinese buffets also set the stage for serious noshing. Shangri La on Washington Road is particularly good.
TRIED AND TRUE: A few Augusta eateries have become institutions, and rightfully so. Luigi's on Broad Street (with its heavenly avgolemono soup), T-Bonz on Washington Road and Gordon Highway (melt-in-your-mouth prime rib), and Sconyer's Barbecue, Villa Europa and T's, all in south Augusta, come to mind as places that have earned their stripes through great food and even better service.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: The Caribbean-inspired Rae's Coastal Cafe on Augusta's Wimbledon Drive, Cadwallader's Cafe in Martinez, Old Edgefield Grill in Edgefield, S.C., and the Aiken Brewing Co. in Aiken are worth seeking out.
SWEET ENDINGS: The desserts offered at Boll Weevil on Riverwalk Augusta are outnumbered only by the calories therein. And as for the Peanut Butter Pie at French Market Grille in Surrey Center? Now, there's a reason to blow your diet.
