Douglasville Diner ~ Douglasville, GA

  We did not expecting anything too spectacular as we went to breakfast at the Douglasville Diner. I am not sure why we felt this way, but maybe it was the lingering unpleasant taste in our mouths from the previous inhabitants of the building.

Douglasville Diner has a vast menu with everything from breakfast food, Italian, Greek, American, Seafood, Salads, Appetizers, Wraps, Melts, and a Paul Bunyan(ish) dessert menu.  Large menus can be problematic. The execution of the menu by the kitchen staff is only half of the potential trouble. The second half is the service staff knowing said vast menu. However, I will regress and speak of that at another time.

 Open from 7:am until 12:00 Midnight is a grueling schedule to keep. I hope that they can pull it off in the long run. Douglasville has needed another decent breakfast spot for quite some time now. Do not under estimate the impact of pancakes on a culture. If run correctly, Douglasville Diner could potentially change Douglasville into a new center for higher learning. Who knows? If the omelets and hash browns are perfect day-in and day-out, Douglasvillites may invent a car that runs on smog. Lord knows they need that gadget soon living this close to Atlanta.

Lemon Mousse Cake

Yes, we ordered cakes at breakfast...again. I do not know why. What, it looked delicious OK?!

We ate cake only after devastating a "Douglasville Platter" (pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs) and an omelet stuffed full of spinach, Feta Cheese, and mushrooms. The hash browns were spectacularly and elegantly straightforward (that is a compliment). The pancakes were light with a hint (and a strong nod) of vanilla. A discussion of whether the pancakes originated from a mix or not ensued after a few sloppy bites. I stand by my "from a mix but modified" theory. My partner (who possibly has the best taste buds known to man) says that the pancakes are from scratch. She also smelled them. Her sniffing the pancakes gave her an unfair advantage (because she has the nose of a Bloodhound). Trust me on that one.

  Eating cake at breakfast requires extra cups of coffee. The coffee, by the way, was better than average. There is always time for additional coffee according to gf.

  Let's review the qualifications of a diner:

• Open early, check. 
• Open late, check. 
• Must serve breakfast, check. 
• Must brew great coffee and "coffee food" (e.g. cake), check. 
• Must serve hamburgers and kid food, check. 
• Must offer something different (e.g. Italian/Greek fare), check.

Tiramisu  Cake

Alpine Bakery in Atlanta is the source of all of this cake madness. I finished several bites of cake and boxed it up for the varmints at home, as I do not need to eat sugar. I admit that this breakfast was not the healthiest that I have had in recent history. However, I refused to smear the hydrogenated-butter-spread all over my pancakes, neither did I pour the high fructose corn syrup on them. Questions about the ingredients of the sausage, pancakes, and the dessert cakes were never asked. It is an American diner. I expect to be poisoned.

  Give Douglasville Diner a moment or two to settle in and get over their opening pains. I am sure that they will be fine as long as they deliver what they promise.


Update: Douglasville Diner is Closed.
Click here for details. gf

Thanks for reading,

gf

Lemon Mousse Cake

Tiramisu Cake

Cake Display

Outside dining / smoking section

The Bo Weevil Cafe and Sweetery, Augusta GA

  It finally happened. After much hype and chatter, my son took us to The Bo Weevil Cafe and Sweetery. I am not sure if sweetery is an actual word though. Merriam Webster seems to agree with me.

"sweetery"

"The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above."

 That is OK. I am a fan of words that are not necessarily words. The latest non-word that I have run across lately is "Swelly". Click here to view the T-Shirt I made with the word "Swelly". "Swelly" is a great non-word. Example: "The beans were a bit "swelly" after they soaked in the water for an hour." I love it.

  My son made reservations  by using Open Table. Open Table is a free service. You can use your phone or computer to reserve a table with restaurants who use the Open Table service. Click here to see the Open Table web site. I was curious about how this was going to play out. I looked over Alex's shoulder as I watched him type in the time of our reservation, and the type of table that we wanted. He chose a booth at seven thirty p.m. on a Saturday night. This was going to be my first litmus test for Open Table.


  We arrived at the Riverwalk in Augusta, and amazingly enough, found a parking spot (with a quickness). This may have also been due to the deft alley driving skills that my son possesses. My free tip, for all who decide to dine at The Bo Weevil, is to park behind the restaurant in the semi-hidden parking lot. Look for the alley as you drive up to the cafe. Dart into the alley and find ample parking. When you get out of your car I suggest that you walk with a semi-swag. People will feel your confidence and your wisdom of the restaurant scene. Flip your collar up for an extra flair.



  Before you walk in to the cafe turn your collar down and watch your step, as the entry is clumsy people unfriendly. I did not notice if they had an adequate entry for the handicapped, but I am sure that they must. (Now I am paranoid, and I will have to check on that.) We walked in and told the host our name, and then we were immediately seated in a booth. I was impressed. Saturday night during a peak hour we were seated immediately. Immediately. Seated immediately. Open Table, check it.


  We walked right by two gynormous display coolers. The coolers were filled with a myriad of humongous decorated three tiered cakes, and swirly swirled cheese cakes. They should have named The Bo Weevil "The OMG Giant Cake Company". "Forget dinner" I thought, as we sat down. The waiter actually asked us if we were going to eat dinner, or just eat dessert. Nice job. I said "Yes".


  The waiter made some smooth suggestions on the extensive wine list. We chose the "house" Cabernet and the "house" Chardonnay (Even if they did not call them "house" wines.) "House Wines" sounds better than "The Cheap wines" or "The $5.00 wines", I think. The menu is a quaint collection of salads, soups, sandwiches, steaks, and southern cuisine. Click here to see the Bo Weevil menu.  I could not resist the shrimp and grits. I also had to have a cup of seafood bisque. My wife saw the Ruben and closed her menu. Alex went for the Jambalaya. The food came out quicker than we could scarf down the Spinach and Artichoke dip (which could have used some fresh fried nacho chips instead of the store bought ones that were served). The Ruben was a mountain of beef and sauerkraut; it was more than my wife could conquer. Alex's jambalaya was spicier than he was expecting, but he did well with it. The seafood bisque was the James Brown spin move, with the twirling cape, and a "good god!". I could have stopped eating right there, and I would have been a happy man. The shrimp and grits was like my first dessert. Creamy, piping hot, full of shrimp, and topped with bits of ham. Off-the-chain.


  Our waiter asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu, and we grunted out a meek "sure". The choices were made by exception. We chose what we did not want as much as the other, and worked backwards. This was the most painful task of the night. What not to eat is never a good decision when you are treating yourself. We ordered an Apple Blossom, a 7th Heaven Cake, and a Canary Cake. 

  I did not care about calories. I did not care about sugar. I did not care, until I ate about six bites. That is when I had an ultra-sugar overload, and my brain neurons were overloading with good-time feelings. As I sipped on my coffee and looked around at The Masters newspaper clippings on the walls, I pondered how I would score The Bo Weevil Cafe and Sweetery. I decided that I would score them with giant cake slices!


Bo Weevil Cafe and Sweetery, I give thee 4.75 giant cake slices.

http://www.glutenfreemrsd.com

Price Points:
Lunch $5 to $10
Dinner $6 to 17
Desserts $5 to $6


The Bo Weevil Cafe and Sweetery 
10 Ninth Street Augusta Georgia
706-722-7772





Thanks for reading,


gf