The Place on Broad ~ Augusta, Georgia

  The wrought iron patio furniture makes The Place on Broad the perfect spot for a dinner on a beautiful spring day. Not to imply the inside of this restaurant is shabby at all, with its elegant bar and cozy booths. However, I am sure that it does not compare to the ambiance of a May afternoon in Augusta Georgia. Downtown Augusta is a twisted blend of businesses boxed in by the Savannah River, old neighborhoods, rail yards, and a sprawling collection of colleges. Maybe one day Augusta can get its act together and clean up Broad Street. Restaurants like The Place on Broad have reclaimed one or two blocks of Broad Street, but I believe there are more opportunities for growth downtown as the city leaders become resolute to work on the issues.

  Being the proud owner of a new camera, I was click-happy right out of the gate. However, by snapping pictures like the Paparazzi, I blew my cover as a sleuthing restaurant critic. I had a head waiter, a water-runner, a beer-runner, and assorted food-runners. The host also checked on the table often. Tip of the day: If one ever wants abnormally superior service, bust out a camera and go to work.

  The Spinach Dip came with toasted Pita Bread. (insert a long pause with much thought and contemplation) (OK, insert another pause and some finger tapping) No, nothing remarkable comes to mind about the Spinach Dip. Spinach and cream cheese... I did see one bit of red, maybe a tomato or a roasted pepper snuck in unnoticed. The covering of melted Gruyere cheese gave the dip a pleasant presentation. Unfortunately, looks are not everything. The dip was a bit thick and intensely  normal. I suggest that the chef toss in some roasted red peppers and some Peri-Peri Extra Hot Sauce to take this spinach dip to another level.

  Burgers were the star of the evening, but I chose to fight the mob and ordered the Avocado Crumble Salad topped with Mahi Mahi. The Avocado on the salad was perfect without any brown discoloring. That statement may sound odd, but I seem to be a magnet for brown Avocado. With the Mahi Mahi cooked perfectly, this was an outstanding salad. Fresh, bright, and enjoyable, it was a perfect match for the spring evening on Broad Street.

  The mushroom-topped burger, touted by my son Alex as "the best burger [consumed in recent history]", looked delicious.  I dove in and took a bite. I admit that this is an excellent burger. The Kaiser rolls toasted on the flat top with butter is what made these burgers superior. My theory is that a fantastic burger should always leave a permanent stain on your shirt. I am also a minimalist when it comes to burgers. An epic "gf" burger consists of quality ground beef cooked over a wood-burning grill, topped with aged cheddar cheese, and smashed between two pieces of buttered egg-buns, but hey, that is just me.

A "chilled out" guest

  The place on Broad is a delightful place to chill out. Maybe when it is time for a remodel the owner will consider renaming The Place on Broad to "The Place to Chill". What a fabulous place this is to enjoy your company and just relax. We people-watched for a whole twenty minutes after the meal. The occasional weird dude walking down the sidewalk makes a convenient excuse to buy another beer. Never underestimate the impact of weird dudes. "Do me a solid and get me another brew" almost came out of my mouth. One cannot get much more "chilled" than that.

 Overall, this was a pleasant dining experience. I hope that The Place on Broad will survive and become a fixture in downtown Augusta. The staff was excellent on this slowish-beginning of a Saturday evening. I will have to come back when they are busy (without my camera), to find out if they can perform under pressure.

  Check out their menu and their store website at theplaceonbroad.com.

Thanks for reading,
gf

DiChicko's Peri-Peri Cafe ~ Augusta, Georgia

  Jill, Alex, Katelyn, and I arrived at DiChickO's Peri-Peri Cafe with cautious anticipation, having never dined there before. Upon entering, we found ourselves in a health store stocked with every conceivable health pill and potion known to man. As we made our way through the small jungle of plants and herbs that were for sale in the entry way, I secretly picked out a Rosemary sprig that I intended to bring home.  To the left there were three rows of grocery items. Items such as  whole-grain breads, nuts, flax, and crazy uber-healthy-looking seed and herbs (that look like marijuana and such), packed into nifty plastic boxes with clicky-click lids. You know the type lids I speak of, so do not mouth "clicky-click" silently.

  We meandered to the back of the store and stood by the "CLOSED" sign and read the store hours with our heads slightly cocked to the left. The sign said: "Saturday 11:00-3:00". We looked at our watches. (Actually, we looked at cell phones.) Then we looked at each other, cocked our heads, and blinked several times, the way George Bush Jr. used to do at press conferences. We finally stepped up to the young lady at the register and asked if they were still serving lunch. She graciously apologized for the sign faux pas and gave us a menu to explore.

   DiChickO's has an easy to read menu with sandwiches, soups, salads, "flaps", quesadillas, and smoothies. On the back side of the menu, there is a chart that has nutritional information. This nutritional page was the first gold star that I awarded DiChicO's. I am not "in the know" of this cafe's affairs, but after speaking to some regular patrons, I found out that they are in the process of moving the kitchen (most likely due to Master's week ending). This may explain the overall clumsiness of the cafe's appearance and execution of order taking.
We found a comfortable table with slightly wiggly chairs after placing our orders and gathering our drinks.

  Settling down, we chatted about DiChickO's signature Peri-Peri sauces which were prominently on display. The Extra Hot is premier. This is a terrific sauce. It has heat with tons of flavor. If you go to DiChickO's and do not see anything on the menu that you might like, just buy the sauce and leave. I ended up slathering it all over the Mahi Mahi Panini sandwich that I ordered. It made this epic sandwich "Peri-Peri-epic" (golf applause). The flavors offered are Garlic, Lemon Pepper, Mild, Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot. Just get the Extra Hot and be done with it. You can order these sauces on line by going to www.dichickos.com.

  The food delivery was quick enough, although we were distracted by the tea remaking process. Hold times on sweetened tea should be a discussion at the next manager's meeting. "We made it fresh this morning" was a team member's try at an apology. That let me know that The Boy had swallowed four-and-a-half-hour-old-room-temperature sweet tea (give or take thirty minutes). Yuck-O. The guacamole dip served with blue corn chips also helped us through the tea dilemma. Freshly made with avocados, diced tomatoes, and red onions, it was a rock star appetizer. The new batch of tea delivered with our lunch made everything right as rain. The Mahi-Mahi Melt was spectacular. It is marked on the menu (with an umbrella tag) as having fewer than 400 calories. I figure that I lowered that to 300 calories by dipping it in the Extra Hot Peri-Peri sauce as aforementioned.

  We thoroughly enjoyed our lunches while we chatted about the uniqueness of the cafe. This is a fairly random dining environment. The cafe is squashed into the back of New Life Natural Foods. Cushy couches are strategically placed in the cafe for reading books and enjoying beverages the way that the cast of "Friends" used to do. There where books labeled "Not for sale, but you may read them" on specially marked bookshelves. The right of the market is a bookstore nook which also sported its own cushy couch. The left of the market was organic produce, breads, and the "clicky click" boxes. This is where Alex spotted "Bible Bread". I am not real sure about this bread yet. I will have to investigate and report the findings. Overall, DiChickO's is a perfect spot to pick up a healthy lunch. Go to www.newlifeaugusta.com to check out the market's information.

On a scale of one to five hot sauce flavors, DiChickO's Peri-Peri Cafe, I give thee four hot sauce flavors!

Thanks for reading,

gf

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