Friday the 13th

David & I decided a little dining excursion was just what we needed to shake the gloom off our rainy Georgia Friday so we headed up to Aiken for Stromboli at Ferando's. They were packed and though our food only warranted a "good" rather than it's usual "really good" we think it was probably due to the deluge of customers who like us came in out of the rain. Also I thing that Pizza really is their strong suit. Service gets an A+ for effort tonight... our young waiter (who had a certain Sean Astin look about him) was personable and attentive even though he looked so overwhelmed we feared his head might actually pop off. The rain let up and we went in search of further adventures..... and ended up at The White Elephant for coffee and dessert. Downtown Augusta just doesn't seem to be very lively at night and there were only a few people in the restaurant. We sat at the bar and had a nice chat with Jai the owner. She'd been stood up by a reservation for 20 but in spite of her dissapointment she was still very good company. I had the bananas foster which is a unique take on the classic in a torte form. It was exceptional and I will absolutely order it again! As we suspected with our previous mention of the coffee we just didn't catch it at the right time the first go-round but this time it was fresh, hot and excellent. We asked for a small taste of the Garlic Dressing that we love so much - I swear I could drink the stuff! I'm trying to make my own version which I thought was pretty good but after tasting the real thing again I am not even in the same league (back to the drawing board)! The combo of stromboli, bananas foster and garlic was pretty bizarre and we decided to make it even more eclectic by tasting some of Jai's Mom's hot sauce - it was hot, sweet and yummy stuff! So much so that we bought a jar to take home - autographed by the Lady herself! Maybe it'll inspire me on some of the 4 lbs of turkey breast I still need to find a recipe for.....

The Best of Augusta For Real!

Really! No kidding – the best meal we’ve had in Augusta! On Friday David and I made our way downtown to the White Elephant Café on Broad Street. Charson our favorite sushi chef from Matsu Sige had recommended it and knowing that he was also the chef at the Café we had really high hopes for a good meal. For once we were NOT disappointed! The White Elephant has all of the things we look for in a dining experience and at a great price too! The service was right on the money. Our waitress Nicole had an engagingly quick wit and was equally speedy on the delivery of food and beverages. No lollygagging going on at the Elephant! We were also greeted by Jai the owner, and Charson and I was reminded that it is the personal touch that makes the real difference in how a restaurant is run. I noted that other customers were greeted warmly as well and it made no difference if they were old friends or newcomers. All were made to feel welcome. The décor and ambiance is tasteful with a hint of humor and clean scrubbed to a shine just like we like it! The ladies room had some eyelevel framed wisdom to impart…Flush your troubles away…Words to live by! I’m mentioning the food down the bottom again as I often do but in this case because it’s nice to save the best for last. The food was excellent! The starter of sweet potato fries had an incredibly good chipotle dipping sauce. The salads were slathered with a rich, garlic loaded potion that I could slurp by the vat. I had the Peach Filet en Croute – rare – and it was actually perfectly cooked! It was seared on the outside and juicy red on the inside, tender and flavorful topped with a not to sweet peach glaze and sliced peaches. David had the meatballs with couscous – savory meatballs on a bed of fluffy couscous with a fruity-spicy chutney on the side. Both meals vanished without a trace in record time! The only minor nick was the coffee that was not quite on par with the rest of the feast but next time we’ll try the espresso which I suspect will be excellent. Unfortunately the ample portions left us too full for dessert so we’ll have to save that for our next trip….and there will be a next trip very soon I assure you! I’m giving The White Elephant a 9.5…the Best of Augusta on our list and a restaurant that would stand up favorably to good food anywhere!