Sheehan's Irish Pub

I haven't spent much time in Irish Pubs since moving to Augusta Georgia, having grown up and gone to college in areas with much larger Irish Catholic communities. However, Sheehan's is not your average Irish Pub. I have dined at Sheehan's twice in the last week, and what is most evident is that the folks behind this establishment's success are people who really love food. The other notable fact is that the menu is much more varied than I expected and not a traditional pub menu at all. For my most recent visit on a Saturday night, I had called ahead that day to secure a table on the covered patio, but there were none available due to the large weekend crowds. Dining tables can be found in the pub area, covered patio, and outside, but we ended up in pub area, as the rain prevented an alfresco experience. This section of Sheehan's can get a bit louder than the others, but it was more than acceptable that night. I started the evening with a glass of Pomelo sauvignon blanc ($6.50). I like wine, and I really enjoy sauvignon blanc, but I am not a wine connoisseur. So, I can only say that my dining partner earlier in the week (who is a wine person) recommended it, my followup research online found good things to say about this wine, and most importantly, I found the citrusy, crisp offering to be a refreshing start to the evening. For appetizers, we shared the Eggplant and Smoked Salmon Napoleon ($8.00) and the Fried Green Tomato Salad ($7.00). It is vital to note that while not traditional pub fare, this is traditional pub-sized fare, in other words, the portions are big, really big. The fried green tomatoes were hot, crisp, and juicy and the salad had a flavorful dressing that was cool and paired well with the tomatoes. The servers on both occasions this week offered to plate the shared selections on two plates, which was much appreciated and a sign of fine dining service when done without gripes or god forbid, an extra charge. The eggplant and smoked salmon napoleon was stylishly presented and it tasted even better. It was almost large enough to be a small entree by itself. The eggplant rounds were fried perfectly, and the smoked salmon was generous. The napoleon was topped with red and green peppers that had some bite, and finished with tartar and remoulade sauces. The rolls served in between the appetizers and entrees were perfect with a hot crispy outside and doughy inside.
For dinner, I had the Honey Lacquered Duck (a 1/2 partially de-boned duck) in a light Asian barbecue sauce served with Stilton blue cheese grits and fried green beens ($19.00). Yes, it was as good as it sounds. The duck was cooked perfectly and the portion so large, that 1/2 came home with me. My dining partner had the Grilled Pork Chop, a big 14 ouncer served with mashed potatoes, spinach, and topped with slices of spicy sausage ($22.00). He was quite pleased, and managed to wade his way though most of the giant plate. On my earlier visit this week, a friend and I shared an entree of tempura lobster tail, Stilton blue mac n cheese, and fried green beans ($26.00). It was also excellent, and based on the variety of all things well fried at Sheehan's, some one in the kitchen knows a thing or two about how to do this right.
Once again, we ate too much to entertain dessert. The selections (whisky cake, chocolate volcano cake, etc) sounded very good, and on my earlier visit this week, I managed to share the "Hello Dolly" sundae. It is a cooling concoction of vanilla ice cream, bananas, and strawberries interspersed with a toffee-like crunchy candy made from among other things graham crackers and chocolate--all served in a martini glass. Yummy!
The service is excellent at Sheehan's, and perhaps as telling as anything about this place is that the servers from both evenings clearly loved the food they serve. Both made candid, enthusiastic recommendations. I would have enjoyed this meal in any city in which I experienced it, but I am so pleased that it was in Augusta, Georgia.

Rating: 17/20

Sheehan's Irish Pub is located at 2571 Central Avenue, Augusta, Georgia. Phone: (706) 364-1234. Hours: TBA

Crums on Central

I was very happy to see that the old Le Café Du Teau restaurant on Central has been given new life as an upscalish mostly southern style restaurant called Crums on Central. On my last visit to Le Café Du Teau, which must have been just weeks before their formal closing, there were just a few other diners in the place, saying a last goodbye to a longtime friend. To my surprise and delight the shiny new Crums was vibrant and filled to the brim with a boisterous, well heeled crowd of people at 8:30 on a Saturday evening. So much in fact that we chose to sit outside and have dinner rather than wait the 30 or so minutes needed for an indoor table.
The menu had an eclectic selection of choices but the majority of selections leaned toward the southern side (pork chops, shrimp and grits, etc). Appetizers were divided in $4.00 and $6.00 plates. We were surprised to learn that dinner was not served with bread, as to me bread signifies a message from the chef of all that is yet to come--is it hot and crusty with a soft center or is it cold with no variation in texture or flavor? Anyhow, as this was the case, we ordered an olive tapenade with pita bread to start (a $4.00 item). The tapande was flavorful and salty in a good way, and served with warm (prepackaged) pita bread. The portion was generous. Our formal appetizers were the roasted oysters with bacon and Bearnaise sauce and fried clams with a pesto aioli (6.00). The oysters were flavorful but there were only 4 small oysters (in a couple of huge shells and a couple in tiny shells) that in their baking process had not retained the juiciness that I associate with freshest of oysters. The platter also was just generally not attractive with the small portion of highly inconsistently sized shells. I wouldn't eat it again as is. The clams were better, a large portion with tasty coating and side sauce, but they had been sitting out to long before serving that the first bite was a bit disappointing. Fried food is generally only delicious when served piping hot (except cold friend chicken) and before the oil begins to soften the coating. I would try this dish again once the kitchen has its timing a bit better. For diner, my dining partner had the pork chop with macaroni and cheese and broccoli rabe ($17.00). It came with a fig barbecue sauce. He said the pork was outstanding, large and juicy with a tangy sauce accompaniment. We were disappointed by the 4 cheese macaroni, which was bland in flavor and not too interesting. For a most excellent macaroni and cheese, try this awesome recipe from Gourmet Magazine: 4 Mushroom Mac and Cheese, arguably the best mac-n-cheese we have ever eaten. I had a smoked duck with rice and grilled asparagus ($19.00). My entire plate was flavorful and filling. My duck was juicy, although it looked a bit overdone. However, I wasn't sure if the smoking process had changed its color a bit. The asparagus also had a smoky grilled flavor that was excellent.
We could not eat desert, having eaten all this food already, so we will have to save this for another time. Service was excellent. We had a host a waitpeople attending to the few of us who braved the outdoors on a Augusta summer night. Speaking of this, Crums should have some citronella candles or some other method of bug discouragement if they really want to use the outdoor front of the restaurant for dining. The check with 3 appetizers, two entrees, a cocktail, and a couple of soft drinks was only $60.00, which we thought was reasonable for the quality and type of food being served. My dining partner confessed that his favorite part of the night was the loud, Augusta "old money" crowd, having consumed too much booze and having too much privilege to notice or care that others in their midst were trying to have a peaceful, relaxed dinner. He also wanted to let the ladies from this set know that it is okay to eat, as he was worried that a few of the women in this crowd looked especially malnourished. So yes, all in all, a good time was had by all, and we will try Crums on Central again.

Ratings: 12/20

Crums on Central is located at 1855 Central Ave. Its open Wednesdays-Sundays, 4:30 p.m. until. They take reservations at 706-729-6969.

Thai Food in North Augusta

As a resident technically of North Augusta, SC in the CSRA community, I was excited to see that a part-Thai restaurant had ventured into the generally uninspiring dining community that is North Augusta. An amazing town, yes. A wonderful, friendly community to live in, yes. A dining haven, no. I think the fact that the menu of the River House Restaurant is 1/2 Thai, 1/2 Continental (steak, fish, etc) illustrates the tepidness of restaurateurs to venture full throttle into the North Augusta Dining scene (well, lack there of). The restaurant itself is in the old B.C. Davenports space, which is pretty cozy and comfortable. The owners are also the owners of Mai Thai is Columbia County, a well known established Thai Restaurant. Entrees range from about 10-25 dollars with the Thai food being toward the lower end and the traditional steaks on the higher one. They do serve beer and wine, though we chose not to drink that evening, so I cannot comment on the selections available. As we ate Thai food on our recent visit to the River House, I can only speak for the Thai side of the menu. There are about 20 Thai dishes that cover the expected range of Thai delights but it lacks some innovation. Part of the fun, to me, of eating ethnic food is getting to try new things and chef specialties, but there really weren't any to speak of. For appetizers we had the Calamari with Thai Dipping Sauce and "A3" (a ground spicy chicken dish with lettuce--almost a salad). The calamari were served hot and crisp, which we enjoyed. While I always like sweet red chili sauce (just see the large bottle in my fridge), I had hoped the dipping sauce might be something more alluring. The ground chicken salad was indeed spicy, and while tasty, I found it to have a bit of a bitter aftertaste but it was generally good. For entrees, we shared the drunken noodles with beef and a seafood curry with kaffir lime leaves and mushrooms. The portions were fair sized. The drunken noodles had a nice texture and a reasonable amount of thinly sliced and tender beef but needed to be kicked up a bit. Had it not been for the basil, it would have been near devoid of flavor. The seafood curry had plenty of flavor but only contained 8 mediumish shrimp and a sprinkling of mushrooms for $15.00. Even with rising food prices, I thought this was a bit lacking. The staff was lovely and attentive. I am glad the River House is here, and with a few more interesting specialties would be worth visiting again. The waitperson stated that their fried cheesecake was delicious, but we decided to eat some chocolate mousse parfaits my honey had prepared at home (which were delicious!). Overall, I found the environment inviting and the food mediocre.

Rating: 9/20

The River House is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is located at 301 Georgia Ave, North Augusta.