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.