A darling Main Street cafe and coffee house open from dawn to dusk, the Blue Canoe is a locals’ favorite. Indeed, much of what cooks in the kitchen really is local, including meats from Cone’s Market and butchery just up the road as well as produce from nearby farms.
Pastries are a menu highlight: muffins and scones, interesting cupcakes, and a lallapalooza of a “skillet cookie,” which is a huge, just-baked chocolate chip cookie served in a cast iron skillet, topped with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. The cookie, which takes 15 minutes to arrive because it is baked to order, is hot enough that the ice cream is already beginning to melt as it arrives. And the skillet keeps the cookie hot. By midway through, you are spooning into a crazy-indulgent slurry of cookie dough and cream. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, it’s a must-eat.
Hamburgers are flavorful patties cooked through, all the better when topped with cheese and/or bacon, pizza sauce, or a mix of havarti and cheddar cheese and plenty of just-ripe avocado. They come with excellent French fries: a winning balance of crisp surface and creamy insides.
Pizzas are a specialty, although the shy crust is eclipsed by whatever ingredients are atop it. Other worthy menu considerations: paninis, BBQ bologna, a delightfully messy chili dog, wings (bone-in or boneless), made-to-order milk shakes, and a full roster of coffee drinks, chai, frappes, and smoothies.
The Blue Canoe is a versatile venue — right for a meal, a snack, a cup of coffee, or dessert. Dining facilities include indoor and outdoor tables; and there’s a drive-up window for eats to-go. The place itself is cool. Repurposed as a restaurant in what was built as a monumental bank building, it is a winning mix of commercial grandeur and small-town charm.
Other Nearby Restaurants
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Deep South Cheese & Grill
Dearing, GeorgiaDeep South Cheese is a hospitable Georgia roadside cafe that makes its own fresh cheese curds for poutine, plain or fancy. Plus fine burgers & smoked sausages.
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La Casa Latina
Augusta, GeorgiaLa Casa Latina is a charming Augusta strip-mall storefront restaurant & grocery that offers a true taste of Puerto Rico and other Latin-American favorites.
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Tequila’s
Aiken, South CarolinaA modest-looking strip-mall restaurant, Tequila’s serves some of the best Mexican food in town. Shrimp are especially wonderful.
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Cafe 209
Augusta, GeorgiaLocals love this downtown Augusta, Georgia, lunch-only meat-and-3 for vivid southern vegetables, fried chicken, pork chops, Wednesday ribs and Friday catfish.
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Sunshine Bakery
Augusta, GeorgiaIn the heart of downtown Augusta, Sunshine Bakery is an old-fashioned sandwich shop and patisserie known for hearty soups, fresh-baked bread & creamy pastries.
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Southern Salad
Augusta, GeorgiaFresh, colorful veggies and grain bowls using locally-sourced ingredients make The Southern Salad a beacon of healthful eating in downtown Augusta, Georgia.