A week after the Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, waiters were wearing t-shirts that declared the Boll Weevil Cafe & Sweetery to be a place where “a big slice is a good thing.” The reference is not to the duffer’s banana ball; it is to the cafe’s layer cakes, which are outlandishly tall and portioned out in majestic, icing-laden triangles. Whether simple fresh strawberry cake or Seventh Heaven Chocolate Cake, which includes layers of white chocolate cheesecake and chocolate ganache, these slices are a dessert lover’s dream — the cake fresh and buttery, the icing thick and creamy. Strangely, whipped cream that decorates plates on which slices are served is watery stuff: second rate, not good enough to accompany these fine cakes.
Before tackling the 30-item dessert menu, which includes cheesecakes and pies as well as the lavish layer cakes, customers tuck into meals that range from sandwiches on house-baked bread to such southern icons as shrimp & grits, pimento cheeseburgers, and Cajun gumbo. There are salads galore — healthful as well as hearty, a soup menu that includes hoppin’ john, and several meat-free items for vegetarians. I’ve enjoyed a pimento grilled cheese sandwich with applewood-smoked bacon on toasty slices of house-baked sourdough bread as well as a turkey-spinach dip-provolone sandwich called Curious George. (George Harrison is the guy who opened the restaurant in 1990; his son runs it today.) The Curious George is made on honey-sweetened wheat bread that reminds me of King’s from Hawaii.
Boll Weevil is located along the city’s repurposed riverfront in what began as a warehouse in the heart of Augusta’s cotton row. To set the mood in its comfy-casual dining rooms, a sound system pipes out vintage mid-20th century rhythm & blues tunes from the likes of Ben E. King, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, and Augusta favorite son James Brown. In fact, the brick-paved street on which the restaurant is located, once called 9th Street, has been formally renamed James Brown Boulevard.
Sunday | 12pm - 8pm |
Monday | 11am - 9pm |
Tuesday | 11am - 9pm |
Wednesday | 11am - 9pm |
Thursday | 11am - 9pm |
Friday | 11am - 10pm |
Saturday | 11am - 10pm |
Other Nearby Restaurants
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Backyard Cafe
West Columbia, South CarolinaThe Backyard Cafe is a destination for handsome hamburgers, after-5pm Dixie dinner & from-scratch ice cream atop squares of gooey butter cake.