No food epitomizes the South like soul food, selected for this month's taste-testing tour.
Our testers - all of Augusta - were Doug Bailey, 40, a project control specialist at Savannah River Site; Vanessa LeClaire, 40, a Realtor for Century 21; and Samantha Johnson, 21, an actress and acting coach and coordinator at Augusta Mini Theatre.
The restaurants were Caf 209, 215 10th St.; Hot Foods by Calvin, 2027 Broad St.; and Tilly's Peas and Butterbeans, 3156 Wrightsboro Road. Testers planned to order fried chicken, fried pork chops, macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, collard greens and yams at each place.
Caf 209
Having to park more than a block away, and noting the cars parked alongside the road or in created spaces on the grass, the testers found the lack of parking to be a slight deterrent.
Mr. Bailey found the atmosphere inside "substandard, almost like eating in a gymnasium."
"They try to make it look nice, but it's just open, loud and cramped with this small table," he said.
The food made the noise and parking problems insignificant, though.
After one forkful, Mrs. LeClaire began nodding her head, exceedingly pleased.
"I'm impressed. Somebody is going to slap their mama for this - this is the bomb!" she said.
"The food makes you forget the atmosphere," Miss Johnson added.
"Yeah, I don't even hear any talking now," Mrs. LeClaire said.
Testers were pleased that the sides were served in individual containers, keeping the food from running together, and Miss Johnson was impressed with how quickly the order came - in less than 10 minutes.
There was a consensus that the service was friendly, menu prices were reasonable and each item of food tasted great.
"The chicken was very moist, delicious. You could tell everything was fresh - the vegetables and the meat," Mr. Bailey said.
Mrs. LeClaire agreed.
"The food was seasoned just right, and it wasn't greasy," she said.
"And the pork chop was good," Miss Johnson said. "You see why the cars are lined up along the street outside."
Hot Foods by Calvin
Mrs. LeClaire said that with fewer people inside, the place was "nice and quiet."
Although the testers were not impressed with the atmosphere, they were impressed with the owner, who came over and greeted them immediately.
Because the establishment doesn't serve pork, testers selected oxtails to replace the pork chops.
Miss Johnson found the service to be slow, and after the food arrived, only the wing was brought out with the two-piece chicken entree: The server explained that the chicken breast hadn't finished cooking so it would be brought later.
Without separate dishes for side items, the food ran together, allowing rice and gravy from the oxtails to spill into the greens - which didn't sit well with the testers.
Mr. Bailey and Miss Johnson liked the yams "for a dessert," they said, but Mrs. LeClaire said they were too sweet.
"And I'm a sugarholic," she said. "But they almost overkill the rest of the food."
Testers were surprised at the amount of vinegar already in the greens; they would have preferred to apply their own.
"I've heard of cooking greens with a little vinegar, but not this much," Mrs. LeClaire said.
The oxtails had too much fat, said Mr. Bailey, who was distracted by a fly as he ate. Miss Johnson said the macaroni and cheese was bland; Mr. Bailey said it had no cheese. Miss Johnson said the broccoli casserole was unusually crunchy, and it didn't taste like broccoli to Mr. Bailey.
All three found the menu pricey.
Tilly's Peas and Butterbeans
Testers appreciated the open, roomy interior but were confused by the dcor.
"This is an odd mixture of stuff - chandeliers, TVs, the (country life) painting - all nice, but an odd mix. But they're trying," Mr. Bailey said.
Mr. Bailey said it was quiet with few diners.
Because the restaurant was out of broccoli casserole, the testers chose rice and gravy.
They found the small complimentary bowl of peas and butter beans, served while they waited on their order, tasty.
Mrs. LeClaire liked the soft piano music heard throughout, and all were pleased with the quick, friendly service.
Mr. Bailey and Miss Johnson found the pork chop and chicken "OK." The testers agreed that all of the other items lacked seasoning.
"The greens just have no taste," said Mrs. LeClaire, who pondered over what was used in the macaroni because it "didn't taste like cheese."
"Everything is bland except the meat," Miss Johnson said.
"Bland everything. Even the rice and gravy is bland. How can rice and gravy be bland?" Mr. Bailey said.
"And that's the brown gravy," Mrs. LeClaire said with surprise, adding that she liked the bowl of peas and butter beans above all else.
Reach C. Samantha McKevie at (706) 823-3552 or samantha.mckevie@augustachronicle.com.
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Have wraps become a favorite food item of yours? If you'd like to be a wraps taste-tester, tell us why in 25 words or less in an e-mail to samantha.mckevie@augustachronicle.com, or mail an entry to Samantha McKevie, The Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928 Augusta, GA 30903-1928. Enter by Friday, Jan. 7.
"I am 40 years young, born in 1964. What a good year for music and food."- Vanessa LeClaire
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