Canon Restaurant Review: Downtown Cafe (Lavonia, GA)

Earlier today, my friend Dickson S. and I went to The Downtown Cafe in Lavonia, GA for an early dinner. The place has been open for over ten years, but for some reason, I had never dined there until today. Why, you might ask? Well, it's because I tend to go out of town whenever I want to go out to eat. To be honest, I had not heard a lot of strong recommendations about this place, but I was in the mood to eat some Italian food and was curious to see what it was all about for myself.

So we get there and enter the building. Not surprisingly, since it was 5:00 on a Wednesday, the place was nearly empty, as there were a mere three people there eating when we got there. We stayed there about 45 minutes, and not many other people came in during the time we were in there. I don't know if that was because of the time of day or because of the quality of the food, but since they've been open so long I guess they're doing something right.

Anyway, we get there and take a seat at a table next to a koi pond. The decor is rather basic, but not too shabby, and there are plenty of tables there. Plus the place has a little bar that diners can sit and eat their food at if they so wish. The menu reminded me a lot of the menu from Royston's Italian Garden, which I reviewed a few months back (and has unfortunately closed since then). In fact, there wasn't much difference at all, as both places served Greek and Italian dinners, traditional American dishes like hamburgers and steaks, and a variety of subs. The waitress took our drink orders, and I asked for Dr. Pepper but I was told that they were out. Well, I found that a bit odd, but I just ordered a Mountain Dew instead, while Dickson ordered some pink lemonade. Once I got a look at the menu, I decided on ordering Spaghetti a la Venus, which basically was a giant bowl of spaghetti topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, along with sliced peppers, onions, and mushrooms. The dish came with a side salad and some garlic bread. Dickson ordered the chicken Parmesan dish, which I actually almost ordered before settling on my choice.

The salad came rather quickly, and came with two slices of tomato and a green chili pepper. Normally, the salad also would come with cucumbers, but they were out of that as well. Since I don't like cucumbers, I did not mind too much, but still it was a little odd. The salad was decent enough, and unlike other places, at least the lettuce looked clean and tasted somewhat fresh. After that, our meal came, and I was surprised at just how big my bowl of food was. It was quite a generous portion of spaghetti, I must say. The meal was really just ok, as the sauce wasn't very flavorful and it was a bit runny. Other than that it was all right. Dickson really didn't say much about his food, but from what I could tell he wasn't very fond of it. I will say that our waitress was quite attentive and friendly, so that's a positive.

Afterwards, we were bored so we decided to walk over to the Lavonia Antique Mall to see what kind of stuff they had in there. It was packed was stuff, most of which I would have no idea what it's worth or what to do with it, but it had a little bit of everything. After a half an hour or so, I ended up by a book (Billyball, by Billy Martin with Phil Pepe) and two comic books from the X-Factor series from 1987. Dickson purchased a giant aquamarine change bank so he can keep his change and fight his enemies with. Well, that's my version of things anyway.

Overall, if you're in the mood for eating out and are limited to staying in Lavonia, well there are worst choices than the Downtown Cafe. It's not too bad, and I suppose I would go again if somebody I was with wanted to go there, but it's rather mediocre I would say. Overall, I'll give the place a 4.6 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any ideas for future reviews, than send them over to me at KtheC2001@gmail.com. Tommorow, I think I'll watch and review Starrcade 1994, so that should be excruciating for me, but it could be entertaining, so we will see.

Canon Restaurant Review: Lavonia Moose Lodge

I don't know if I could technically call it a restaurant review, but since this is about a public place that served meals to its patrons, I'll guess it will count. On Thursday, I was invited to go eat at the Moose Lodge in Lavonia, GA, by my friend Dickson S. and his dad, who I believe is a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose. If not, than I wonder how we were able to get in, because I'm not a member and neither is Dickson, and this is a private club. Anyway, I agreed to go and see what was happening up at the Moose Lodge.

So we get there and take our seats. Most of the people in the lodge were sitting around the bar, which had an oval shape and served a variety of American beers. Dickson and I decided to take a seat at one of the side tables. The place was about half-full, but the way the sound carried in the building, it sounded as if 259 people were in that place. You could hardly hear yourself think in there. The lighting in the building was rather dim, at least at the table where we were sitting. This was also karaoke night at the Moose Lodge, and let me tell you, some people did a fine job of murdering some country music classics in there. That's all I'm really going to say about that.

Anyway, it takes about a couple of minutes before a server notices us. Dickson orders the special of the day, which are salmon patties, served with green beans, mashed potatoes and two biscuits. I'm not a huge salmon fan, so I ordered the chicken strip plate with a side of french fries and honey mustard. You had to order whatever drinks you wanted at the bar, which wasn't a big deal, I had a can of Dr. Pepper while Dickson got a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade. The menu wasn't too big, as they had the special, three different plates, and about six or seven side dishes, including chicken wings, fried mushrooms and pickles, and cheese sticks. They had Friday night's menu on the back, and it seemed to have a lot more variety, including a steak platter and a shrimp platter. In hindsight, maybe I should have waited a day to eat here.

After about a 19 minute wait, we get our food. I found it somewhat curious that my fries did not come with ketchup. I also found it curious that my meal came with a piece of buttered toast, so I guess in the end it evened out. Perhaps I should of asked my server where it was, but once she delivered our food she became a ghost, as I didn't see her the rest of the time I was in the lodge. Maybe she pulled a Houdini and disappeared, I don't know. The chicken was battered and fried, and while I wouldn't necessarily call them strips, at least the chicken was cooked well enough and it wasn't dry. The fries were just your generic crinkle fries that are normally found in your grocer's freezer, and to be honest, could of used a little more salt. It's impossible to screw up toast, and they didn't, so that's that. Dickson did not seem impressed with his food, saying that his salmon patties were better and noting that they burnt the bottom of one of his biscuits to the point where he just picked off the non-burnt parts with a fork. He seemed to also want desert, but since our server disappeared, eventually we just gave up on that and decided to leave.

Overall, I will say that the price (5 dollars for mine, 6 for Dickson) was right, but it just didn't seem like my kind of place. Perhaps if I had came on a Friday, or been a member, or something else, I might have 'gotten it' more, so to speak. The food was decent, but nothing spectacular. Overall, I'll give my experience at the Moose Lodge of Lavonia, GA a 4.2 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any ideas for future reviews, than send them to me either by e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com or by leaving a comment.

Canon Restaurant Review: Gumlog Barbecue

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of eating at Gumlog Barbecue with my sister Maggie and my friend Dickson. Gumlog Barbecue is somewhat of an institution in my hometown of Lavonia. It's only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but each weekend the restaurant is packed with people, and there are times where it is impossible to find a parking space in the gravel parking lot. Whether it's because the food is so good, or because there's not a lot of places to choose from is up for debate. I have been there a few times before, and I always thought that the food was rather good. Will this experience also lead to good food? We shall see.

We arrived at Gumlog around 7:00 p.m. which was 45 minutes before closing time. Although there are times where the place is packed to the gills, there were plenty of tables available, so we were fortunate in that regard. We sat down and ordered our drinks (Pepsi for me and Maggie, water for Dickson). However, the waitress brought Dickson tea, but quickly rectified her mistake. We then ordered our food. Since Maggie and I weren't all that hungry, we ordered smaller portions. Maggie ordered some Brunswick stew and some coleslaw, while I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a bag of potato chips. Meanwhile, Dickson ordered a plate of barbecue chicken, with sides of french fries and Brunswick stew.

The food came, and, I eventually noticed that there were no chips with my sandwich. This did not make me too happy, but instead of making a scene, I waited until the waitress came back over and said that I didn't get my chips. Well, she apologized, and gave me two bags of chips, The chips were Tom's Potato Chips, which are pretty decent, and since it was only 50 cents, the chips were a decent deal. Anyway, I ate one bag, and gave the other to Maggie and Dickson. Then the waitress asked if we wanted more chips, and by golly, Dickson got another bag. As for the sandwich, it was good, but not the best grilled chicken sandwich I ever had. I understand that it's a barbecue place, and that grilled chicken may not be their specialty, but the grilled chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A is a lot better, and the piece of chicken is bigger, for the same price. However, I'd say that I was satisfied with my meal overall.

I can not say the same about Dickson however, as he complained that his barbecued chicken was dry, and wasn't very flavorful at all. Since Dickson had been to Gumlog Barbeque many times in the past, and had spoken favorably of its food before, this came as somewhat of a surprise to me.  He didn't seem to be overjoyed with the stew, but then again he ordered another portion of stew, so I guess it wasn't all that bad. Maggie seemed to like her food, as I really don't remember her saying anything either way, but she did eat it all.

There was a little confusion when it came to paying our bill. We had all of the tickets separated, but lo and behold, we found out that Gumlog Barbecue doesn't take debit or credit cards. That put my companions at a slight disadvantage, since they don't usually carry cash. Luckily, I always carry cash (whenever I have it, that is) and I had enough to cover everyone's meals, as well as the takeout order I placed (my parents asked for two barbecue sandwiches, although I don't know if they liked them or not).  Although their no card policy cheesed Dickson off, in the end, at least our food was paid for.

So, overall, there were a couple of mistakes made with our order, but since they were fixed quickly and in a friendly manner, I won't penalize anybody for that. My meal was pretty decent, nothing extraordinary, but not too bad either. However, Dickson's lack of satisfaction with his food will drive my score down somewhat. In the end, I'll give yesterday's experience a 6 out of 10. Perhaps next time I will order the fish instead, as that's really their specialty. Well, thanks for reading, if you have any opinions on the subject, feel free to comment, and if you have any ideas for future reviews, than either leave a comment or e-mail me your ideas at KtheC2001@gmail.com.