Whistle Stop Cafe 573 Augusta, Georgia

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”

Ruth Reichi

 While downtown on Saturday, we decided to try a restaurant that just opened up this summer. The original Whistle Stop Restaurant burnt down 6 years ago which was a sad day in Augusta. We mourned for the loss as it was a nice dinner style restaurant downtown that served a nice hot breakfast. But fast forward to this summer when Angelo Paulos, the owner and John Pannel, the head chef joined together to open up the Whistle Stop Cafe 573 and made it better than ever. The two have been friends since they were kids and are working together to make this place not just a great dinner style restaurant but a great destination.

This is an 850 square foot building on the corner of Sixth Street and Greene and it seats about 40 people. The train goes right down the middle of the Sixth Street on the side of their restaurant and as you eat, you may be lucky enough to watch the train go by. It is a unique experience as there is room for the train in the middle and a car on either side of it to go down the street at the same time. This train goes right downtown which is unique in itself. Beware of the train.

The restaurant is decked out in Red, white, and blue and is designed in dinner style. There are nice prints about the working of the rails on the railroad and nice signs on the walls saying, We love you more. I loved seeing that as that has always been what my daughter and I have said to each other. “I love you.” “I love you more.” That brought a smile to my face. There is a long counter area with bright red stools around it plus comfortable booths to sit in on the side facing the tracks. We were greeted with a smile and our waitress who was very nice and did a fine job. It felt it was run in a family oriented environment with everyone working together in unity.

The restaurant gets there produce and eggs from Riggs Farms in Waynesboro ensuring everything is fresh. The menu is dinner style with a great breakfast menu with everything from eggs and bacon to shrimp and grits. We got there at lunchtime, and their lunch menu was very good also. You could order burgers, salads, and even vegetarian meals. I ordered the tuna sandwich with great fries. They were the thin ones which were excellent. Yum. I have to say it was the best tuna sandwich I ever had. Joe got their burger and sweet potato fries. He loved it as it was seasoned to perfection. I tasted it also and thought it was fantastic. They seem to really take pride in what they are doing here. It was so nice coming back here and this restaurant being even better than it was before.

When we left, we exited on Greene Street where there are a few tables set up out side under a porch

with beautiful flowers that framed the porch. What a love place. This place tops my list of great places to eat in Augusta for a satisfying lunch. We are so glad to have the Whistle Stop back up and running. Welcome back. It is open from 6 am  to 2 pm. Www.whistlestopcafe573.com.