Author: Shannon Powell
Publisher: The Metro Spirit
10/22/2008
Website: http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101070612500&ShowArticle_ID=11012210083237402
AUGUSTA, GA - The sun is setting on a quiet little neighborhood corner. Four friends at a cozy table are dining al fresco on a fall evening. The white tablecloth sways with a light breeze from the river, sounds of soft jazz, crickets and couples laughing paint the landscape for a perfect bistro dining experience.
With its French-countryside yellows and reds, boisterous glass picture-frame windows and rich mahogany trim, a little gem of a restaurant shines in North Augusta’s Hammond’s Ferry. This is Manuel’s Bread Cafe, the creation of chef and owner Manuel Verney-Carron, who brings a taste of his native Lyon, France, to the community. Professionally trained in France, he came to the United States in 1994, eventually ending up at Augusta’s renowned La Maison, where he worked under Chef Heinz Sowinski.
There he met and married his wife Sofia Sowinski in 2005. When their daughter Mia was born, Manuel became a stay-home-father. To keep his culinary flames burning, he designed and built his own wood-burning brick oven, pursuing his passion for artisan breads. He began selling those breads at the Saturday Market downtown, and became known to many as simply “The Bread Man.”
Today, he still makes all his own bread — “I have just moved my operation here to Manuel’s.”
His European-styled bistro cooking features generous portions of fresh foods. The comfortable ambience was a very purposeful plan set into motion in 2007 by Chef Manuel and the Hammond’s Ferry team.
“I had this restaurant in my mind for 10 years,” he explains. “Finally at Hammond’s Ferry I found the perfect fit.”
Manuel’s design flows into different eating atmospheres — inside cafe seating, al fresco dining, a laid-back breakfast counter and an intimate room for parties. French-language films are projected onto a back wall, and he offers live jazz on Saturday nights.
“Like in France, I want to provide a service to the neighborhood,” he says. “There [in France] they are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week — always warm, friendly, with a welcoming smile and good food.”
Verney-Carron serves vegetables grown organically on Blue Clay Farms located within Hammond’s Ferry.
“We are lucky to have Blue Clay Farms. They provide most produce, fruits and flowers for us. They help us change our menu with the season. If they bring me peppers, I’ll do something with peppers.”
Verney-Carron also buys local produce, fish, meats and cheeses whenever he can.
For breakfast, the croissants, potato frittata, café au lait or omelette du jour are hard to beat. Lunch and dinner brings the stalwarts of casual bistro fare: steak frites, nicoise salad, homemade “authentic” French fries, roast lamb, onion soup, duck confit and tapas selections.
Vegetarians will appreciate variety, like tomato and fresh mozzarella, fruit and grilled pineapple salad, and pistou soup, a meal in itself.
For dessert, homemade crème brulee, or any chocolate creation, is indulgent. Choice, yet incredibly affordable, wines and beers have been carefully selected to complement each course.
“The menu changes seasonally, often daily, because we have so much return business,” Verney-Carron says. “We want our neighbors happy. If you want something special and we have it in house, we will make it for you.”
Manuel’s Bread Cafe
505 Railroad Ave., North Augusta
Tues.-Sat., 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
803-380-1323
manuelsbreadcafe.com