Frog & The Hen serves brunch made with natural ingredients

Nobody comes to Frog & The Hen for a bowl of corn flakes. Although it opens at 8 a.m. (10 on Sunday), it does not serve breakfast. It serves brunch. Any resemblance to a hash house or proletarian diner is unintentional.

Calling itself an "eatery and coffee bar," this urbane restaurant on the far side of Augusta is an enjoyable destination not only for brunch but also for lunch or early supper.

The management's watchwords are "Naked Is Good." That means the kitchen uses ingredients that are pure and natural. Nothing is doctored up. Hormones, antibiotics, GMOs and other such bugaboos are unwelcome.

Naked is an apt way to describe Frog & The Hen's roasted chicken because it is not fussy or complex and it arrives bare. Five sauces are available, including Alabama white and chimichurri, but it tastes great without any dressing-up at all. A gentle fork-poke pulls away a soft shred of meat, perhaps accompanied by a chewy patch of skin. Luminous natural gravy concentrates poultry flavor to the nth degree.

This perfect roasted chicken is a fine thing to eat any time of day. In truth, however, its simplicity is an anomaly. Even if the kitchen's groceries are unadulterated, nearly everything created from them is sent to the dining room in full feather.

French toast, for instance, isn't merely griddled egg-soaked bread slices. The menu calls it bananas Foster French toast with rum caramel sauce. In early summer, voluptuous vanilla pastry cream and peach compote make it as sweet as dessert.

Forget about fast-food breakfast biscuits that come wrapped in wax paper at the drive-through. Frog & The Hen offers a plated split biscuit topped with gnarled-crust fried chicken and maple sausage gravy, crowned with a sunnyside-up egg.

Nor is there anything plain about a sandwich called Hen's Royale, a croissant that overflows with white meat chicken, bacon, green apple slices and cheese.

Nashville hot fried chicken comes with three different add-ons, including ultrathin pickle slices. If you don't like the pepper punch of Nashville chicken, choose southern fried or honey-butter fried.

Those orbs that look like hushpuppies? They're fried mac & cheese balls, enhanced by smoked gouda, served with spicy ranch dressing.

The point is that dining here is not a bare bones proposition. Razzle-dazzle on the plate defines almost everything the kitchen makes.

That goes for drinks, too. Frog & The Hen offers multiple caffeine delivery systems, hot and cold, with a choice of different milks and flavored syrups.

The coffee bar also concocts such intoxicants as an espresso martini and a Sunday special "Girl Scout Spiked Latte" made with vodka, Kahlúa, chocolate liqueur, espresso and a Thin Mint cookie's worth of mint flavoring. An item listed on the menu as "Hair of the Dog" suggests spiking coffee with Irish Cream, Kahlúa, Frangelico or Disaronno amaretto.

Be aware that Sunday brunch at Frog & The Hen tends to be loud and lively — a party that throbs with energy. It probably is not the right destination for a contemplative prayer meeting or confidential tryst.

Frog & The Hen: 466 Flowing Wells Road, Augusta, Ga. 706-755-2767. https://frogandthehen.com

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