MACON, Ga. — Downtown Macon’s restaurant scene has a new addition.
Braddock's Cask and Table, a new restaurant located at 347 Cotton Ave, is having its soft opening before a potential large grand opening on July 19 or 20.
Ingrid Davis, the co-owner and executive chef, labeled the restaurant as casual, fine dining. While the menu will have many high-end dishes, she wants to create a comfortable atmosphere for anyone that stops by.
“What we’re trying to do here is fine dining, exquisite meals, great wine and everything, but not be elitist in any way,” Davis said. “We really want this to be kind of a casual atmosphere where you can come in for happy hour, have a couple of drinks and some small bites.”
Davis, a sommelier, has prioritized having a strong wine selection. Before starting this restaurant, she sold wine and other spirits for the past seven years, including in and around Central Georgia.
“It’s funny, because I was selling to all the restaurants down here and worked with many of them. Now, I’m part of that scene,” Davis said.
Braddock's Cask and Table Food Photos
Davis is joined by her wife Brittan Braddock as a co-owner. Braddock works at Mercer as the schools Director of Bands, Coordinator of Music Education and Assistant Professor of Music.
Davis said it’s been great to have Braddock alongside her process to help taste the food and flesh out the restaurants bourbon selection.
“It’s awesome, she definitely doesn’t hold back,” Davis said.
While Braddock has been a big influence on the restaurant — as shown by her name inspiring the name of the restaurant — Davis added that her wife’s favorite foods and flavors have been had a heavy influence on the menu.
She’s tried to take influence from all over the world, but said they’ve taken a lot of inspiration from the southwest and Braddock’s hometown of Houston, Texas. They plan to include more dishes that will include Colorado style green chili when hatch chiles come back into season.
The soft opening includes big plates, like a pork chop, which is cooked with a brown sugar bourbon and has a sweet potato puree and black garlic brussels sprouts, or “Tango’s Burger,” an eight ounce wagyu and bison burger with aged cheddar, a bourbon bacon jam, pickles a leek butter served on a pretzel bun.
There’s also small plates like grilled lamb lollipops, which are placed in a herb marinade and served in a celery root puree, or "crispy" duck wings that can be served with a spicy glaze or a “cool” coconut sauce.
There’s also a shrimp cocktail that Davis is really excited about. It takes flavors that both she and her wife love from the southwest, like the roasted green chile.
The two met in Colorado, where Davis last worked in the kitchen. After such a long time, she’s ecstatic to be back in the kitchen.
“This is truly where my passion lies,” she said. “I love selling wine and spirits… but this is what I really want to do. It’s not even just the cooking process, but it’s also creating the items and creating that community.”
Davis said that she and her partner have loved being a part of the Macon community and can’t wait to officially be a part of the downtown scene.
“Macon doesn’t always have the best reputation, so we weren’t really sure what to expect when we got here,” Davis said. “But we’ve really come to love Macon, especially the downtown area and everything going on. There’s just so many good things happening here, we’re really excited to be here.”