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Reza Anavarian, originally from Azerbaijan, flies to Georgia this weekend for an ESI Ironman Competition, which includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile jog through beautiful downtown Augusta. In addition to conditioning for that insanity, he’s also training at the Maple Avenue Boxing Gym to get back into the ring soon. Yeah, back. He was the 2005 and 2006 Golden Gloves Champion of Texas. Hence the name “Southpaw.”
So, when Anavarian opened the Southpaw Cafe in Preston Center in 2008, he was basically opening a place where he wanted to have breakfast and lunch every day. With a focus on nutritious and organic ingredients, it was a place to power up with a protein shake or have a “green gobbler sandwich” for lunch. In the land of fried everything, it seemed like a less-than-sure thing.
But there Southpaw was yesterday, opening a second location, Southpaw’s Grill at 3227 McKinney Ave. I spoke with him about the new venture.
“Our original location in Preston Center is more of a cafe for breakfast and lunch,” Anvarian said. “Our new location actually has a grill and so we’ll serve dinner until 9 p.m. Soon we’ll also have beer and wine.”
New items added for the grill location include “The Birdman,” a free-range grilled chicken breast sandwich, a “Smart Burger” with portobello mushroom, a turkey burger, a fusilli bowl and a ZaZa rice bowl.
The bread is ordered from Signature Baking Company and is made without any nitrates, preservatives or dairy products.
“Right now we’re 65 percent organic and 100 percent natural,” Anvarian said.
As for the Iron Man competition this weekend, I asked what he expects the toughest part to be. “I hate biking. I can swim all day and the running isn’t too bad,” ” Anvarian said. “But, I hate biking.”
