Savannah in a nutshell, or a couple.

Let me pretext this by saying I'm not a foodie, just a guy who likes good food. 8 out of 10 times I can't tell you most of the flavors that are in a meal. I just know what I like, and usually what I'm not going to like.

So this will just be a quick run down of some of the places I've eaten at here in Savannah, and some that I haven't but have heard things about one way or another.

Most of the links will be to reviews at this guide. It's not great, and it's frequently out of date, but that pretty much explains Savannah as a whole. Any "website" links will be to the restaurant's website.

One of the best things about Savannah are the "to-go" cups. In the Historic District it is legal to walk around with a plastic cup of your favorite adult tasty beverage. Most of the bars will have stacks of 16oz cups at the end of the bar. Time to move on? Grab on, transfer your drink, and head to the next spot.

Downtown / "Historic District"

The service in the historic district, and savannah as a whole can be very spotty. Downtown it is because many of the servers are SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) students. Many of them have money, and probably haven't worked much before. There can be lots of attitude at times.

Vinnie Van Go Go
Website
Address: 317 W. Bryan Street
Telephone: 233-6394

Vinnies is the best pizza in Savannah, and while it is good, it's really not saying much. The mass chains really rule this town. The pizza here can best be called NYC style. Big slices (they sell both slices and whole pies), slightly crispy crust, but not so much can can't fold it, and walk with it. My feeling is this type of pizza best with only a few toppings. I usually push my luck, and have green peppers, onions, and Italian sausage. I always order two slices, but am full usually after one. My wife swears by the White pizza. They also have a decent selection of beer on tap, and by the bottle.

Moon River Brewing Company
Address: 21 West Bay St.
Telephone: 447-0943

As far as I know this is Savannah's only brewpub. Everything I've tried here has pretty good. My favorite beer by far is the Espresso Stout. It really had a great espresso flavor to it, very smooth. It may be a seasonal thing, but they had it back in July when I was there last. Honestly I haven't eaten here, I've heard pretty good things, but it is brewpub food, so I wouldn't get your hopes to high.


I've got more to say, but I don't feel like typing anymore tonight. I've got tommorrow off, so I'll put some more down tommorrow, hopefully with more detail

To be continued.

Headcase,

Thanks for posting the Savannah info, I printed it out for my wife, who is going to Savannah. She has a few places on her culinary itinerary already, Paula Dean's Lady and Son's restaurant and Paula Dean's uncle's seafood restaurant, Uncle Bubba's. My wife likes Paula Dean

She also plans on going to Mrs. Wilke's Tea House, which I heard has excellent Southern style food, most notably the fried chicken.

Looking forward to the next Savannah installment.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv, I'm sorry that I didn't get this out quicker, or more in depth, and I hope it can still be of a little use to your wife.

Downtown continued...

B&D Burgers
Address: 13 E. Broughton St.
Telephone: 231-0986

B&D has two locations in Savannah, but only the one on Broughton is worth going to. Besides the best burger that I've found in town, they also have the very best cheese sticks that I have ever had. If they are not made on the premises, or at least locally, no one else that I know of uses the same supplier. They are have a light breading, and the cheese on the inside is always melted just enough with none of the extra moisture you get from frozen sticks. The burgers are cooked to order in three sizes ( 1/3 , 1/2, 2/3 I think) with a large variety of toppings to choose from (from the four cheeseburger, to the open face chili, to the fried egg) They have a number of different combinations on the menu, and of course you can always mix and match. They have great onion rings too.

Jazz'd
Website
Address: 52 Barnard St.
Telephone: 236-7777

My wife, her brother, and I ate here one night before going out drinking for the night. It was an early dinner, probably about 6 or 7, it was really quite at the time, but I think it would be a pretty cool place to be later in the night. A little on the dark side, but that comes at least partially from being below street level. I'm sure that helps keep the electricity bill down during the summer. While we were there they had some pretty interesting art for sale on the walls. What we ate follows, as best as I can remember. All the text that follows is copied from their website.

Roma Crostini & Prosciutto 7.50
Diced tomato, capers and basil, tossed together and served atop toasted crostini, with a medallion of Buffalo Mozzarella and a nest of thinly sliced Prosciutto.

Carne Asada Wrap
Cuban rubbed, thinly sliced Angus Beef, with
served in Romaine lettuce leafs. Garnished with
tri-color tortilla chips. Served cold.

Cuban-Rubbed Beef Satays with Jalapeno Glaze 9.00
Cuban marinated Angus Beef skewers basted with a spicy sweet pepper glaze, grilled and garnished with salted plantain strips.

Chorizo Empanadas 7.50
Savory turnovers filled with red potato, chorizo sausage, onions, green olives and golden raisins. Served with cilantro-lime cream.

Beef Tournedo Au Poivre 12.00
Tenderloin medallion, pan seared with black and pink peppercorns, finished with a rich demi-glace and garnished with chive pommes frites.

There were one or two others on the menu, but I don't remember exactly what, they might have been specials. We also had a couple of desserts, one of which as a bread pudding that was excellent.

Over all the food here was pretty good, I would say borderline great. I think with a little more time this could be a great spot, but I wonder if it will last long enough in Savannah.

more to follow.....

Since it was brought up, I should mention The Lady and Sons, and Uncle Bubba's.


The Lady and Sons
Website
Address: 102 W. Congress St.
Telephone: 233-2600

Let me preface this by saying that everyone that has eaten here has said it was great, and most say to eat off the buffet, not the menu. That being said they don't take reservations, and the line usually starts at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon for when the doors open for dinner at 5. I haven't heard what the deal with lunch is, if someone really wants to go there, it might be better to try it a lunch. Nothing they can serve me is worth waiting in line for three hours.

Uncle Bubba's Oyster House
Website
Address: 104 Bryan Woods Road
Telephone: 897-6101

While "the lady" is downtown, and attracts ALOT of tourists, Bubba's is a ways off the beaten path. Since they serve some of the same food as the lady, it might be a better place to try Paula's recipes. If you aren't paying attention you will drive right by the spot, it is off of the road set back in the woods a little way. You can see it from the road, but you definitely can miss it.

To be continued....

Cobblestone Conch House
Website
Address: 225 West River Street
Telephone: 912-232-5551

This is one of the places I had wanted to eat at since it opened a couple of months ago, but never got around to it. Once we got around to eating here, we were not disappointed. This is another place that I worry about in Savannah. The food was great, the ambiance was fitting, the price wasn't crazy, but I'm not sure the location is right for it. Most of the food in the immediate area is traditional seafood, and I suspect that is what the people are generally looking for. The menu I can access won't allow me to copy and paste so I'll just say we had the Mojo Chicken Quesadilla, Churrasco, and the Jamaican Beer Battered Shrimp. The plating was pleasant, the sides the were included were tasty, and service was attentive. If we were staying around there are quite a few things on the menu that I would like to try. I really hope this place does well.

B. Matthew's Bakery-Eatery
Website
Address: 325 E. Bay St.
Telephone: 233-1319

I have never eaten any of the "real" food here, but based on the quality of the sweets they turn out, and the people I've talked to that work there, I would think that it would be pretty damn good. I can't remember everything that I've eaten from there, but it is all good, and my wife swears by the Amaretto Chocolate Chunk cookie, and I'm sure we'll be picking some up today before we leave tomorrow morning.

Walls Bar-B-Que
Address: 515 E. York Lane
Telephone: 232-9754

This in another place I just never got around to eating. It's a little place, only one or two seats. Service is no nonsense, get in, get out. But they are supposed to have the best Que in Savannah, but I couldn't even tell you what style it is. Sorry

Everything so far as been located downtown (except for Bubba's), next I'll go to some other parts of the city.

To be continued.....

We were in Savannah in May. We went to the Lady and Sons for lunch and were surprised at the long lines, but did stand in line and wait. It really was worth it, the food is wonderful. We waited about 1 hour and actually had a good time during our wait chatting with others and the wait staff. We did eat off the menu, since we didn't want such a huge buffet lunch and loved what we ordered. It's an extremly friendly place and everyone was very nice. We heard that you can go at lunch time and put your name in for dinner so that way you don't have to stand in line at dinner time. Wish we would have had a few more days to check out other eating spots in this lovely city.

After consulting with the Georgia LTH-er in residence, Steve Drucker, I have built the following weekend food itinerary in Savannah for Feb 8-10, which happens to be a big birthday for the Bride, even if I am not permitted to indicate how big (I am permitted to say she ain't 20 any more, but that is all).

Friday night - Madison Cafe at the United House of Prayer.
Saturday Lunch - Mom and Nikki's
Saturday Dinner (the party, too) - Jerome's Old School Diner, about an hour out of Savannah, towards Townsend.

Staying at Catherine Ward House B&B, and we will probably do something on Sunday afternoon - maybe haul out to Tybee Island for more seafood. Did consider Mrs. Wilkes seriously and Lady and Son's not so seriously, but I am pretty sure the atmosphere will be better and the food at least as good, at these other places.

Will post on our experience after the event. Please feel free to comment on the plans.

A few years back, I had a terrific and memorable meal at George's over on Tybee Island. If you're looking for a romantic spot, this is it. Local food, extremely well prepared, and served in an older antebellum type place.

The menu, surprisingly, is not completely seafood focused. Thought I must say that I still remember a sauteed grouper served over a thai style curry. It was a great dish. There was also a great deal of red meat on the menu too.

Dicksond- I can echo YourPalWill's sentiments on Georges' - and you can read my post on Tripadvisor here follwling a dinner in November 2006:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi ... orgia.html

Uncle Bubba's is fun and has good food but the Lady influence and connection had jacked up the prices - it's not an inexpensive meal for what, essentially, are fairly low-brow preparations of common ingredients, IMHO.

I enjoyed a fine meal and wine at A Vida Restaurant and a couple blocks toward the river there was a Scottish pub whose name escapes me. It featured a wide array of single malts, dozens of beers on tap and a genuine pub-like atmosphere. Didn't try the food but enjoyed a couple pints here.

The locals advised steering cleer of the tourist traps on the riverfront, so I did, spending more time in the historic district and farther afield. I truly enjoyed just strolling from square to square (I think Savannah has 24 squares) and stopping when I felt like it for a nosh or quaff.

Also - SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) has a small retail store central to the historic district that is cool to browse.

Enjoy!
Davooda

I highly recommend Dewey's Dockside over on Tybee Island - fantastically fresh seafood and the friendly people.

And you can find my posts on it here (it's the Jan 26 post for "Day 7")

I know its not very Savannah-esque
but a few years back I went to Savannah with my then 7th grade Girl Scout troop
(Savannah is the birthplace of Juliet Gordon Low founder of the GS,
which is WHY it is always swarming with tons of troops in uniform...)
and we were looking for something different for one evening-
Our tour company (tootsie tours-did a FABULOUS job)
took us to a Morrocan restaurant downtown which was wonderful.
Fabric draped ceilings,
poured bottomless cups of delicious mint tea for the girls,
Had a belly dancer who brought all the girls up on the floor and gave them belly dancing lessons,
and the food was wonderful as well as being a little window into another culture.

edited:
Here it is:
http://www.casbahrestaurant.com/
The Casbah!
18 East Broughton Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
912-234-6168

Well the weekend came and went, and we did eat well.

The high point was Mom and Nikki's located at the corner of MLK and Gwinnett. We ate there for lunch, so we missed what are reputed to be some of the best biscuits in America, but what we had was damned good. My more or less brother-in-law inhaled a plate of stewed trotters, I sampled some good fried chicken, others had some drop dead wonderful fried up pork chops. Sides were excellent, the Red Velvet cake and Peach Cobbler were some of the best I ever had and the prices were a steal. Hard for me to imagine anything better, though it was a bit off the beaten path.

Had another very good lunch the previous day at the Madison Cafe at the United House of Prayer (yes, it really is a church kitchen - you can slip out the side door and have a quick prayer if you want). Similar menu, but a small step down in quality from Mom & Nikki's. The high point was the turkey wings, to my surprise, with awfully, sweet, tender and just richly turkey-ish meat.

The Bride's big birthday dinner was at a place about 40 miles south of town called Jerome's Old School Diner. Worth a trip just for the experience, Jerome's is a series of what I think are ramshackle shacks out in the country. At the end of a dirt road, the parking lot was covered in carpet remnants, and there is a patio area in front with old sofas and other "incidental" furniture if you want to enjoy the weather. Maybe the carpet is out there to keep the dust down for the patio.

The place was busy, big but intimate since it mostly consisted of a series of not so big rooms, fancier than you expected from the outside and damned good in a lot of ways. Started with near perfect hush puppies, then the perfect meal would go on to the catfish nugget appetizer and either the fried or grilled shrimp (caught locally the same day, and sweeet). The grilled shrimp had a sort of Worcestershire sauce glaze on them.

Less satisfying were a couple of meals in the historic district - Sweet Leaf Smokery offers some new-age que, including a smoked tofu wrap, though no one in our group ordered that. The meat I had was good enough, but it was lathered up with a sauce that was over-cumined for me. Hmm, cumin and hickory smoke, who thought that up?

We also had a really fancy meal at 700 Drayton one evening. The food was pretty okay, but it turned into a distracting meal because of a family at the adjacent table whose kids were a bit out of control (really, I am a patient guy but the one year old drumming loudly and the 3 year old running around noisily got old) and service that was a wee bit lackadaisical. Plus this was the last meal and maybe, just maybe, I was all full by then. Food did seem good, interesting, and a pretty presentation, but I guess I did not need to go to Savannah for that experience.

Stopped at a little Q shack down by the Florida border on a drive to the Jacksonville border - Blues Barbecue, south side of the road just east of I95 at exit 3, next to a gas station and Wendy's I think. Good ribs and pulled pork, less good brisket, be sure to ask them to serve the sauce on the side or they will drown the meat. The sauce itself was a sort of hybrid mustard sauce and quite good. He also let me sample some greens and fatback he was cooking up for his sister, and played me some roaring blues including a song about Blues Bbq, so I probably am giving it a few extra few points for hospitality. And the real high point was the bulldog who had this big old sandbox in a gazebo there in the parking lot. I forget the dog's name, but watching this butt-ugly dog respond to the "gazebo!" command and go curl up in his own private space cracked me up.

Oh and Savannah was beautiful and the weather more perfect than I had any reason to expect. All the above places can easily be found via search, but let me know if you want any directions. We also were quite happy with our B&B, Catherine Ward House, in the Victorian District. Like everything else, the people made that work.

Many thanks to Steve Drucker for his advice.

Had some camera problems that prevented me from posting my pix with the above, so let me do so now.

First, a photo essay on how to attain shrimp nirvana, two ways:

Start with the right ingredients.



Add the magic touch.



The results will be perfect (man I need to go back)



No matter how to slice them (the picture may be blurry, but the grilled shrimp in a worcestershire-style, butter and garlic sauce were just great).



More Savannah pictures may follow, but nothing will beat this stuff.

The Chow Poodle and I will be going to Savannah in a couple of weeks (the weekend of 10/24). Does anyone have any recent intel?

steve,

a little over a year ago my family and I made the drive down from Hilton Head S.C. on the way back home to Chicago & went to Tybee Island just for lunch @ The Crab Shack. It is what it is, a place with buckets for shells in the middle of the table, and rolls of paper towels. For me it was worth the trip, and the food what I expected. We got a platter with crawfish, mussels, sausage, corn on the cob, boiled shrimp, jonah crab legs, and snow crab(picture posted somewhere on LTH). That and a few cold beers, some tequila, and a relxing view of the water made my day.

http://www.thecrabshack.com

I wish we had had more time to explore Savannah, it looked like a fun town.

My husband and I went to Savannah this past January, soon after New Years. We didn't rent a car and were staying in the historic district, so we didn't and couldn't stray far from the area. The last time I had been was about 4 years before that and there were a number of places I visited last time that had closed down and new places that had sprung up, which kind of surprised me. Being that my husband is a vegetarian, we couldn't go to a solely seafood joint for me, so we had to compromise a bit (isn't that what marriage is all about?) We enjoyed a couple nice drinks at Moon River Brewing and at the English pub Churchhill's. We also enjoyed nice dinners at Firefly Cafe and Bistro Savannah, which, I just found out, is closed. We did really want to try Cha Bella, but it was closed for holiday the week we visited. And stevez, if you and the Chow Poodle want some romance, Lulu's Chocolate Bar is fun for chocolate fondue and dessert. Savannah is one of my favorite cities and I'm so jealous you're going.

Moon River Brewing
21 W. Bay St.
(912) 447-0943

Churchhill's Pub
13 W Bay St
(912) 232-8501

Firefly Cafe
321 Habersham St.
(912) 234-1971

Lulu's Chocolate Bar
42 MLK Jr. Boulevard
(866) 461-8681

My SO and I spend a week in and around Savannah in June. I've been meaning to post on that trip but life keeps getting in the way.

The short list of our food choices includes:

Angel's BBQ
Great food, good sides, wonderful sweet tea.
This BBQ shack is tucked away on the lane between Oglethorpe and Hill. It's tough to find but worth it. We sampled pulled pork and brisket plus greens with peanuts, mac-n-cheese, coleslaw and baked beans. Great smoke in the meat, nice sauces on the side if you're so inclined and a tiny bit of inside seating.

It was our favorite BBQ place. We also tried

Blowin' Smoke which, while quite tasty was a lot more upscale with tables and waitstaff. We prefered the "q" at Angel's.

Leopold's was our nightly stop for ice cream. Lovely creamy ice cream in great flavors. We're fans of Tate's in Wheaton and Peterson's so we really liked Leopold's.

Aligator Soul disappointed us. Maybe our expectations were too high but it all seemed kind of 'enh' for the price. I got shrimp and grits. It was a huge portion but I had grits I liked better at Clary's Cafe.

Clary's Cafe
4430 Habersham St
Savannah, GA 31405-4209
(912) 351-0302‎

We didn't make it to Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room but we wish we had waited in line.

Angel's BBQ
21 W. Oglethorpe Lane
Savannah, GA 91302
Phone: 912-495-0902
Email: aileentrice@yahoo.com

Blowin' Smoke
514 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Aligator Soul
114 Barnard

Leopold's Ice Cream
212 E. Broughton Street

I'm back from my trip to Savannah. Thank you to everyone for their suggestions. Unfortunately, we were there for what amounted to only a day and a half, so we only had a limited number of eating opportunities. We stayed at the Hamilton-Turner Inn, a lovely B&B dating from 1873. This prompted Missy, one of our traveling companions, to say (in her best South Carolinian drawl), "Oh, this is a newer home." I guess she is justified in making such a comment since her home dates from 1818 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hamilton-Turner Inn


The Inn itself was great. The rooms are beautiful and furnished appropriately to the period. It is run by Canadian ex-pats and the husband of the team is one of the most gracious hosts you would wish to encounter, while the wife could use a refresher course in Canadian hospitality. Luckily, she stays mostly in the background. Breakfasts at the Hamilton-Turner are nothing special. One day a quiche-like affair that wasn't too bad and the next day eggs benedict served with eggs poached into oblivion. If it were just the Chow Poodle and I, we would have opted out of breakfast at the Inn and gone elsewhere, but we were with another couple who are more into the whole B&B experience, so we went with the flow.

Speaking of breakfast alternatives, when we arrived we were pretty hungry. I had just watched Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to put me in the mood for my Savannah visit and there was this old diner in the movie that I wanted to find. A little research revealed that it was Clary's, and it happened to be located only a couple of blocks from out B&B. Clary's is a great place (that I believe was briefly mentioned upthread) serving breakfast all day as well as lunch.

Clary's Café




Clary's is an old school diner in every sense of the word, but they also seemed to have an underlaying Jewish influence, both making their own coned beef as well as featuring items like Hopple Popple on the menu. I ordered made-in-house corned beef hash and poached eggs with grits. My eggs came with a textbook perfect biscuit. My only knock on Clary's is that they serve the biscuits with an "I Can Believe it's Not Butter" type imitation spread. Other than that, I could have easily returned for breakfast every day to explore the menu in much greater detail, if it weren't for the B&B situation.

Clary's Café Corned Beef Hash & Eggs


On Saturday night, we had dinner at the Ms Wiv recommended Elizabeth on 37th. This restaurant is located in an old mansion (circa 1900) just outside of the Historical District. The restaurant opened in 1981 with chef/owner Elizabeth Terry at the helm. She no longer is the chef, but Kelly Yambor, another female chef, has taken over the duties and is doing a great job with local, seasonal ingredients. The staff is young (many are likely SCAD students), but intensely focused on service and making sure your meal is perfect. Sorry I don't have any pictures of this dinner, especially since it was by far the best meal of the trip, but I'd put Elizabeth on 37th at the top of your list for a higher end dinner in Savannah.

The next day, we went on a tour of some beautifully restored plantation homes. This was an annual event sponsored by the South Carolina Historical Society and the reason our friends Redneck John and Missy invited us down for the weekend. These houses were incredible. They are private homes that were opened up for just the day in honor of this event. These were clearly the homes of the moneyed set. Some had been restored to museum-quality period style, while others, like the Twickinham Plantation pictured below were lovingly restored, but updated with modern conveniences.

The Twickinham Plantation


The Twickinham Plantation Kitchen


This kitchen is nice, but on the other side of the wall with the fridge, is what at one time would have been the butler's pantry. It's been converted into a combo pantry/prep kitchen that, along with what is pictured above, is just about my dream kitchen come true. Out back at the Twickinham Plantation, the SCHS was serving up a catered BBQ lunch for those of us on the tour.

BBQ Lunch at the Twickinham Plantation


Redneck John & Missy at the Buffet


Fatback


My Plate

Clockwise from roll: Cole slaw, BBQ (pulled pork), chicken thigh, fatback, Carolina rice with South Carolina hash, pickles. Not pictured pudding with 'Nilla Wafers.

One little digression; upthread I mentioned the Jewish influence on the menu at Clary's. Evidently Savannah has a sizable Jewish population. Besides touting one of the oldest Synagogues in the country, while we were on our plantation tour across the border in South Carolina, Savannah was hosting the 21st Annual Festival of Jewish Food in the park, "Shalom Y'all". I only wish our schedule would have permitted a visit to that event as well!

On our last night in Savannah, we opted for The Crab Shack, the much recommended seafood place on Tybee Island. On the way there, we passed Uncle Bubba's, one of the Paula Deen related restaurants in town. I had pretty much given up on getting into one of her places, not wishing to wait in line for hours, but it was a cold and damp Sunday night and the parking lot looked only about 1/2 full and I didn't see any evidence of the usual line to get in. If we had been with LTHers, I would have called an audible and headed there to try some of Paula Deen's legendary fried chicken. Instead, we passed UB's unnoticed by anyone except for me and headed for The Crab Shack.

The Crab Shack is like just about every Crab Shack you've ever been to. Buffet on the box, rustic wooden tables, margaritas flowing, big beer selection, cute waitresses...you get the picture. The only thing is, The Crab Shack delivers the goods in the food department. Their shrimp was fresh from the boat and perfectly steamed, then topped with a generous sprinkle of rub. This was a great way to end our all too short visit to Savannah.

There were so many other places I would have loved to visit, particularly Mom & Nikki's based on dickson's post, that I'm going to have to plan another trip sooner rather than later.

Hamilton Turner Inn
330 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 233-1833

Clary's Café
404 Abercorn St
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 233-0402

Elizabeth on 37th
105 E. 37th Street
Savannah, GA 31404
(912) 236-5547

The Crab Shack
40 Estill Hammock Rd
Tybee Island, GA 31328
(912) 786-9857

outstanding stevez , you have painted a great seen of savannah. the catering looks great. never heard of kelly's bbq in summerville,sc. i know a bunch of bbq guy's in sc ? bet it was great eating though

looks like a great trip Steve,

I am glad you liked the Crab Shack, it is what it is, but they do good job @ what they do.

philw wrote:outstanding stevez , you have painted a great seen of savannah. the catering looks great. never heard of kelly's bbq in summerville,sc. i know a bunch of bbq guy's in sc ? bet it was great eating though

Phil,

The BBQ was OK, but nothing special. Nothing was cooked on site, it was just trucked in ready to go on the buffet. The fatback was reallly good, though. This BBQ didn't hold a candle to some of the other SC BBQ I tried at the state championship in Greenwood last summer. Your post reminded me that I never did make my final post about that trip where I talk about the BBQ contest. I'll have to get to that soon.

there is sum great q in sc that's forsure. great job steve z

My wife and I just celebrated our anniversary in Savannah. Our first visit there, and we were very pleasantly surprised. Charleston seems to get a lot more attention, but as we strolled from square to square all I kept thinking was that I’d be hard pressed to name a city in the US that’s prettier than Savannah.

We stuck to the historic district and mostly fine dining, unfortunately no cafeterias and meat-n'-threes on this trip. The places I would recommend are:

The Olde Pink House on Reynolds Square. Unhurried service, good place to linger over a long lunch. Good wine and cocktail list. Menu emphasizes seafood, the crawfish beignet with remoulade sauce appetizer was outstanding as were the complementary popovers with apricot butter. I had a grilled local fish (forget the name, firm white flesh) which was delicious. Saw some fried platters going around the room, those didn’t look quite as appealing. This place is in every tourist guide and has been around forever, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was - they obviously still take a lot of pride in what comes out of their kitchen.

Noble Fare is a newer restaurant, maybe one year old, but it feels like it’s been there for a long time. A little off the beaten path, in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Very dramatic room, the walls and ceiling are painted black but it works. Intimate space, maybe 12 tables or so, very romantic and good choice for a special occasion. Great service, our waiter was excellent. Limited menu emphasizing meat. Waiter insisted that I have the last South African lobster they had in the kitchen. Lobster's not my favorite dish, but this was excellent - very sweet meat and not the slightest bit rubbery. My wife's steak was a fine piece of prime meat and perfectly prepared. Unfussy but professional preparation that let these fine ingredients stand in the forefront.

Vic's on the River is in the middle of the tourist zone on the riverfront, so my expectations weren't very high. However, the entrance is on Bay Street and there’s no access from the riverside, so the gym shoe and fanny pack quotient is pretty low. Nice view of the not particularly charming Savannah River. Nice room, white tablecloths. Very clubby feel to it, hardwood floors throughout and lots of polished brass, a real carpetbagger's delight. I had oysters rockefeller to start and they were delicious, the oyster flavor coming right through the bacon and parmesan. Seeing how much I enjoyed those, the waitress insisted that I get the fried oyster platter, and these were tasty little devils. They were mid-sized oysters, so there was a nice balance between the batter and the shellfish. The batter fried up real craggy, so there was lots of surface area to add some major crispiness - but cooked at the right temperature so they weren't greasy. Served with a cocktail sauce and a remoulade sauce, this was probably the tastiest single dish of the trip.

The Olde Pink House
23 Abercorn St
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 232-4286
{On the downstairs level, they also have a cool bar with an adult crowd. Windows of the bar open up to the street level on Congress Street. Open in the late afternoon/evenings only}

Noble Fare
321 Jefferson St
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 443-3210
http://www.noblefare.com

Vic's on the River
26 E Bay St
Savannah, GA 31401-1225
(912) 721-1000
[url]www.vicsontheriver.com‎[/url]

Someone recently told me that Lady and Sons charges $20 for their lunch buffet. Add one more reason to the three hour wait that I could skip it for some fresh seafood as an alternative.

stevez wrote:We stayed at the Hamilton-Turner Inn, a lovely B&B dating from 1873.
Hamilton-Turner Inn

We stayed there when we were in Savannah a few years ago. I think it has changed management since then. It must have been a little wild to stay there so close to Halloween. When we were there we saw ghost tour after ghost tour stopping in front of the house. I have no comment on whether there was a reason for that....mwah hah hah.

Does anyone know if Nita's Place is still in operation? Ate there a few years back while in Savannah. Stellar soul food.

jackie wrote:We were in Savannah in May. We went to the Lady and Sons for lunch and were surprised at the long lines, but did stand in line and wait. It really was worth it, the food is wonderful. We waited about 1 hour and actually had a good time during our wait chatting with others and the wait staff. We did eat off the menu, since we didn't want such a huge buffet lunch and loved what we ordered. It's an extremly friendly place and everyone was very nice. We heard that you can go at lunch time and put your name in for dinner so that way you don't have to stand in line at dinner time. Wish we would have had a few more days to check out other eating spots in this lovely city.

We ended up eating here by happenstance. On a springtime road trip from South Carolina to Georgia. We arrived in Savannah early on a Sunday. There wasn't much activity going on except for a huge crowd of people on this street. Out of curiosity, we went to check it out to learn that it was Lady and Sons. I wasn't expecting to like this place given that I'm not a Paula Deen fan and the sheer size and volume of people coming and going. But, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of the items in the buffet. For their concept and what they do, they do it well. $13.99 for lunch. The long line can be off putting but you might be able to charm you way in like I did We only had the day in Savannah so wasn't able to try some other places. We went to Crabshack on Tybee Island for dinner. I was not impressed, I've had better shrimp from Hmart. But, Tybee Island is cute and a nice place to visit. Perhaps, I should have ordered the frogmore stew.

gooseberry wrote:

jackie wrote:We ended up eating here by happenstance. On a springtime road trip from South Carolina to Georgia. We arrived in Savannah early on a Sunday. There wasn't much activity going on except for a huge crowd of people on this street. Out of curiosity, we went to check it out to learn that it was Lady and Sons. I wasn't expecting to like this place given that I'm not a Paula Deen fan and the sheer size and volume of people coming and going. But, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of the items in the buffet. For their concept and what they do, they do it well. $13.99 for lunch. The long line can be off putting but you might be able to charm you way in like I did

I was completely UNDERWHELMED by Lady and Sons, and I generally like a buffet.

We showed up before 10am and were asked to show up at 10:45am for an 11 am setting. We arrived on-time and waited over half an hour while the hostess seated two bus loads of people (who did not wait at all). Then they finally started screaming the names across the street.

By that time, the ONLY seats available were in the bar.

The buffet consisted of three entrees - fried chicken, baked chicken, baked spaghetti and five side dishes. The food was pretty good but 95% of the restaurants in any major southern city could put out the same menu and do it as well. The food was pretty cold for two reasons. First, the staff was heaping the food in the steamtable pans which allows the food to get cold. The backup pans were sitting out for 10 to 15 MINUTES at room temperature prior to service.

My wife ordered off the menu. The tomato soup was excellent but the pimento cheese sandwich contained so much mayonnaise that she could not eat it.

Honestly, the food was acceptable but $13.99 for THAT menu is overpriced. And where is any creativity or skill?

A much better option was the place we were referred to the night before, Old Times Country Buffet in Brunswick, GA. They had excellent fried chicken and a wide variety of well prepared southern-style vegetable dishes including shoe peg corn, five different types of beans cooked with ham hocks and neck bones.

http://www.oletimes.com/

Ole Times Country Buffet
665 Scranton Road
Brunswick, GA 31521

I'm taking a little trip pretty soon. I'll be flying into Atlanta, renting a car, spending a couple days in Macon and then a good three days in Savanna. I was wondering if anyone one had any recent good dining experiences in Savanna. Nothing REALLY high priced, but I'm not interested in Lady and Son's either. Just some good local food. Ideas?

My wife and I took a road trip last fall that included Savannah. Here’s some of what I posted upon our return…

Day 7 Tuesday: Our first meal in Savannah was a real treat. We had lunch at Mrs. Wilke’s Dining Room which was a boarding house when Mrs. Wilkes bought it in 1943. The boarding house is long closed, but the family still runs the dining room located in the lower level of the original building. Open 11am until 2pm Monday through Friday, the menu features fried chicken and other entrees which change daily. There are no reservations, so the line starts forming outside around 10am to get in. There are two dining rooms inside, each with 3-4 tables seating 8-10 people. So, you are seated as you enter and eat with whoever is in front or behind you in line. The day we were there they had fried chicken (outstanding), sausage and beef stew along with, at least, 10 sides and the best biscuits my wife and I have had since Ma Hale’s in Grand Tower, IL. The fried chicken was lightly battered and perfectly seasoned. Each side was better than the other. The banana pudding for desert was awesome. It’s family style and the staff keeps the platters and bowls refilled. Of the “meat and three” type places we visited, this definitely was my choice of the best all around. By the way, it’s cash only and, do not look for a restaurant when you go there. It is located on a residential street in a home. The signage is small and a little difficult to see. Look for the people waiting to get in.

We drove out to Tybee Island for dinner at The Crab Shack, a very informal place on the shore of the island with a great view of the water. Although it was a tad tacky (they have a big gift shop and pond filled with alligators) the outdoor dining area was really enjoyable. The tables have holes in the middle making it easy to dispose of crab and shrimp shells which are the featured menu items. The menu is not big and is mainly limited to shrimp and crab. My wife had the low country boil and I had crab cakes – a first for me. The boil was very good and featured the usual sausage, new red potatoes and corn. While the crab was fresh, I did not like the crab cakes and since I had never had them before, I can’t compare or critique. It just wasn’t for me.

One important thing about the Crab Shack. If you do not like cats, do not go there. There are lots of cats there wandering around and they will sit and watch you eat…waiting for their treat. The cats that visited us were very polite and, since we are cat people, we found them enjoyable.

Mrs. Wilkes dining Room
107 W. Jones St.
Savannah, GA 31401
912-232-5997
http://www.mrswilkes.com/

The Crab Shack
40 Estill Hammer Rd.
Tybee Island, GA 31328
866-789-CRAB
http://www.thecrabshack.com/

Day 8 Wednesday: After much discussion, we decided to have dinner at The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen’s place. Based on what we read and heard from people in Savannah, the reviews were mixed but everyone said to do the buffet. We ordered the buffet that featured fried chicken, pot roast, fried catfish and various southern style sides and a choice of desert. The chicken had a slightly thick and crispy batter that was perfectly fried. The sides were all excellent. One nice touch was a complimentary jalapeno biscuit and piece of Johnny cake served when we were seated. The Johnny Cake was very good and we ordered seconds.
One thing to know about The Lady and Sons is that you have to get your name on the list early in the day. It is nearly impossible to just walk up and get a table for lunch or dinner. The line to get your name on the list for lunch starts around 9am and we put our name on the list for dinner about 11am. They also have a small gift shop featuring all things Paula.

The Lady & Sons
102 W Congress St
Savannah, GA 31401
912-233-2600
http://www.ladyandsons.com/

If we were to return to Savannah, I’d be sure to visit Mrs. Wilkes again because of the quality of the food and the very unique atmosphere of the place. The Crab Shack was a fun place, but I think I’d look for another next time. We had better seafood in Charleston and I’d think there would be better in the Savannah area as well.

I’d also check on Chef Jerome’s Old School Diner located about an hour out of Savannah. We wanted to go there, but nobody answered the phone when we called and we didn’t want to take a chance on making the drive witout being sure it was open. Here’s the website:
http://oldschooldiner.com/