EATING SOUTHERN
You will not go hungry in Savannah. Portions are generous to very large and shrimp and grits appear on almost every menu. Other local favorites are fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, ham and biscuits, and crab meat. Here’s where we dined.
We had lunch in their upstairs dining room which was largely empty and pleasingly quiet. Service was excellent and while we ate more than we had intended, we found the food delicious. Their homemade pimento cheese with benne crackers and the ham and biscuit starters were both great. We also sampled the roast cobia with sour grits and collard chow chow (slightly different) and the pastrami tongue sandwich (man-sized). This is upscale sophisticated dining and the menu changes frequently.
This charming café, located in a former apothecary and set up like a library, is owned and run by SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). It is cozy and welcoming and a relaxing spot for lunch. We enjoyed the very shrimpy shrimp salad, the crusted medallions of goat cheese on a mound of greens, and the salmon club sandwich. Our delightful waitress was a current SCAD student.
For a change from just Southern cooking and because it was a cold day, we opted for comfort food at this English style pub. The shredded beef pot roast with mashed potatoes, gravy and baby carrots hit the spot for two of us. Our friends ordered the shrimp bisque and a salad and one of their hearty sandwiches; both were pleased with their choices. And the Chief Penguin succumbed to the bread pudding with whipped cream. Beer and wine, of course, were available.
First off, the pink house is a large mansion with a beautiful deep pink exterior. Our hotel concierge felt it had become more touristy in recent years, so we lowered our expectations and were pleasantly surprised by how good everything was. There are many dining spaces and ours was large and tastefully decorated, but noisy. The maître d’ stopped by to ask how we were and would have re-located us had we insisted, but we had already ordered drinks and so declined.
They specialize in Low Country cuisine and the menu is extensive with many choices of platters, appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, and sides. Having had lunch out, we ordered mostly appetizers and salads. The shrimp, crab and sausage spring rolls with honey mustard drizzle were delectable as was the sautéed shrimp in ham gravy with a cheddar cheese grits cake.
Equally pleasing was the BLT salad: fried green tomatoes, bacon, and lettuce with a buttermilk thyme dressing. Their rendition of a chicken potpie was not as satisfying as the one at the 1540 Room, this from a lover of potpies.
This is a very popular restaurant and given its location was crowded and busy the night we dined here. Pluses: excellent jumbo lump crab cakes with Parmesan risotto and baby arugula, tasty meat loaf, reasonable sized portions (except for the humongous wedge of meat loaf), and nicely presented romaine wedges with cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices on the side. Minuses: Very noisy and we felt a bit processed, read hurried, by the wait staff.
Bar cum dining venue in the De Soto Hotel. Noisy, but the drinks and the food were very good, especially the seafood chowder, fish tacos and chicken wings. Also, the wicked garlic chips with chipotle dip.
Breakfast and dinner venue in the De Soto Hotel. We had breakfasts here and one dinner on a rainy night. The skillet chicken potpie was excellent. One of our group also had their version of shrimp and grits.
SWEETS
Other than the bread pudding the Chief Penguin enjoyed one lunch, we skipped desserts. That said, we are chocolate lovers and so could not resist stopping in and then purchasing a few truffles at Chocolat by Adam Turoni. In 2011, this millennial brought a box of his own homemade chocolates to his dinner hosts and, from there, was born this firm.
Turoni’s flavor combinations are innovative, his creations beautiful to look at, and even better to taste. The shop we visited, one of two in the city, is modeled as a library with shelves of books interlaced with shelves of chocolate. You pick up a tray, a bit like an old-fashioned card catalog drawer except narrower, and walk around filling it with the chocolates you wish to purchase. The truffle flavors range from Mint Julep Truffle to Coconut Meltaway with white chocolate to a Café American to Blood Orange and more. Double yum!
Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
I could go back to Low country to sample all the variety of provisions available. Beaufort area was rewarding for every meal out, and I could not restrain consumption, as my pants are telling me this week.