This weekend Jim and I headed to Savannah to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. My sister, Katie was nice enough to watch Christian for the night so we could get away. I had never been to Savannah, so I was pretty excited. I'd heard lots of great things about the city from friends -- that it was brimming with history and great food, that it was beautiful and romantic. But as a working mom, let's face it, I would have gone just about anywhere for a night away.
The 3 hour trip (most of it on I-95 North) was easy -- which is one of many reasons why Savannah is a great place to visit from Jacksonville. The weather this weekend could NOT have been more perfect... it was warm, bright and sunny, with low humidity and a cool breeze. During the trip up, Jim and I chatted (ok, I chatted... Jim just drove and listened).
"I HAVE to see Paula Deen's restaurant! I heard sometimes there's a really long wait, and if we can't get in, that's fine but I at least have to see it. And I heard we will be able to see the park bench where they filmed parts of Forrest Gump. We definitely have to take a trolley tour... Or maybe we should do a walking tour. What do you think?"
"MM hmm," Jim replied as he stared through the windshield.
"Ohmigod, are you listening to me??!"
"Yeah, I heard you. Something about Paula Dere."
We finally arrived in the historic district late in the afternoon on Saturday, parked and checked into our bed and breakfast, aptly named "The Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn", http://www.savannahbnb.com/ which was a lovely little inn on Gordon St. The inn itself is a series of two or three town homes on Gordon Street right next to a lovely square called Chatham Square. Our room was still being cleaned, so we headed a few blocks away to a cute little place called the Six Pence Pub. The Six Pence Pub is a small Irish pub with a large bar, and indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered a cup of french onion soup and a prime rib sandwich with potato salad. The food was great! Jim got BLT (I know -- pretty boring, right?) This was a point of contention for us all weekend. He doesn't care much about food.. it's really just an afterthought to him, whereas I am obsessed with it. When the waitress asked Jim what side he would like with his BLT he said he didn't want any. Are you kidding me? I asked for the collard greens for him and ate every bite. In Savannah, you can get southern favorites like corn bread, collard greens and black eyed peas pretty much anywhere... sigh! It's like heaven. The collards were awesome -- just a little bit spicy and full of ham flavor. The potato salad was the best I'd ever had -- creamy and salty but also thick. None of it ran on the plate. The chunks of potato were just the right size.
Another interesting feature of Savannah is that there are no open container laws, so people walk the streets with alcoholic beverages all the time. In fact, the waitress asked us if we'd like a drink to go. We politely declined, but the offer was interesting.
Next we strolled the streets and had a look around as we headed North toward the Savannah River. You can walk pretty much everywhere in the historic district in about 15-20 minutes, and the walk was nice. Savannah is just like you might picture it... lovely squares with statues of historic figures and fountains, surrounded by tall oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Horse-drawn carriages and trolleys slowly passed us on the narrow streets. We saw several unique buildings bearing the label of the "Savannah College of Art and Design" which is a huge presence in the city.
As we got nearer the river to Bay St. and River St, the scene got more lively. Lots of bars, restaurants, antique shops and boutiques lined the busy Bay Street. It was in one of those bars (now I forget the name because we only stopped in for a minute) that we met up with a couple of Jim's friends from work. Jim had found out earlier in the week that they would also be in Savannah vacationing for the weekend, so we'd promised to meet up for awhile. The four of us chatted as we strolled through a few antique shops. One such shop we walked into was a store called Jere's antiques which was this huge warehouse filled with antique wooden bookshelves, bars, tables and the like. It was very interesting to look at, but each piece was pretty expensive (I saw one huge bookcase that cost as much as a car!) I guess I just don't get the whole antique furniture idea. If I spend a lot of money on furniture, I want it to look new.
I guess I'm not that much of an antique person. I did enjoy looking through the different shops, though. The stores had interesting old books, paintings, toys, porcelain tea sets, flapper dresses, hats... like going through some one's attic. I was particularly interested in some of the medical stuff -- including a nursing school text and some syringes, bone screws and medication vials from the 1950s... very cool.
After spending a few hours shopping, we sat at a pub on River St. called Kevin Barry's Pub and had a drink before Jim and I headed back toward the bed and breakfast to get ready for dinner. On our way home, we passed a beautiful wedding being conducted during sunset in one of Savannah's peaceful squares. As we walked by, a string quartet played while the newly married bride and groom climbed into a horse-drawn carriage and bridesmaids dressed in midnight blue gowns were escorted up the aisle by tuxedo clad groomsmen.
My eyes filled with tears.
"Their anniversary date will be the same as ours!" I exclaimed. Jim reached out to hold my hand, and for that moment, I felt as special as a blushing bride.
Once we were back at the inn, we caught the tail end of a wine and cheese reception, which the inn holds every weekend evening. So Jim and I sat out at a little table overlooking a courtyard behind the inn, sipped wine and talked about where we wanted to go for dinner. We also filled out little cards letting the kitchen staff know of our breakfast choices before heading up to our room.
The room we stayed in was the Holly room, and I highly recommend it. It was small, but well appointed with a plush queen sized bed and lovely view of Chatham Square. We got showers and got dressed for dinner.
It was dark outside when we stepped back out into the warm, breezy Savannah evening. I think the darkness with the warm glow of street lights made Savannah look even more beautiful and peaceful than it had in the daytime. Jim and I strolled the lovely streets once again, determined to find an elegant, yet reasonably priced restaurant that had a place we could sit outside and eat.
We found the perfect place: a great Mediterranean bar and grill called The Mirage, located on Broughton Street. Jim and I sat at a romantic table for two right outside the restaurant as we shared a bottle of Riesling and did some people watching. The people watching proved quite interesting -- The Savannah College of Art and Design was putting on a fashion show just down the street. Jim and I watched as college students and models strolled down the street in some very interesting outfits.
We had mentioned when we arrived that it was our anniversary, so when the waitress brought us appetizers (a caprese salad for me and sauteed shrimp for Jim), the owner herself also stopped by to check on us and wish us a "Happy Anniversary". It was really sweet. The entrees were awesome -- we had lamb kabobs and saffron rice with steamed veggies. To top it all off, our very nice waitress brought us a divine pistachio baklava dessert topped with a strawberry cream sauce, in celebration of our anniversary. The food tasted delicious and the service couldn't have been better. It was the perfect ending to an already perfect day.
The 3 hour trip (most of it on I-95 North) was easy -- which is one of many reasons why Savannah is a great place to visit from Jacksonville. The weather this weekend could NOT have been more perfect... it was warm, bright and sunny, with low humidity and a cool breeze. During the trip up, Jim and I chatted (ok, I chatted... Jim just drove and listened).
"I HAVE to see Paula Deen's restaurant! I heard sometimes there's a really long wait, and if we can't get in, that's fine but I at least have to see it. And I heard we will be able to see the park bench where they filmed parts of Forrest Gump. We definitely have to take a trolley tour... Or maybe we should do a walking tour. What do you think?"
"MM hmm," Jim replied as he stared through the windshield.
"Ohmigod, are you listening to me??!"
"Yeah, I heard you. Something about Paula Dere."
We finally arrived in the historic district late in the afternoon on Saturday, parked and checked into our bed and breakfast, aptly named "The Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn", http://www.savannahbnb.com/ which was a lovely little inn on Gordon St. The inn itself is a series of two or three town homes on Gordon Street right next to a lovely square called Chatham Square. Our room was still being cleaned, so we headed a few blocks away to a cute little place called the Six Pence Pub. The Six Pence Pub is a small Irish pub with a large bar, and indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered a cup of french onion soup and a prime rib sandwich with potato salad. The food was great! Jim got BLT (I know -- pretty boring, right?) This was a point of contention for us all weekend. He doesn't care much about food.. it's really just an afterthought to him, whereas I am obsessed with it. When the waitress asked Jim what side he would like with his BLT he said he didn't want any. Are you kidding me? I asked for the collard greens for him and ate every bite. In Savannah, you can get southern favorites like corn bread, collard greens and black eyed peas pretty much anywhere... sigh! It's like heaven. The collards were awesome -- just a little bit spicy and full of ham flavor. The potato salad was the best I'd ever had -- creamy and salty but also thick. None of it ran on the plate. The chunks of potato were just the right size.
Another interesting feature of Savannah is that there are no open container laws, so people walk the streets with alcoholic beverages all the time. In fact, the waitress asked us if we'd like a drink to go. We politely declined, but the offer was interesting.
Next we strolled the streets and had a look around as we headed North toward the Savannah River. You can walk pretty much everywhere in the historic district in about 15-20 minutes, and the walk was nice. Savannah is just like you might picture it... lovely squares with statues of historic figures and fountains, surrounded by tall oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Horse-drawn carriages and trolleys slowly passed us on the narrow streets. We saw several unique buildings bearing the label of the "Savannah College of Art and Design" which is a huge presence in the city.
As we got nearer the river to Bay St. and River St, the scene got more lively. Lots of bars, restaurants, antique shops and boutiques lined the busy Bay Street. It was in one of those bars (now I forget the name because we only stopped in for a minute) that we met up with a couple of Jim's friends from work. Jim had found out earlier in the week that they would also be in Savannah vacationing for the weekend, so we'd promised to meet up for awhile. The four of us chatted as we strolled through a few antique shops. One such shop we walked into was a store called Jere's antiques which was this huge warehouse filled with antique wooden bookshelves, bars, tables and the like. It was very interesting to look at, but each piece was pretty expensive (I saw one huge bookcase that cost as much as a car!) I guess I just don't get the whole antique furniture idea. If I spend a lot of money on furniture, I want it to look new.
I guess I'm not that much of an antique person. I did enjoy looking through the different shops, though. The stores had interesting old books, paintings, toys, porcelain tea sets, flapper dresses, hats... like going through some one's attic. I was particularly interested in some of the medical stuff -- including a nursing school text and some syringes, bone screws and medication vials from the 1950s... very cool.
After spending a few hours shopping, we sat at a pub on River St. called Kevin Barry's Pub and had a drink before Jim and I headed back toward the bed and breakfast to get ready for dinner. On our way home, we passed a beautiful wedding being conducted during sunset in one of Savannah's peaceful squares. As we walked by, a string quartet played while the newly married bride and groom climbed into a horse-drawn carriage and bridesmaids dressed in midnight blue gowns were escorted up the aisle by tuxedo clad groomsmen.
My eyes filled with tears.
"Their anniversary date will be the same as ours!" I exclaimed. Jim reached out to hold my hand, and for that moment, I felt as special as a blushing bride.
Once we were back at the inn, we caught the tail end of a wine and cheese reception, which the inn holds every weekend evening. So Jim and I sat out at a little table overlooking a courtyard behind the inn, sipped wine and talked about where we wanted to go for dinner. We also filled out little cards letting the kitchen staff know of our breakfast choices before heading up to our room.
The room we stayed in was the Holly room, and I highly recommend it. It was small, but well appointed with a plush queen sized bed and lovely view of Chatham Square. We got showers and got dressed for dinner.
It was dark outside when we stepped back out into the warm, breezy Savannah evening. I think the darkness with the warm glow of street lights made Savannah look even more beautiful and peaceful than it had in the daytime. Jim and I strolled the lovely streets once again, determined to find an elegant, yet reasonably priced restaurant that had a place we could sit outside and eat.
We found the perfect place: a great Mediterranean bar and grill called The Mirage, located on Broughton Street. Jim and I sat at a romantic table for two right outside the restaurant as we shared a bottle of Riesling and did some people watching. The people watching proved quite interesting -- The Savannah College of Art and Design was putting on a fashion show just down the street. Jim and I watched as college students and models strolled down the street in some very interesting outfits.
We had mentioned when we arrived that it was our anniversary, so when the waitress brought us appetizers (a caprese salad for me and sauteed shrimp for Jim), the owner herself also stopped by to check on us and wish us a "Happy Anniversary". It was really sweet. The entrees were awesome -- we had lamb kabobs and saffron rice with steamed veggies. To top it all off, our very nice waitress brought us a divine pistachio baklava dessert topped with a strawberry cream sauce, in celebration of our anniversary. The food tasted delicious and the service couldn't have been better. It was the perfect ending to an already perfect day.
The next morning, Jim and I got up by 9, got packed up, and made it down to breakfast before 10am. Breakfast was an amazing egg, ham and potato casserole with toasted honey oatmeal bread and fresh fruit. Mornings are my favorite time of the day, and I'll never forget how happy I was, sitting out on the balcony area behind the inn, sipping coffee and enjoying the warm Savannah morning.
After breakfast, we checked out of the inn and packed the car before catching a shuttle that took us to the Savannah Visitor Center, where we bought tickets for and boarded an Old Town Trolley Tour trolley. http://www.trolleytours.com/ Old Town Trolley Tours operate in several cities (including St. Augustine). Our tour guide had a thick Savannah drawl (just like Paula Deen!) and was a real joy to listen to. I remember her saying "Now yah'll, we have a cawlege here cawled the Savnah Cawlege of Ort and Desahn, and they's some cawlege students thauhr. Now yah'll, thay have them sum orange and red hayur and stuff. Yah'll theys just kids so they need to express they sayulf..." She cracked me up!
The major feature that draws so many tourists to Savannah is it's history, and there is more to the history of Savannah than I could ever list here, (wikki it) but some of the highlights of the tour were: The house where they shot "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (called the Mercer house), the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace (she was the founder of the Girl Scouts), Chippawa Park, (the park where they filmed the bench scenes from Forrest Gump), The Pirate's House, (a restaurant that was once an inn, said to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island), and of course there was much more.
When we boarded the trolley, we were given stickers to wear on our shirts for identification, and then we could get on and off the trolley as much as we wanted. So we hopped off the trolley to see the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a huge, gorgeous Catholic cathedral. It was Sunday morning, and worshipers were quietly heading into the cathedral for Mass. Jim and I walked in to have a brief look around, and the familiar smell of polished wooden pews and incense (from my Catholic school upbringing) brought back memories for me. The inside was breathtaking -- beautiful, ornate and peaceful.
After checking out the cathedral, we hopped back on another trolley and rode for a few more minutes, listening to more about the history of Savannah. "Listen out for stop #10" I whispered to Jim.
"Why?"
"That's the stop for Paula Deen's restaurant, 'Lady and Sons'."
"Why are we going there?" Jim asked, " You know it's going to be packed. It's probably all hype anyways.. probably a huge tourist trap."
"If the wait is too long, we don't have to eat there. I just have to see it. I want to take a picture. She has a gift shop and we can just look around there a little bit."
Just then the tour driver announced, "If you are trying to get in to Lady and Sons today and you don't want to wait, you can tell them you'd like to get carry out. They'll let you come up to the front of the line, and give you a box to fill at the buffet. Then you can stop by a nearby park with it and have a picnic. Another great tip is ask if you can sit at the bar.. sometimes you'll get seated faster."
Soon we made it to stop #10, hopped off and walked down Congress street a few blocks to the world famous Lady and Sons.
For anyone who may live on another planet, or for any other reason doesn't know who Paula Deen is, she's a cook, turned caterer turned restaurant owner turned Food Network Star. My mom is completely obsessed with the Food Network and thinks Paula Deen is a god, so I knew I'd be in big trouble for not getting a picture.
Lady and Sons is a three story restaurant on Congress Street with bright red and white awnings. The gift shop looked a little crowded, but I didn't see a big line outside like I'd heard about. I asked the hostess how long the wait was, and then she took my breath away when she said "We can seat you right now." Then she handed us two tickets and instructed us to take the elevator to the third floor.
I was giddy with excitement.
"Erica," Jim said, "We just ate breakfast not two hours ago. I'm not even hungry yet."
"But it's Paula Deen's restaurant, Jim!" I almost shouted, as I walked into the restaurant full of awe and anticipation, "You don't understand, she is like the Queen of all things Southern, Fried and Comfort Food." Jim sighed, shrugged and followed me into the elevator. Once we were on the third floor, we were greeted by a hostess who took us right to a high-top table next to the bar. The waiter took our drink orders and then invited us to the buffet.
I almost chuckled as I passed the salad bar (who comes to Paula Deen's for salad?!) and I approached the main buffet. The buffet wasn't huge: it only had a handful of items. Fried chicken, roasted chicken, barbecue pulled pork, mashed potatoes and gravy, cream corn, collard greens, lima beans, black-eyed peas and maccaroni and cheese. I put a little of everything on my plate and headed back to the table. My plate was pretty full, and I thought to myself that I would never be able to eat this much food -- I was barely even hungry.
Then I tasted my first bite.
Okay, you know how sometimes you approach something with pretty high expectations, and then your experience actually ends up shattering every expectation you had and sending you into an orbit of uncontainable "I can't believe this is happening to me!" euphoria?
This was one of those moments.
Believe the hype.
Paula Deen deserves every single penny of her millions.
Do you hear me? Every cent.
"Ohmigd!" I exclaimed hysterically after a bite of fried chicken, "this is absolutely incredible!" I would have startled several people sitting nearby if they weren't just as engrossed in their plates of culinary perfection.
Every single bite of each thing on my plate was the best I ever had. The best macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted. The best collard greens I've ever touched. Hands down the best fried chicken I've ever bit into. Each bite melted in my mouth. It tasted like the chicken had actually been fried in pure butter. The macaroni and cheese had to have a pound of butter, a pound of cream cheese, and several different types of shredded cheeses in it. It was divine. I inhaled my plate, and only paused briefly between bites of food to gush and take the Lord's name in vain and otherwise embarrass Jim.
"We don't need to go to church today," I told Jim as I swallowed a perfect bite of macaroni and cheese, "I think I'm having a spiritual experience right now! I think I've found God."
"Erica!" Jim said, rubbing his eyebrows, "do you think you could hold off on the blasphemy a little bit? I don't want lightning to strike us right now."
"Believe me Jim," I said, tearing off a huge piece of the sublime cheddar biscuit our waiter placed on our table, "God understands. Anything this amazing had to come from God. Do you think He's back in the kitchen?"
"Erica!" Jim wailed.
I polished off the collards and moved on to the heavenly mashed potatoes and gravy. "Jim, Buddhists believe that only through many lifetimes of rigorous meditation and discipline, can one reach Nirvana. Obviously they've never been to Paula Deen's".
"Can we just eat?" Jim asked exasperated, but slightly amused.
"It makes me so sad to think that people in this country..." I started, sniffling and blinking back imaginary tears ... "actually diet when there is food this good to eat!"
I paused here to bite into something wonderful called a "hoe cake"... its like a pancake made of cornbread and fried in butter. I learned earlier on the trolley that settlers to the area actually cooked them on the hoes they used to till the land.
"Why do people even bother with drugs when you can have fried chicken?" I asked as I polished off my second piece.
It was only after I completely cleaned my plate and ate my hoe cake and cheddar biscuit that I noticed what Jim had on his plate.
"You're eating a salad??!" I gasped, " Who comes to Paula Deen's for a salad? Is that roasted chicken instead of fried?! Plain rice? With no gravy??! What is wrong with you?!" I was beside myself. He didn't even touch his hoe cake or biscuit! Luckily for Jim, the waiter came by just then and interrupted my tirade.
The waiter didn't even ask us if we liked the food. Such a question would have been completely incomprehensible. He simply asked us if we'd like to see the dessert tray.
"There's more??!" I asked breathlessly. The waiter then returned with three desserts: a chocolate chip butter cake (never heard of it, but it looked like a bar of butter mixed with sugar and chocolate chips), a peach cobbler, and a banana pudding.
"I'll take the chocolate chip butter cake," I replied, almost clawing it off the poor waiter's tray before he could hand it to me.
"And for you, sir?" the waiter asked Jim. Then Jim said, (and I quote), "No thanks, I don't want any dessert."
The waiter looked at me.
"Obviously, he's completely insane," I explained.
The waiter laughed. "Well, let me ask you something, if you had to pick your second choice of dessert, what would it be?"
"Banana pudding!" I said without a moment's hesitation.
"Okay," he laughed. "Then I'll just leave it here and see what happens to it."
I think it was gone before the bowl hit the table.
So needless to say, lunch at Lady and Sons was the highlight of our trip, but I had a great time celebrating six years of marriage with Jim, and experiencing such a great city. I want anyone reading this who hasn't been to start planning a trip to Savannah right now. Believe me, you'll love it. If you've already been, it's time to start planning your next trip there.
God knows I am.
0 comments:
Post a Comment