We will certainly miss this beautiful city!
Three...
Two...
One...
Spring!
Now, onto Charleston, South Carolina for a few days!
Tag Archives: savannah
Additional Savannah Food Finds
We were really blown away by all the phenomenal restaurants in Savannah, most within walking distance of our apartment downtown. We didn’t write up full reviews, as either our pictures were blurry, or we just didn’t think to pull a camera out to get a shot until we were pretty much done.
Teeny Tiny Table - at Vinnie VanGoGo's - and yes, we are eating outside in January!
But we would highly recommend and revisit any of these places in the future:
Vinnie VanGoGo’s Pizza - Excellent NY-style pizza.
Harris Baking Company – Their Ham and Provolone Croissants are soooooooo goooooooood (especially warmed up in the oven)!
Angel’s BBQ - Terrific pulled pork and a variety of housemade sauces, right in the middle of downtown.
Smooth Cafe - homemade pretzels were the bomb, but also terrific smoothies and exceptional chicken salad!
Goose Feathers Cafe - Justin had a fantastic breakfast sandwich here, literally 20 feet from our apartment door!
Papillote – Phenomenal little french cafe, everything available to go. We got dinner from here one night and brought it back to the apartment to eat. Another great spot, less than 75 feet away!
River Street Sweets – Cris and Lan opened our eyes to these Pralines. Talk about a sugar high!
Wiley’s Championship BBQ
There were a couple of restaurants here in Savannah that we will miss quite a bit. We don’t have equivalents to these at home, and we wish we could box them up and take them with us! Justin mentioned Leoci’s Trattoria in an earlier post, and we’ve been back several times for their gnocchi – hand’s down, the best we’ve ever had! But the other spot we will miss exponentially is Wiley’s Championship BBQ.
Inside - really can only fit about 25 people! Also, see that level of sweet tea in my cup? The servers never let it get below that level - they were continually topping it off! And as it was insanely delicious, we didn't mind a bit!
We had stopped here earlier in the week, and immediately knew we would be back again before we left. Today we drove over for lunch, but also had some pulled pork packed up to go so we could make sandwiches during the SuperBowl tomorrow!
pile of burnt ends
Both times we visited, Justin ordered the Burnt Ends platter. I’m not sure exactly what show we watched or where we might have read about Burnt Ends first, but we knew we wanted to try them. And Goodness Gracious, me-oh-my, were they delicious. Wiley’s also has a perfectly wonderful bbq sauce that, when doused over anything, makes that anything better.
pulled pork and beef brisket sliders - and two pickles (since I gladly took Justin's!)
The first time we went I tried a pulled pork slider and a beef brisket slider. Both were superb, though the pulled pork was the favorite.
St. Louis-style ribs, with crisp sweet potato fries and crunchy coleslaw
Today I ordered the ribs, which I had read were fantastic. And they were. We both agreed they were probably the best ribs we had ever had. 100% perfect. Plus an extra 10% when you added some of the sauce!
I think this looks quite clearly conveys that Justin was not planning on sharing... 
And because we were already full, we totally had dessert too. Banana Pudding and Peanut Butter Pie. Yes.
Keeping an eye on the guard in the corner!
Time for a nap walk.
A Day of Laughs (and Dolphins!)
Our last Friday in Savannah was definitely a happy one. Our friends Cris and Lan drove up from Florida to spend the day with us, eating too much sugar, walking, visiting and laughing.
We walked over to Leoci’s for lunch, and before our food arrived, one of the chefs appeared with homemade crostini of quite an impressive length. I’m sure normal people just eat crostini, but it was much more fun to be ridiculous with them.
After dropping leftovers back at the apartment, we walked down to the riverfront and took the ferry across to the convention center and walk around a bit. While we were waiting for the ferry to return, we spotted dolphins swimming up the waterway! (I know in the picture they just are little specks in the water, but they looked so close in reality!) We really enjoyed the day with such good friends, and we’re hoping that another 8 years don’t go by before seeing them again!
Forsythe Park’s Fragrant Garden
While walking after lunch today, we noticed that the gates to the Fragrant Garden were open.
This is a walled-in quiet little spot in the center of Forsythe, with beds of fragrant plants.
Many of plants were dormant (being winter and all) but there were a few buds here and there, and the rosemary was out of control. We only stayed for a few minutes, but it was a very peaceful, fragrant little garden.
Dog-gone it!
Each afternoon/early evening, we enjoying walking down to and around Forsythe Park. Though we have decided that we don’t fit in very well at that time.
There are even specially designed water fountains, just for dogs!
Great Lunch Spots in Savannah
What is so nice about staying in a new city for a few weeks is that you start to weed out the restaurants a bit, you talk to people, become (just a little) a local. We’re finding casual lunch spots that are absolutely superb, that we probably would have missed out on if we were only visiting for a few days.
One of these such spots, Mellow Mushroom, was recommended to us by our friend Cris, and is a regional chain in the Southeast. There is definitely a relaxed, laid back, and funky vibe to this quirky pizza place, and the food was fantastic.
To start we ordered a half order of fresh pretzels, with garlic oil and parmesan. It turned out they simply made pretzel shapes with their pizza dough, baked them, then brushed on garlic oil and gave ‘em a good shake of parmesan cheese. Simple, but super delicious. Like garlic knots or breadsticks, but way cooler when in the shape of a pretzel. We’ll definitely be making these when we get home!
We shared a small Kosmic Karma pizza, which was topped with marinara, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, roma tomatoes, feta, with a swirl of pesto. This pizza was terrific. The toppings worked wonderfully together, and we both loved the chew and flavor of the crust.
Plus, you can’t really go too wrong with a place with lime green tiles and murals of cartoon greats in the bathrooms!
One of our other favorite lunches was from Zunzi’s Express, on York Street. It is a carry-out only spot (typically with a line out the door), but they have some cafe tables beside their building, so we grabbed a few chairs and ate right there.
We split The Godfather sandwich (that picture is just of half of it!), which was ridiculously good and definitely substantial enough to share (though I think we each could have polished one off it was so delicious!). A delicious soft french loaf is stuffed with lettuce, tomato, grilled chicken, smoked sausage, and topped with the most delicious sauces. We pretty much just said “Yes” when they asked us if we wanted their sauces on it. No idea exactly what they were! We’ll definitely be going back and splitting one more of these in the coming week.
Happy as Can Bee…
There is, quite literally, the sweetest little shop on Broughton Street in downtown Savannah. The Savannah Bee Company‘s shop is quite inviting, with their old fashioned screen porch door and promises of samples inside. Along their counter they have a variety of jars, cheese and apples and honeycomb, as well as honey roasted pecans, and (if you’re lucky) a honey cheesecake out to nibble on. It is very difficult not to walk out of the store without a jar or two.
I just spotted this recipe for Honey Pound Cake, and I thought it would be a great way to showcase one of SBC’s honeys (you know, without just eating it by the spoonful!). I stopped into the shop and picked up a small jar of Sourwood honey, a sweet, super flavorful, dark hued honey. I followed the recipe exactly, though I baked it in three mini loaf pans, which the batter fit perfectly in. And we found a perk to going back to using a hand mixer – getting to lick the beaters! And oh baby, is this batter fantastic!
Out of the oven, still warm, sliced and drizzled with a bit more honey (this other jar is our favorite – Winter White), this pound cake is groan-inducing. And the aroma is off the charts. The flavor of the honey really does shine, despite all the other ingredients. I’m sure it will be quite delicious using local Raikowski Farm honey when we’re home too, but a few jars of this Sourwood honey will definitely find its way into our bags to take back!
