savannah!

A couple months ago, as a pre-deployment mini-vacation, my husband took our son and I on a trip to Savannah, Georgia!  We had a great time sight-seeing, relaxing, and trying new restaurants.  Below is the culinary journey through Savannah....enjoy!

The first night, we got in late and headed down to a great restaurant called 700 Drayton, which was a block from our hotel!
Mike got:
Cashew Crusted Salmon Sriracha with mandarin glaze, red chili sauce, baby bok choy, and basmati rice.
He gave it:
A-, because the salmon was a touch overdone

I got:
Fried Green Tomatoes with creamy smoked jalapeno sauce, goat cheese, basil oil, and tomatoes.
I gave it:
A

I got:
Poseidon Crab Bisque with lump crab and gremolata.
I gave it:
A+, although there was no gremolata to be found...

In the morning, the husband ordered room service (love him!) from our hotel's amazing, gourmet kitchen!
I got:
Peach Pecan French Toast with bourbon vanilla custard.
I gave it:
A+, loved the pecans in the batter and the bourbon custard was to. die. for.

He got:
Grilled Ham and Eggs - Ham steak topped with two over easy eggs and hash brown.
He gave it:
B, because they labeled it a "southern favorite"....not so much....

For lunch, we headed to the famous Mrs. Wilkes and stood in line for an hour and a half for the famous food!

Served up family-style, you get to meet some pretty interesting people, as you dine...

Luckily, the line was worth it!
We got:
what everyone gets!
Huge portions of about 15-16 different southern dishes.
From the best fried chicken ever, to succotash, to creamed corn, to cold cucumbers, to beef stew, to cornbread, to....
We gave it:
A++, best meal of our trip!

*Traveler's tip: cash only ($16 each) and only iced tea or water to drink*
....and please come hungry.  You will stuff yourself.  And not need dinner.  Although we did eat dinner that night.  We powered through.

Next, we headed over to the Savannah Candy Kitchen to sample some pralines :)

Luckily, it was Lent (we always give up sweets) so, still full from our enormous lunch, we bought some pralines based on a previous sampling of mine :)

*Traveler's tip: they have awesome deals!  Buy a pound of pralines, get a half pound free!  And free shipping if your order is over $15!  And they throw free, home-made, salt-water taffy at you!  So, be a good catcher.  I am not.*

For dinner, we headed to Paula Deen's famous Lady and Sons restaurant.

A few minutes before we were herded inside, they came out into the street to ring the dinner bell :)
(Sorry for the horrid picture...)

We got:
These fantastic garlic cheddar biscuits atop a lovely corn Johnny cake.
Eat the biscuit plain.
Drizzle the Johnny cake with maple syrup.
Yum.
We gave it:
A++

We got:
Fried green tomatoes with Vidalia onion relish and roasted red pepper sauce.
We gave it:
A
(the onion relish: A+)

We got:
Steak and Pie - Beef Tenderloin and mushroom ragout surrounding the famous tomato pie.
We gave it:
A, creamy and delicious (albeit, a bit overdone) and the tomato pie was heavenly.
(We only got an appetizer and split an entree because we were still so full from lunch!)

*Traveler's tip: Lady and Sons doesn't take reservations by phone...you have to show up at 9:30am the day of and get your name on that list!  The husband showed up at 9:40 (while the baby and I were getting ready...) and the only seatings left were 5pm and 9:30pm!  Crazy!!  Get there on time.*

Breakfast in bed again, compliments of our hotel :)
He got:
Western Omelet with Ham, Onions, Green Peppers and Local, Creamy Stone Ground Grits.
He gave it:
B, omelet was okay, grits were fantastic!

I got:
Buttermilk Pancakes with toasted pecan quince butter with breakfast sausages.
I gave it:
A+, sooooo yummy!  Loved the quince!

After shopping on River Street all day, we headed to Fiddler's Crab House.
We got:
Bloody Mary's
We gave it:
A++, almost as good as New Orleans but pretty fantastic all the same :)

He got:
Wild caught Atlantic Steamed Shrimp dinner with Savannah Red Rice and Cole Slaw.
He gave it:
A

I got:
Fried Seafood Sampler (shrimp, oysters, and scallops) with Grits.
I gave it:
A+, seafood was tender and not rubbery and the grits were awesome!

For dinner, we headed to a recommended brewery, the Moon River Brewing Co.
He got:
The Sampler: five 4 ounce beers - whatever is on tap that night.
His favorite?  A rosemary infused beer!
A++
(I got a Long Island...I don't drink beer.)

He got:
The Moon Burger with everything on it with Gouda escalloped potatoes
He gave it:
A+

I got:
Low Country Crabmelt - Grilled Texas toast topped with fresh blue crab salad and Monterey Jack cheese, smothered with a creamy Parmesan sauce and baked.
With sweet potato fries on the side.
I gave it:
A++, so so yummy.  Usually I don't care for crab with cheese on it, but my heavens.  And the sweet potato fries were the best I've ever had.  Usually soggy or mush, these were extra crispy and tender on the inside!

That night, we headed down the street to another candy company, River Street Sweets.

We had visited the Market Street Sweets in Charleston SC, a sister company of this one.
I wanted a few gophers for after Lent :)
*Incidentally, I thought these were turtles.  They are gophers.  Anyone know the difference?*

Lookie that caramel.
Heaven.

That concludes our lovely trip to Savannah!  If you are ever on the East Coast, I highly recommend :)