Midnight in the Garden of Food & History

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from Travel section NYT

Interesting article in the New York Times Travel section, on Savannah, Georgia, its history and its food:

While working as a post-Civil War editor for The Savannah Morning News, Joel Chandler Harris, known for his Uncle Remus stories ....it is said that he asked for a room far from the odorous, noisy courtyard that housed guests' horses and carriages. Today, that same courtyard's art-lined walls hold the wonderfully intimate 45 Bistro ...The chef, Ryan Behneman, prepares dishes like lasagna of jumbo sea scallops, wilted spinach, mascarpone cheese and a tomato ragu ...

One dining room is ballroom size. You'll sit in a mahogany booth under a domed ceiling of stars, surrounded by a 360-degree mural of bucolic scenes by an artist who painted it in exchange for food. The fried chicken dinner  is the stuff of legend. Soho South Cafe in what was once an auto repair garage, but you're here for dishes like eggs Savannah, an English muffin topped with a jumbo crab cake, poached egg, asparagus and bearnaise.

Have you ever had the opportunity to visit Savannah?

If so, what did you eat there and where did you dine?

[deibu]

I haven't been to Savannah in years but I've heard there are some good places there, but it's not nearly as good as Charleston.

On a side note, Lady Chablis (from the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil) was a guest in my house several weeks ago... Now that she resides in Columbia I see her out all the time.

[Holly Moore]

Actually hit two of the places the Times did. Wall BBQ which is worth searching out both for the BBQ and for its contrast with the splendor of the historic district and Clary's which was OK for breakfast. Had a hard time finding any place extraordinary, breakfast wise. Clary's bakes up a monster eclair worth investigating, though I passed on it for breakrast.

My other two meals - Lady and Sons where I should have ordered the Buffet and the Crab Shack on Tybee Island which is a lot of fun and pretty decent seafood.

[Gifted Gourmet]

On a side note, Lady Chablis (from the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil) was a guest in my house several weeks ago...  Now that she resides in Columbia I see her out all the time. 

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Wow! Had completely forgotten about Lady Chablis!!

I agree about Charleston over Savannah ... but the NYT article rather decided this topic for me ...

[Cucina]

Agh! Bad title from a one hit wonder. (John Berendt that is)

Elizabeth on 37th is still in my view, on a par above anything else open to the public. She does the food - her husband Michael does the wine, and it's always a good pairing.

And for that batter fried seafood that the Dr. says you're really not supposed to be eating but you crave it sometimes anyway, Pearls on Isle of Hope is a good bet with nice marsh views even if it's a bit rednecky. They also have a respectable she crab soup.

But alas, the best food in Savannah is still done in private homes. The young couples have dinner clubs trading turns cooking, and some in the older set still have cooks or bring one in for special ocassion parties and even when they don't, they know what to do in a kitchen. When I lived in Georgia, I made a point of making friends in Savannah across generations just for the dinner invitations!

[rl1856]

The December issue of Gourmet has a nice article on the Savannah culinary scene. The author is a native.

Best,

Ross