Eating Savannah
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Jenny and I just returned from a delightful trip to Savannah to enjoy the beach with my family. Yours truly took a break from most of the cooking chores and let my Mom take the reins in the kitchen.
As far as vacations go, this one was pretty light on the heavier foods. We're all on a weight management program of some sort, so we avoided heavier meals and desserts...for the most part. We rented a beach house with a kitchen, which made it really easy to avoid eating out. There were lots of healthy snacks (fruits, fresh vegetables) and my Mom made very healthy meals. My Dad even came through and made a batch of his signature pancakes. He was even so kind as to add strawberries and banana slices to mine. No syrup required!
I'm a big fan of this kind of family vacation, food wise. By eating together as a family, we get time to be with each other. Besides, it's far healthier and WAY cheaper.
What was truly exceptional was the food. Jenny and I split the "Bangers and Mash" and a Highland Salad (sorry, it was a little dark for pictures). The bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) was really exceptional, especially with a draft microbrewed ale. Jenny even noted that she isn't a huge fan of sausage, but she loved this dish. The highland salad was really tasty, so much so that I didn't mind trading my half-eaten plate of sausage and potatoes for it. It had hazelnuts and gorgonzola cheeze and a light dressing, which is a pretty exotic (for me) and delicious combination.
We all really enjoyed this restaurant, and would recommend it. I hope the pubs in London are this good when we go on holiday!
And what of the Queen of Southern Cooking, Paula Deen? I love her show on the Food Network and her personality on-screen, but I hate waiting out in the sun for an hour and a half with three small kids. The crowd begging to get in to The Lady and Son's was simply enormous, and we all decided that it was best not to attempt a meal there on this trip.
Frankly, I was a little relieved. I'm struggling to pull out of a plateau and I was a little uneasy thinking about the damage that could be done with an all-you can eat buffet of fried chicken, fried okra, biscuits and gravy and a host of fatty heavy southern food. Sorry, but I don't have that much self-control!
As far as vacations go, this one was pretty light on the heavier foods. We're all on a weight management program of some sort, so we avoided heavier meals and desserts...for the most part. We rented a beach house with a kitchen, which made it really easy to avoid eating out. There were lots of healthy snacks (fruits, fresh vegetables) and my Mom made very healthy meals. My Dad even came through and made a batch of his signature pancakes. He was even so kind as to add strawberries and banana slices to mine. No syrup required!
I'm a big fan of this kind of family vacation, food wise. By eating together as a family, we get time to be with each other. Besides, it's far healthier and WAY cheaper.
What was truly exceptional was the food. Jenny and I split the "Bangers and Mash" and a Highland Salad (sorry, it was a little dark for pictures). The bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) was really exceptional, especially with a draft microbrewed ale. Jenny even noted that she isn't a huge fan of sausage, but she loved this dish. The highland salad was really tasty, so much so that I didn't mind trading my half-eaten plate of sausage and potatoes for it. It had hazelnuts and gorgonzola cheeze and a light dressing, which is a pretty exotic (for me) and delicious combination.
We all really enjoyed this restaurant, and would recommend it. I hope the pubs in London are this good when we go on holiday!
And what of the Queen of Southern Cooking, Paula Deen? I love her show on the Food Network and her personality on-screen, but I hate waiting out in the sun for an hour and a half with three small kids. The crowd begging to get in to The Lady and Son's was simply enormous, and we all decided that it was best not to attempt a meal there on this trip.
Frankly, I was a little relieved. I'm struggling to pull out of a plateau and I was a little uneasy thinking about the damage that could be done with an all-you can eat buffet of fried chicken, fried okra, biscuits and gravy and a host of fatty heavy southern food. Sorry, but I don't have that much self-control!
:: 3 comments
3 Comments:
Oh dear. When I lived in Athens, while I was there, they named a bar after me (Molly O'Shea's). I just moved from Savannah, and again, they've named a bar after me. This is getting a little embarrassing. What does this say about the alcohol comsumption impression I've left on the city of Savannah?? :-)
Paula Deen's fried chicken is good, but her chicken pot pie is to die for, and you're right, there's no willpower. For future reference, she does take reservations, if you have a party of (7? 8? 10? something like that) or more. I didn't know how big your family was, but it'd be worth a shot in the future. Especially if those three small kids count :-)
Another AWESOME southern food place: Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House. I think they only do lunch, but their fried chicken is BETTER and their sweet potato casserole makes me want to slap my mother.
8/18/2005 9:05 AM
Actually, The Lady & Sons does make reservations for smaller groups too because my family is just 3 and we were able to make a reservation. The first time I was in Savannah, I tried to get in and there was a 1 hr 45 min wait on a Sunday for brunch. I couldn't wait so I asked if I could make a reservation and they said Yes. So I made one for 1-1/2 weeks later on a Tuesday at 1 and we got there 15 minutes early. They allowed us in then too.
The food was amazing. Fattening but yummy. We did the buffet for $10.95 - all you can eat. I stuffed myself silly and it was worth every calorie. I thought the fried chicken was amazing and so was the baked chicken, the collard greens, and the hoe cakes. The biscuits were great too.
So, next time call a week or so earlier and make a reservation (unless they don't allow them for smaller groups anymore). If not, there are some cute stores in the market across the street - so have someone you love stand in front with a cell phone, you go across with the kids and when they are about to let you go in, they can call and tell you and you can come across and eat. Good suggestion???
Great restaurant. You shouldn't miss it.
8/20/2005 9:44 PM
Paula's restaurant doesn't take reservations of less than 10, and we had 9 including my sister's kids!
I'm sure the food is great, but I'd already had a ton of food that weekend, and I was a little tired of eating (if that makes any sense).
Thanks for the tips, though!
8/21/2005 6:57 PM
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