yes, we eat like paula deen

April 29, 2009 9:04 AM

If your best friend was going to Savannah, GA, where would you tell them to eat?

As a follow-up to this question, SO and I will be in Savannah soon. We will arrive in time for Saturday dinner, and leaving Sunday afternoon. I perused these two previous questions, and there's a lot of good info there; however it's almost 3 years old, so if anyone has any new advice, we'd love to hear it!

Where should we go for dinner on Saturday? Breakfast on Sunday? and lunch on Sunday?

Things we love: meat (no vegetarians here), cheese, seafood, great southern home cookin', and good beer. Willing to pay more for good food, but love those hole-in-the-wall joints as well. Can be formal or need reservations, or it can be paper napkins and plastic silverware.

posted by kidsleepy to food & drink (20 comments total)

Breakfast/lunch/brunch-type-meal: You have to go to Lady and Sons. It's a rule.
Dinner: I like the Shrimp Factory on Riverstreet. Get the pine bark stew.
posted by phunniemee at 9:11 AM on April 29

Sweet Leaf- it's southern BBQ near forsyth park is a must.
Zunzi's- is amazing. I miss Zunzi's more than anything. only open for lunch. Try to beat the College crowd. But I can't tell you what an amazing place this is.
posted by octomato at 9:14 AM on April 29

Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room was one of the highlights of a 5-week-long roadtrip across the country I did 10 years ago. Seriously good, good southern food. They aren't kidding about the wait for a table, but it's just part of the whole experience. We went for lunch, I think.
posted by chowflap at 9:42 AM on April 29

Sweet Leaf and the Crystal Beer Parlor closed, due to the economy.

So, Crabshack (casual paper plates out on the marsh) for dinner on Saturday, Cobblestone Conch House (cozy hole in the wall) on River St. for Breakfast and Lady and Sons (touristy but good) for lunch on Sunday.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:50 AM on April 29

Mrs. Wilkes for sure. It's been great for years! I've heard that Lady and Sons has gone downhill. Watching this post to see if anyone can confirm.
posted by pearlybob at 10:17 AM on April 29

Alligator Soul is where cajun meets gourmet. I had one of the best steaks of my life when we were in Savannah last year.
posted by Fleebnork at 10:21 AM on April 29

N'thing Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room. I went to Savannah almost exactly a year ago, and ate at Mrs. Wilke's for lunch. It was just as good as chowflap says it was 10 years ago. One of the best meals I've had.
posted by HabeasCorpus at 10:24 AM on April 29

Sweet Leaf is gone? Damn.

Zunzi's definitely, Alligator Soul is good if you want more upscale, Moon River if you want good beer (the food is nothing special), and Firefly Cafe.
posted by bradbane at 10:31 AM on April 29

Oh yeah, are you staying downtown? If so, keep in mind that the Crab Shack is out on Tybee Island, about a 30-40 minute drive, but worth it.

Remember ">Zunzi's is teh awesome, but closes by 6pm on Saturday, isn't open on Sunday. But if arrive in time for lunch on Saturday, definitely do it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:41 AM on April 29

I feel like going to the Lady & Sons just for a buffet (that's all they serve on Sundays) would be a bust, and I don't think we'd get down there early enough on Saturday to get on the priority list. Should we try anyway? Is it worth it? I'd love to go just to say I've been, but hopefully there will be other chances in the future!
posted by kidsleepy at 10:41 AM on April 29

We are staying on Bay St and we'll have a car.
posted by kidsleepy at 10:49 AM on April 29

Looks like Mrs. Wilke's is only open on weekdays :(
posted by kidsleepy at 11:38 AM on April 29

For casual dining on River St, I always enjoy Fiddler's Crab House. I could eat Crab Balls every meal for a week.

I know this isn't exactly the answer you are looking for, but I can also tell you to skip Uncle Bubba's Oyster House.
posted by prettymightyflighty at 11:49 AM on April 29

flighty - since we have limited time, i DO want to know what's not worth it (at least for this visit).
posted by kidsleepy at 12:33 PM on April 29

The Crab Shack at dusk, while out on the marsh, under trees ringed with lights, is pretty cool. You could go on Sunday afternoon, but it's not as awesome.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:36 PM on April 29

Atlanta, GA
posted by Gainesvillain at 2:23 PM on April 29

Ha ha, Gainesvillian. While I tend to agree--most food in Savannah is pretty underwhelming--I do enjoy Pearl's Saltwater Grill (used to be Pearl's Elegant Pelican). You'll need a car and a good GPS system plus their phone number for when you get lost. It's an awesome seafood place.

It's on the water in a neat lodge-type building. Everything there is fresh and delicious.

(I also found $10 in the parking lot there once.)
posted by FergieBelle at 4:49 PM on April 29

I wrote this piece on Savannah... http://www.dailycandy.com/atlanta/article/26827/The+Road+More+Graveled

I liked Clary's for breakfast.

Is Elizabeth on 37th still fab?
posted by mdiskin at 5:45 PM on April 29

Oh yeah, Sentient Bean is cool too, though it has a vegan bend to it, which might turn off the meat and cheese eating OP. But if you go there, you'll see more of downtown and Forsyth park

All of this assumes you're looking for Southern food, but Savannah has more than that. Olmypia Cafe on River Street does great Greak food. Ruan Thai and Saigon on Broughton Street do Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisine. B&D Burgers does fantastic burgers an is on Broughton. Over on MLK, there's Wasabi's for sushi and next to it is a good Mexican joint I can't recall all the moment. Sushi Zen is good too. The Express Cafe and Bakery has plenty of delicious breakfast stuff for Sunday morning. Churchill's, on Bay, and Six Pence, on Bull, handle British food.

Ohohohohoh, The Wassaw Food company is also great southern food, with a quirky chef that puts together great dishes on the fly. More expensive, but totally casual. It's off the usual path, but man, they have produced some of the best meals I've had in Savannah over the past few years. Seriously, the chef there does incredible things adn really loves cooking and it shows. Highly recommended.

Isaac's on Drayton is quite good, but they do a lot stuff with sauces, which isn't my first pick, but damn if it isn't good. But really, consider The Wassaw Food Company.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:35 PM on April 29

My favorite is Il Pasticcio on Broughton Street, but also worth a try might be Elizabeth's on 37th and Olde Pink House.
posted by carmicha at 6:27 AM on April 30