Spring in Savannah

I thought spring in Missouri was lovely, but spring in Savannah is simply entrancing. We went last weekend to visit Emily, and we took along dear old friends; we stayed at a fabulous hotel and ate at wonderful restaurants, and I can hardly wait to go back.

Savannah is a very old city and is divided by city squares that serve as parks for the surrounding neighborhoods. Each square boasts huge live oak trees, most of which are covered in Spanish Moss - except for three of the trees on the old court square. Legend has it that Spanish moss will not grow on a tree where innocent blood was shed, and three live oak trees on that particular square are moss-less - the square where gallows supposedly once stood, or maybe a hanging tree or three.


Azaelas in gorgeous shades of pink grow in hedges on most of the squares; some of the plants are taller than our friend, who stands 6'8". Green is the other plentiful color on the squares, as all the trees were leafed out and all the grass was fresh and bright.


The squares are populated at all times of day with people walking their dogs, tourists taking walking tours, people going to and from work, and some people who are just sitting on park benches loving the warm air and sunshine. Occasionally, someone might be playing an instrument, or telling whoever will listen that the world will soon be ending. Each square looks different, and they all have different feels.


Most of Savannah's hot spots are in the downtown area - not tourist locations, but places where the locals eat lunch and dinner, or enjoy a martini or two after work.


We arrived on Thursday evening and ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants: Circa 1875. This is a little French bistro that serves a seasonal menu of good dishes such as duck confit and pate de fois gras. That Thursday, the special was trout cook so beautifully that my friend ate all of hers, which she never does. Max had the lamb shank, and Emily and I shared the duck. Most of all, we loved the wine. We tried two different bottles, and our favorites were a Hahn Meritage. I am still trying to locate that label.


On Friday, we took the free ferry from our Westin Resort hotel over the Savannah River to the city, where we did a lot of walking and sightseeing. We traipsed across River Street, which is known for its tourist attractions; we spent no time there, as we were not interested in buying trinkets with which to remember our trip, instead heading up to the part of town that is populated with SCAD buildings and students, seeing what Savannah looks like on a workday around noon.


Around 1:00, we met up with Emily and drove to Tybee Island, which, depending on traffic, could be about a 20-minute drive. We found a little place - AJ's - to eat lunch, and we sat out in the sunshine on a deck drinking beer and eating the most unhealthy type of food, but that which is required in a seafood joint on the ocean - fried everything! We had boiled shrimp for an appetizer, and then we chowed down on food we have been forbidden to eat since we were in our 20s. I didn't believe I was in New Orleans when I ordered the fried shrimp po' boy, but I didn't care. I ate it anyway. The requisite cole slaw was good, and the sweet potato fries tasted just right with whatever beer I was drinking. By the time we were finished, it was about 5:00 - and we had dinner reservations at 9:00!


We got back to the hotel just in time to see, from our hotel room window, a wedding rehearsal on the lawn of the hotel, right next to the Savannah River. Everyone looked young and beautiful and excited - just the way a wedding party should look. I felt like an interloper - watching something to which I was not invited from a hotel window - but I couldn't break away.


Eventually, we drifted out of the hotel toward the free ferry, and sailed across the river to downtown, where we made our way to Alligator Soul, a restaurant that had been recommended to me the first time Emily and I had been in Savannah to scout out a place for her to live. This restaurant was, just like Circa 1875, located underground. We traversed down a staircase and entered a cave-like room with a bar running parallel to the wall and a fireplace and seating area at the opposite end of the room. We were lucky enough to make our way to the area by the fireplace, and while we were there, we had oysters on the half-shell with a tomato vinaigrette and a cucumber-lemon vinaigrette.


We waited for a long time for a table, but it was worth it, as the staff brought in a table set for five, and placed it right next to us. From there, it got even better. We shared tempura-fried soft shell crab that had been caught that very afternoon - probably around where we ate lunch. While Emily and I shared a Caesar salad, my friends Susan and Gary shared a composed salad with grilled calamari as the featured ingredient, and they raved about it. Gary and Max both ordered grilled scallops, Susan ate swordfish, Emily had duck, and I had smoked pulled pork with gnocchi. The only thing lacking on my plate was that the gnocchi were underdone. Other than that, the whole dinner was, in the words of Billie Dawn of Born Yesterday fame, "su-poib."


Most enjoyable, however, was the Paraduxx wine, which is from the Duckhorn label. It was a blend of 70% zinfandel and 30% cabernet sauvignon. We had two bottles, and that wasn't enough. I am looking for that wine, as well, but so far, to no avail.


The chef of Alligator Soul is Chris DiNello, a handsome young man in his 30s, who is self-taught, and who obviously has done a really good job teaching. He has developed a very sophisticated menu, and the night we were there, executed most of it very well. I would go back to his restaurant to try more items on the menu; I think it could very well take the place of Circa 1875 as my favorite Savannah restaurant.


We ferried back to the hotel and tried to go to our room, but the NCAA tournament games were on the television in the hotel bar, and so we watched the last part of the Kansas game and the bridal party - the one we had watched earlier that evening from our window - as they readied themselves for the festivities the next day. I was thrilled that we had two more whole days to enjoy in this charming southern city.


The next day was wild and wet. Fortunately, we had taken advantage of the fabulous weather to hit the beach the previous day, so we spent the non-rainy part of the day exploring yet more of the downtown Savannah area, eating lunch at the Flip Flop Tiki Bar, where Emily was tending bar and waiting tables. Susan and I had margaritas (Emily had said that she makes excellent margaritas - she is right), and Max and Gary drank beer. We ate light Jamaican shrimp tacos and pulled pork tacos that were served with black beans and rice and mango salsa. Then we went exploring, trying to find the cemetery made famous by Johnny Mercer, who is buried there, and John Berendt, who wrote about it in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. When the mosquitoes started gnawing at us and it began to rain, we decided to take a drive north of town and check out Hilton Head, as none of us had been there. We saw a lot of traffic, but I still don't believe I have seen Hilton Head.

We got back to the hotel just in time to watch, again from our window, the wedding on the lawn, and then to take a nap before martinis at Jen and Friends and dinner at the Sapphire Grill. The weather turned beautiful again just as we headed to Jen's, where we enjoyed our martinis al fresco - because there was no room at the bar! Then we headed over to the Sapphire Grill, which is right next to Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons, where a real mixologist put on quite a show. Each of us ordered a different drink, and the bartender gave great care to each, muddling berries for Susan's berry martini, cutting fresh pineapple for my Mai Tai, and opening a new bottle of champagne for Emily's French 75.

We then went upstairs for yet another excellent dinner. Emily and I shared seared scallops, and the chef will allow diners to select a sauce for their entrees. My scallops came with truffle butter, and Emily ordered a mushroom sauce. Well-heeled and adventurous diners can order a wine pairing dinner, which includes a particular wine with each course that is designed to enhance the flavor of the food, at $100 per person. I am going to do that when I go back. It sounded heavenly, but I had already spent all my money!

Around midnight, we went back to the Westin to sleep for the last night in our Heavenly Bed. On Sunday morning, we took a guided walking tour of the downtown area, including many of the squares and beautiful old churches and homes. After that, we hustled back to the hotel to check out and to decide where we would eat our last meal in Savannah. We decided to finish the trip with - hamburgers and French fries! It somehow seemed right to end our trip on a Midwestern note, and so we went to the Moon River brewpub (Yes, that's its name) and chowed down before heading back to real life in Missouri.

The worst part of a vacation is the end, and this trip was no exception. The good news is that our next trip is coming soon - in June - and I will once again get to enjoy the ambience of Savannah. I can hardly wait!