Dinner in Savannah

I arrived at Emily's apartment right on schedule at 4:00 on Thursday, about two hours after Mother and Don arrived and two hours before Susie and Dick arrived. Emily made reservations at Sapphire Grill at 8, and then we headed to the airport to meet Susie and Dick and show them to their hotel.

Savannah's little airport is just perfect. It is big enough to get people in and out, but small enough so that nothing is a whole lot of trouble. Parking isn't a problem, renting a car isn't a problem, security isn't a problem, and sitting and waiting isn't a problem because the whole thing looks like a building at the beach and is therefore beautiful. We found Dick and Susie quickly and caught up with each other's lives while they waited for their luggage and picked up the car they had rented. Then we led them to the Hampton Inn where they were staying.

Navigating through Savannah in a car is not nearly as friendly as navigating through the airport. The squares that make Savannah such a lovely city make driving, at least the first time, a challenge. A driver has to circle the square, which is a one way proposition, yielding where necessary, and realizing that streets exist on each side of the square that are not through streets, so turning on short notice and without signaling is common. Emily and I have it down by now, but Dick and Susie were in for a frustrating trip to the restaurant! Emily and her guest Jeff picked up Mother and Don, and I met them at Sapphire in my car. We waited for Dick and Susie, took phone calls from them as they made their way through the city, and ordered wonderful cocktails from the very talented mixologist at Sapphire Grill.

We had been to Sapphire in March with our friends Gary and Susan, when Susan had a blackberry martini (muddled berries in the glass, which was rimmed with sugar), I had a Mai Tai (just the right mixture of slightly sweet and rummy), and Emily had a French 75 (Champagne and gin). This time, Emily had another French 75, Jeff had a Mai Tai, and whatever I had, I don't remember because I was trying to make sure everyone was having a good time. After all, Jeff was meeting a bunch of Emily's family at once, and I wanted to make sure we sounded normal. During our meal, however, I do remember that the mixologist sent over, splayed with seven straws (!), a Gin Mule, which is like a Moscow Mule (vodka and ginger beer), except using gin, which I usually do not like. This drink was really good, and I drank my share.

Our food was also exceptionally good. The Sapphire Grill has two menus: one is a traditional menu that a diner would find at any restaurant; the second is a la carte, including the diner's choosing an entree and sauce, as well as any other dishes he or she would like. For instance, Emily chose diver scallops with white truffle butter sauce and a mushroom sauce. I ordered salmon from the traditional menu. Both were fabulous. In fact, everyone raved about the food, not much of which was left on the table. Unbelievably to those of us from the Midwest, Jeff ordered a steak instead of seafood. I guess those who hail from Florida aren't as enamored with fresh seafood as those of us who are landlocked.

We didn't leave the restaurant until after 10, and we all got home just fine. The next day was looming large, and we were going to spend some time downtown. I had reserved a carriage tour for Mother and Don, who are early risers, and then we were all going to go out for lunch somewhere. That meant that the rest of us would sleep late! What a treat!

So, when in Savannah, eat at Sapphire Grill and order a specialty cocktail. The food is good and the drinks are good; be prepared to pay for the good stuff, though. This is not an inexpensive restaurant. It is located next to The Lady and Sons, famous, of course, because of its famous owner. See an earlier post regarding Paula Deen, the queen of southern.

Next: Papillote, Leopold's, and A.Lure. And Savannah Dan!