Savannah, GA Day 2 4/9/2016 3-4 Forks

22 Square Restaurant  14 Barnard St., Savannah, GA 31401      4 Forks

I rarely like hotel restaurants, especially for breakfast unless I'm traveling in Asia, but I gotta say, I was impressed with the food at the Andaz in Savannah.  In fact, it was really the only place I ate at over the weekend where I thought the food was was really good.  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since it is inside an Andaz Hotel, which is definitely one of the nicer hotels in the city.

Luckily, Allison had Platinum status there and we were able to snag free breakfast while we were there.  Now I'm usually a huge sucker for a breakfast buffet no matter what the quality, but this one was actually particularly good.  It had a cozy farmer's market feel to it with the right amount of Southern flare.  Of course, they had a large vat of cheesey grits with a fixin bar - you could add bacon, scallion and more cheese to it.  What's not to love about that?! The grits were the right texture and flavor - it's just what I wanted from the South.  One day they had a great piece of salmon that was in between smoked and rare and another morning they had biscuits and mushroom gravy which was also delicious.  They also catered to some European tastes with meat and cheeses, which I also enjoyed.  They also had a lovely baked pastry selection which I tried to steer away from but they did look great.  Lastly they had a nice spread of locally picked fruits - strawberries, blackberries and others.  I liked how they kept out the bags of produce they got from the farmer's market by the Park - whether or not they actually got the food from there, I'm not sure but regardless it was a nice artisanal touch.

The food was good enough here that I actually looked forward to it the next day.  The staff was very pleasant and of course, the decor had an adorable Southern flare (hello mason jars!).  Even if you don't have Platinum status and find yourself staying here, I would definitely recommend that you give it a try at least once.  Plus, it's definitely one of the cheaper breakfast buffets I've seen in a while at $20/pp.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Wyld Dock Bar  2740 Livingston Ave, Savannah, GA 31406       3 Forks

This was the one restaurant that I was actually really excited about checking out in Savannah.  It's actually not in the city center but a quick 10-15 mins cab ride outside of downtown.  What sounded so cool about it was that it was on this marshland with a full fire pit and bocce ball court.  I will say that the decor was true to it's word.  The ambience is very peaceful and beautiful.  It's right on the water next to this beautiful marsh area and it's super quiet and peaceful.

It's a large space with a lovely outdoor deck that is perfect for a lazy afternoon outing.  I heard that they also have live music there at night and I could totally see that fitting in perfectly.  So in terms of setting, this place gets 4 Forks.  Unfortunately where it misses the mark a bit was the food.  As one would expect, the menu is fairly seafood focused with fish tacos, grilled fish, fish and grits, etc, etc. They also had alcoholic sushies and other yummy sounding cocktails.  Their slushie of the day was a painkiller, which I'm not a huge fan of unless I'm in the Virgin Islands, so I opted for a classic Southern Old Fashion drink - I will say they definitely know how to make a good Old Fashion in the South.  For food, I got the crab chowder ($7) and Allison and I split the fish tacos ($10) and the grilled lemongrass and ginger fish ($17) which was red snapper.

The chowder was not really a chowder in my book.  When I hear chowder, I expect a thick hearty base and this was super runny and thin.  I would have expected large chunks of crab and maybe potato but instead if was very heavy on the leeks and croutons instead.  It was also very heavy handed with the brown butter and bacon, which usually I have no problem eating but in a soup, it wasn't my favorite thing.  As for the fish tacos, they were just ok.  It had some cilantro, onion and spicy poblano sauce but nothing really wow'd me about it.  The shells were a bit hardened (not soft at all) and it was just missing something - it's was basically they took grilled fish and wrapped it in a soft taco shell without much thought.   I've obviously had much better options elsewhere.  As for the grilled fish, again, it felt like kind it was a 2nd thought.  It was served on a bed of lentils and greens - very uninspiring.  The fish was way too gingery and there wasn't any sauce or anything really binding it to the lentils or greens.  Again, it was an ok dish - looked like something I could have whipped up at home myself.

Luckily, we both left room for dessert and we each got a chipwich ($6) - for me the gold standard is either the old school kind with the soft cookie and chips all around or the Trader Joe one.  This one didn't quite stand up to either of them.  The cookie was a bit on the hard side and there were no extra chips.  While it wasn't a terrible dessert by any means, it's hard to measure up to a childhood favorite.

Overall, while the food was a bit disappointing, the overall experience was lovely.  It was nice to get away from the main touristy center and be surrounded by peaceful water.  I could see this place being fun when the fire pit is roaring and there is a live band playing in the background with a few drinks in hand.  Given the somewhat limited options in Savannah, even if you aren't going to get the best meal of your life here, it's still worth checking out.  Total bill: $46 for 2 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Savannah, GA Day 1 Visited 4/8/2016 3 and 3.5 Forks

The Olde Pink House Restaurant  

23 Abercorn St., 

Savannah, GA 31401    3.5 Forks

I took a quick long weekend jaunt to Savannah before I started my new job.  While Savannah hasn't necessarily been one of my top places to visit, I'm glad I went as it's a quick 2 hour plane ride and it's definitely quite a change from being in NYC.  It's as pretty as people say it is - dripping Spanish moss everywhere, cute squares and friendly people.  Unfortunately, the food scene isn't as spot on as it is in it's competing sisters of the South, New Orleans and Charleston.  I would say that overall, the food is good in this city but not spectacular. 

One of the restaurants that came up on every food list of Savannah was The Olde Pink House - it's exactly what you would think of in terms of a typical Southern restaurant.  Old mansion dripping with charm and elegance.  Allison and I didn't actually have reservations but we strolled in around 2pm and were easily able to get a seat.  It's very old school there with waiters in bowties and formal wear.  While there isn't a formal dress code, I felt a bit out of place in my jeans and flip flops.  The menu here is typical Southern fare - lots of fried food, grits, collard greens, etc.  We had a dinner reservation for later that night only 5 hours later, so I decided that I wasn't going to do a full blown lunch and I got the crab cakes which came with fried green tomatoes and fries.  Allison got the arugula salad with salmon - one of the few healthy choices on the menu.  The crab cake was nicely stacked between 2 fried green tomatoes which were lightly battered in corn meal and fried.  While it was a nice dish and the crab cake was fairly full of legit meat, as someone who's had the best crab cakes in MD, these didn't quite measure up but I guess few do.  Allison mentioned that her salad was also good but nothing mind blowing.  

Overall, this place is a lovely quintessential charming Southern restaurant.  You should go for the ambience even if it's albeit a bit toursity.  Total bill:  $21/pp with tax and tip

The Grey 

109 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, 

Savannah, GA 31401    3 Forks

The only reservation I made while visiting Savannah was at The Grey.  It was mentioned in Eater as a top restaurant in Savannah - they were especially wow'd by the design of the place.  It's located in an old Greyhound bus depot (hence the name) and it is quite lovely in there.  It's got an Art Deco vibe but with a modern twist.  The menu is New American with a focus on meat and seafood.  We split the country pasta ($16), the fisherman's stew ($28) and a side of roasted sweet potato ($8).  While I didn't necessarily regret my order, I did see the guy next to me get the pork shank which looked AMAZING - it was basically a giant leg of meat.  

The country pasta was a small bowl of pasta, rock shrimp, tomato and botarga.  While it was tasty and I love anything with rock shrimp, the portion was small and it could have used a bit more heat.  It was essentially tossed with some olive oil and salt and not much else.  The same can be said for the strew as well - but for $28, I expected a large pot of seafood but it was a fairly small bowl of monkfish, clams, mussels, tomato and saffron.  When I hear the word "stew", I envision something hearty and chunky. This was like a few pieces of seafood tossed into a bowl with not much broth or base to it.  While I enjoyed the saffron flavor, the overall dish was a bit of a let down given how much it was. The roasted sweet potato was exactly what you would think it would be - a roasted sweet potato.  

I agree with Eater that the decor was lovely and they make a great cocktail.  I can see this as a nice place to grab a few cocktails and snacks - but if you do want to stay for dinner, I would probably steer you towards the meat dishes.  Total bill:  $39/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp