Midday, we came across the ice cream shop called Leopold’s.  The original shop was opened in 1919.  It is a beautiful store, designed by Academy Award nominated designer Dan Lomino. Dan used many of the original fixtures and applied his Hollywood magic to create the wonderful store you see today. There are props, posters, and signed photographs of actors Dan and Stratton have worked with over the years including items used in the movies Mission Impossible III, The Sum of All Evil and The General’s Daughter.   

Much of the décor is original including the original soda fountain, soda fountain cover, back bar, sundae holders, banana split boats, malted milk dispenser, etc., etc., are available and are still being used. Even the juke box and the wooden, interior phone booth from the old store are being used. Great place for sandwiches, ice cream and desserts.

We knew we only had one day left, so we decided to splurge and eat at Vics on the River which was a few doors down from the hotel.  There was an invting piano bar wth a great view of the river.  There was a good selection of seafood and a few steaks.  Several of the sides included Southern fare such as buttermilk mashed potatoes and gravy, collard greens and fried green tomatoes.  We tried the meatloaf ($14,) shrimp and grits ($22) and shrimp bisque ($8). Service was excellent and the food was good, but with so many great local restaurants in the area, there’s no need to spend the extra money to get good food.

Foodie Road Trip Day 6 is a post from: TasteForCooking

Today, the Wilkes Dining Room is open to diners using the same depression-era ingredients, to serve a delicious southern family style meal to diners five days per week. The line starts forming at 10:30 a.m., more than half of which were locals taking their lunch breaks from work.  Doors opened promptly at 11 a.m. where you sit in tables of 8 to 10 people. Already awaiting diners were more than 15 bowls of home-made food.  Like at many family dinners, the meal began with a short blessing, and then bowls brimming with homemade southern food were passed around. Sitting next to us was a man named John, who stated he ate at Mrs. Wilkes Restaurant at least 3 days per week for the past 10 years. Next to him was a man who used to live at the boarding house year ago, and has eaten at the Wilkes House almost daily for the past 40 years – can you imagine?

On the menu that day was fried chicken, beef stew, bbq beef, okra stew, lima beans, sweet potato casserole, red rice and sausage, white rice, cheese mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn bread stuffing, black eyed peas,  creamed corn, cucumbers, pickled beets, yellow squash, butternut squash, carrot salad, collard greens, snap peas, gravy and biscuits. Dessert was a choice of cherry cobbler or banana pudding.  It felt like Thanksgiving.  At the end of the meal in true boarding house fashion, everyone takes their plates over to the dishwashing area.  The cost is $16 pp. 

Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room is a hidden treasure in Savannah. I strongly recommend you make time to eat here during your next visit.

Mrs Wilkes Restaurant Savannah is a post from: TasteForCooking

Once we were settled into our hotel in Savannah, we began our journey to find restaurants we had read about on the internet. The first place I wanted to go was Lady and Sons. It was my 40th birthday, and I had made up my mind that was where I wanted to eat.  Our hotel was only blocks away. I recognized the red and white awnings as we approached, so I rushed over to peak through the window. Sadly, I was not impressed.  The buffet had a descent selection, and yes I realize you can order from the regular menu as well, but it just wasn’t what I expected.  I am a Paula Dean fan and still went into the store to buy sauces and “butt” rub, but I passed on dinner. On that note, you don’t need to eat at the restaurant to buy Paula Dean, her products can be found all over Savannah in various gift shops.

We moved on to try some BBQ, over at Barnes.  We tried the brisket, ribs and friend shrimp, with hush puppies and Brunswick stew as the sides. You walk up to the counter to place your order, and after a short wait they take it over to your table. There is a small bar with two good size flat screen tvs. The BBQ sauce was much lighter than back home. I had heard that in many places in the South they use mustard in the BBQ sauce and I am not a huge fan, so I already made up my mind the sauce wasn’t for me. I was wrong! The sauce was excellent.  Everything was great except the fried shrimp – we found the shrimp a bit overcooked, but what were we doing ordering shrimp with all of the great BBQ items being served anyway?

We took a trolley tour of the city, and ended the days adventures with a slice of pizza ($3) at Sweet Melissa’s, right across the street from Lady and Sons.

Have I mentioned yet that I like Savannah more than Charleston? I’m looking forward to exploring more of the city tomorrow!

Foodie Road Trip Day 5 is a post from: TasteForCooking

Foodie Road Trip Day 4 is a post from: TasteForCooking

For lunch we went to Hominy Grill. Many famous people have eaten there including Anthony Bourdain and Anthony Hopkins.  There was a line outside when we arrived. After about 20 minutes, we were seated. The menu was not as varied as I expected. We ordered a variety of items again including corn bread, grits, fried chicken breast, a red rice omelet and a fried pork chop sandwich with chili on top.  The signature dish there is the shrimp and grits, but that plate was $16.95 versus an average of $7 to $10 on all of the other menu items.  The food portions and service were good. The food was okay – but my expectation was to be “wowed” after reading many rave reviews online, and I was not.

Later in the day we signed up for a Ghost tour of the Haunted Old Jail. It is a long walk from where you sign up for the tour to meet up with the group, so we would recommend you drive or take a cab. Prior to the tour we had a slice of pizza at a small pizza place called Andolini’s in downtown Charleston and a margarita at Hacienda on King Street.  The margarita was 60 ounces for just $7.99. Warm chips and salsa are complimentary.  We did not order any entrees, but they were all reasonably priced.

Foodie Road Trip Day 3 : Charleston is a post from: TasteForCooking

The morning was cold (39 degrees,) and overcast. Lola (our GPS) was acting up this morning. It’s amazing how reliant on technology we were, as none of us could remember how to get off of the island of St. Simons without Lola.  She finally came around, and we were on our way.  Next stop was Jekyll Island. We spent an hour walking through the historic village area shops and taking pictures of the Jekyll Island Hotel, rated among the top 500 resorts in the world by Travel & Leisure.We then asked Lola to show us the way to Charleston. We were about 190 miles away. There was a lot of road construction for the first hour, and another long stretch of road where the speed limit was 45, so the total ride took about 3 and a half hours.

We arrived in Charleston at 4:45 p.m. Our home for the next three nights is the Francis Marion Hotel. I have to say that at first glance, Charleston was not what I expected. We didn’t see much since it got dark shortly after owe checked in, so I’ll reserve more comments until then.

From the research we had done online, one of the restaurants we wanted to try was Virginia’s on King. It is a two story restaurants with brick interior walls and dark wood decor.  A medium size bar in the back had several flat screen tv’s.  The menu is packed with Southern classic cuisine.  We once again ordered various appetizers and 2 dinners between the three of us, so we could taste as much of the dishes that are unique to the South.

As appetizers we ordered Fried Crawfish ($6.00,) Fried Pickles (4.99,) Pork Sliders ($7.99,) and Corn Fritters($4.99.)  For dinner we had the fried country steak and the fried chicken, each for $13.99 with your choice of three sides. The prices were reasonable and the portions generous.  As sides we tried macaroni and cheese, Hoppin’ John, red rice and sausage, stone ground grits, blue cheese cole slaw, sweet potato fries and fried okra. They also served us brocolli corn bread which was quite good.  We have no negative comments about the food, although some of the items like the fried pickles or crawfish would not be something I would order again….not because of how they were preapred, but for the mere fact it isn’t something I would want to eat again.  The highlights of the meal were the country fried steak, grits and mashed potatoes with gravy.  Total meal was $62.

Day two is coming to a close, and we want to make note that we were able to eat at two great rertaurants for under $30 pp. We skipped lunch since we were full from a large breakfast, but we could have stayed under Rachel Ray’s $40 per day even adding in lunch…not bad!

Foodie Road Trip Day 2 is a post from: TasteForCooking

We drove another couple of hours and arrived at St. Simons Island, which is the largest barrier island in Georgia, roughly the size of Manhattan.  After checking into the King and Prince Resort, we wanted to take advantage of the hour of daylight left to see the Pier Village.  There is a main road that is lined with quaint shops and restaurants. At the end of the road is a pier. Large oaks shade a playground and picnic area. Visit the St. Simons Island Visitor’s center. You can join a trolley tour of the island from this location daily at 1:30 p.m.  Photograph the St. Simons Island Lighthouse, which was built in 1872, and is one of only five surviving light towers in Georgia.  The light from the house extends out 23 miles to sea.  You can climb up the 129 steps for amazing views of St. Simons and Jekyll Island.

We decided to eat dinner at Barbara Jean’s, which has been featured in Southern Living Magazine for their crab cakes.  We tried the dirty rice ($3.99,) She-crab soup ($4.99 for a cup,) crab cakes, a shrimp burger and the grits. There are 3 of us splitting all of this food by the way. The meal began with home-made corn and pumpkin bread served with whipped butter – yum! The crab cake was excellent.  The she crab soup ($4.99 for a cup) and shrimp burger were good, but the highlight of dinner was the Shrimp and Andouille Sausage cheese grits. Wow! Did I mention I don’t like grits, and had no interest in tasting them? What a mistake that would have been.  It was delicious.  The grits were so creamy. The shrimp were grilled to perfection and there were plenty of andouille sausage and scallions.  Every bite was full of flavor. This is one recipe I can’t wait to come home and try to duplicate. The service was great, but I must mention the restaurant was not full.  Prices were reasonabl,e as we paid about $50 for the 3 of us. I would certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting St. Simons Island.

Tomorrow we’re off to Charleston, South Carolina.

Foodie Road Trip Day 1 is a post from: TasteForCooking

Journey Through the South is a post from: TasteForCooking