Last Saturday I had the pleasure to go on the Savannah Foodie Tour hosted by Ron Higgins in Savannah. The tour starts around 11 am from the Savannah Visitors Center but Ron suggests all “Foodies” show up by 10:45am. We had a full bus with 25 like-minded foodies that went on the tour.
Our first stop was Mom & Nikki’s Soul food located at 714 Martin Luther King Blvd 912-233-7636. Mom & Nikki’s is a very popular soul food restaurant that is growing each day. Our “treat” for the day was Southern Shrimp served over creamy grits – a southern tradition that is eaten at all times of the day from breakfast to dinner.
Second stop was Back in the Day Bakery located at 2403 Bull Street 912-495-9292 www.backinthedaybakery.com which was voted by Savannah Connect as “Best Bakery” for 2008!! We had the joy of tasting the mini-cupcakes with butter cream icing! Yummy! (and as cute as could be!). Actually, the Back in the Day bakery was probably the “cutest” little place I have ever seen – very lovely shabby chic decor that served the food to match – I will be visiting this bakery in the future!
Third stop was The New South Cafe located at 2601 Skidaway Road 912-233-7558 www.thenewsouthcafe.com . As you all know, one of my favs. Just recently The New South Cafe was named 2008 New and Emerging Business of the Year and Chef Matt was name 2008 Best Chef by Savannah Connect!! Congratulations Matt and Staff! We had the Fried Green Tomatoes which were wonderful of course and an excellent showing of Southern Cuisine for the Tour!!
Fourth stop was Angel’s Barbecue located at 21 West Oglethorpe Lane 912-495-0902 www.angels-bbq.com . Serving up some Memphis Style Barbecue in a truly unique setting. This little hole in the wall (that is a good comment, I promise!) is kind of like the Vinnie Van Go Go’s of Barbecue in Savannah. The food is excellent and the walls are decorated with so much tacky and fun stuff and lights it makes this place really stand out as a ‘one of a kind’ joint!!
Fifth stop was Savannah’s Candy Kitchen located in City Market at 318 W. St. Julian Street www.savannahcandy.com . We stopped off and had some samples of the taffy, ice cream and left with a gift bag that included a praline. Tourist love this place – being from Savannah, kind of boring, but still yummy! I thought this stop left something to be desired personally. There was no personal touch like most other stops, but what do I know.
Sixth Stop was at The Paris Market located at 36 W. Broughton Street www.theparismarket.com . I kind of thought this was an odd stop being that it is not a restaurant, but we had some lovely frozen hot chocolate that was cute and tasty, plus we got to do some shopping if we chose to. Personally, this is another of my favorite places in Savannah – not for the food, but in general, this place is beautiful and everything in it is beautiful – I fell in love with The Paris Market when it arrived in Savannah and still love it today! Now I know they have some lovely beverages and tea cakes, I will have one while I shop! Cool.
Last stop…can you guess….
Of course it was Paula Deen’s The Lady and Sons located at 102 West Congress Street www.theladyandsons.com . Suprisingly we didn’t have to wait in line!! We were handed a little styro bowl as we walked in and our treat was to fill our little mini bowl from her Southern Buffet! Kind of cheesey I thought, but still, I loaded my bowl with veggie casserole, sweet potatoes and mac & cheese. Ok, Ok – it was tasty, but I kind of felt like cows being led through the feeding line, just to be whisked out the door to eat my greasy treats on the sidewalk!! There is nothing that I would rather do in 100 degree heat but eat some hot – fattening Thanksgiving style side dishes! Not what I expected at all.
Tour is done…
Now, my thoughts on the Tour in General. I think it is a fabulous idea. I would like to see more “foodie” type of information leading to and from each stop and I would have loved to have more interaction from each of the stops – there was only a couple that I noticed that gave that personal interaction. Ron is great and I believe that it is his personality that carries the tour. He is a wealth of information with the Movie business so I would love to go on that tour as well.
I would recommend this tour to any foodies or non-foodies coming to Savannah. This is a great way to see the city, taste some good food and to be exposed to several neighborhoods and restaurants in one tour!! Ron, keep up the great work!!
The website for the tours www.savannahmovietours.net – All of them can be booked from this site.
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