Wanderlusting: Savannah, Georgia

Wanderlusting: Savannah, GA
Wormsloe Historic Site; Back in the Day Bakery; The Grey

Full disclosure, I love to travel. The smells, the new faces, the food, the excitement of it all. The ability to step away from our daily routine and spend time with people that we love the most or people we don’t see nearly enough. As a kid, I would sift through travel magazines and carefully study the photographs. I just knew there was a big world out there, and I had to see it. I have always been cursed/blessed with Wanderlust. So the powers that be decided to name the article, well, that. I hope this little corner of the online world helps you in some way. Either to inspire you to travel to a new place or to reflect on past trips.

There are moments when familiarity is matched with foreign. Seeing an old flame, visiting the hallways of your old high school, going into a Target with a completely different floorplan. Sure, it might smell like a Target, but you really have no idea where the dog food is. That’s what Savannah is to me. Sure, it might look the same, but there’s a new wind blowing the Spanish moss in town, and it has nothing to do with a famous book or a chef.

Savannah has always seemed so unique to me. It’s obviously unlike any other city in Georgia. It’s coastal, but not beachy, urban but petite. The well planned squares serve as a perfect getaway from the square we are accustomed to.

One thing that I love is the number of new hotels popping up in Savannah. The old standards are still there, but so many boutique hotels are open for business. The Andaz, Brice, and Bohemian come to mind. But if an apartment or private home is your thing, there is no shortage of options for you. Depending on the season, you can rent your own apartment for the same price as a nice hotel on River Street. For my most recent stay, I rented a private room for a week in a lovely home through Airbnb for the price of two nights in a downtown hotel.

I deviated from my usual b. Matthews breakfast in the historic district and started at Back in the Day Bakery. A James Beard nominated establishment, a “bakery” doesn’t really do this place justice. It’s a perfectly rustic place that lets its real star shine, the food. I can’t tell you how many times (a lot) that I hear about a place and just go and think “eh.” But this is the real deal. I sat with nervousness as the owner was catching up with a friend at the next table. I wanted to just walk up and sit with them. (I can’t imagine how THAT would have gone.) I wanted to find out how her lavender cookie with buttercream could be so flavorful and light and fluffy. “Ma’am, do you have a bowl in the back I could lick?” If I ever get to play the role of Santa, these are the cookies I want to be left.  This is a place where whatever calories you ingest are well worth it. A place where your coffee is refilled by a wonderful barista with a cast on one arm, a coffee pot in the other, and a warm smile. Go for lunch or breakfast or dessert. Just go.

Feeling the need to try and burn off some of the baked goodness, I traveled to Wormsloe Historic Site. You have surely seen a picture of the entrance to Wormsloe. The driveway of the 18th Century site cradles you with a row of live oaks and Spanish moss unlike I’ve seen before. It’s just breathtaking. The rest of the tour is lovely in its own right, filled with marsh views and Tabby ruins, but the driveway is what is going to make you wish you had a rocking chair and a mint julep.

Somewhere along my travels, I became the person that takes cooking classes. I don’t know when it happened, but I think it was in Italy. And I think red wine was involved. But I digress. I decided to expand my culinary prowess (hey, I don’t want to be single forever) by enrolling in a course with Chef Darin’s Kitchen Table. Chef Darin is a well-known Savannah chef that opened his own school earlier this year. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. His love of the Savannah area and the food we prepared was apparent. He has created a beautiful, modern retail space and kitchen studio.  It’s a wonderful new addition to the Midtown area.

One of my loves of Savannah is the ability to just meander. I think you’re actually required to. Hoop skirts having been replaced with piercings, tattoos, and bowties. You can start your day and just wander around the squares all day, filling it with macaroni or macarons. Art in galleries or art drawn on the street. It’s the place where you will see all walks of life living in this beautiful city. Don’t forget to walk the squares and fountains and just let Savannah float by you. But I tell you, a day of walking, cooking, playing tourist, and shopping (darn you Paris Market on Broughton) can make a boy hungry. So dinner was on the horizon.

Having dinner in a Greyhound bus station doesn’t exactly conjure up an appetite or good thoughts quite frankly. But beyond the edifice of this gorgeously restored former Greyhound building lies one of the most satisfying dinners I’ve had in quite a while. The Grey has earned the love of many fans. I was afraid that by the time I had visited it was going to be a disappointment. But let me assure you it wasn’t. The service, the ambiance, the food — it was impressive. Having to dodge photographers from a national magazine to be seated made me realize that yes, this is the real deal. The large U-shaped bar in the middle of the restaurant is where most of the action lies. The mustached mixologist is a master in his craft, and it is a joy to watch him make drinks. I keep thinking back to the sear on the ribeye for two. And the salty fried bread served with the pork dish. The space is beautiful, and it is worthy of the future awards it will no doubt win. I can’t wait to return.

I think Savannah is a perfect getaway for the weekend or the week. The evolution of such a historic city is wonderful to see.  It has a funny way of drawing you back in for more. So thank you Sherman for saving this city for the world to enjoy.


 

In between visits back to Marietta and beyond, Jeff is a Realtor on St. Simons Island. Have any travel tips? Please email him at  jwaters@besoutherly.com