New Year's Eve...

So every New Year's Eve there is the great debate...to go out, or to not go out. We decided to stay in. Who needs to go out when there's delicious food, drink, love, and Sadie at home?

On the menu tonight...

Veuve (sipping Clicquot haha)
Grilled frisee with lardons
Grilled rib eye/strip steak with blue cheese butter
Wild mushroom risotto
Individual apple tartlettes

**pictures and recipes to come!

Happy 2011 everyone!

Another must return...Papillote

If you are in Savannah...you must stop here for lunch. You can eat it there or take it to go. It is located right on Broughton, so it is easy access to anywhere downtown. It has wonderful sandwiches (I had le Parisian with ham, brie, and apples...and Ryan had a croque monsiuer), even better macaroons and delicious breads. We will be back for sure! It marked a great finale to our dining experience in Savannah.

700 Drayton

As one of my Christmas presents, Ryan made reservations at 700 Drayton (located at the Mansion on Forsyth...a stunningly beautiful hotel). The restaurant is decorated in leopard print, black, and gold...but done so in a non-tacky way. Our table was right by a fireplace and we had a great server...Troy. We started with the 700 Drayton martini and got to the task of deciding what to order! For an appetizer I had crab cakes...some of the best I've ever had (excluding my own...ha ha). For entree Ryan and I both had the filet...but mine was topped with blue cheese and carmelized onions over blue cheese grits). We skipped dessert, because we were both too full. The menu is classic with just enough edge to make it unique. The table next to us had the scallops that looked equally as delcious as our entrees. Might have to make a return stop here too!

Touring the city through food night!

Our second night in Savannah, we could not decide and pick only one place for dinner...so we went to them all! We went to five places (ate at two, and drank at all, dessert at one!).

Our first stop was at Circa. We've been there many times when it was just a bar, but were excited to try it now that they have a brasserie-inspired menu. I had the frisee salad with lardons (they grilled the greens, giving it a wonderful taste and texture) and Ryan had the mussels (my mom was right, they are delicious just a little fennel-heavy). They offer a nice wine by the glass selection. We will have to go back and try other things off the menu. Stop one was successful...

Second stop...not so much. After Circa we went to Jazz'd. We have walked passed and ready about this tapas bar many times. We went and sat at the bar and had a bellini martini (yum), but were not impressed by the tapas menu, so skipped food. The bar was totally dead except for a table of impressively-drunk people (keep in mind this is seven o'clock on a Monday...). The drinks were good, but I don't think I would come back here. We were kind of bummed there was no live music either.

Next up was Alligator Soul. Any restaurant with "alligator" in the name of it, we had to try! This place has one of the most interesting menus I have ever seen. Again, we sat at the bar and had a lovely conversation with our bartender. She was truly passionate about her craft, and her creativty shone through when discussing drinks and wine. We started off with a fleur champagne cockail, complete with an edible hibiscus flower and ended on a wine flight with three delicious varieties. We both ordered appetizers again, but next time the entree selection is very tempting. Ryan had a cheese platter. It was good, not great. The grapes that came with it were a little old, and the cheese wasn't anything unique. My appetizer on the other hand, was quite possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life! I had their version of shrimp and grits. The shrimp were grilled and on top was a spicy chipotle sauce. If I go back, I will definitely have this!

Our fourth stop was Murphy's Law Irish pub. Okay, I'll admit, we went every night we were there! It had such great bartenders and crowd, that we couldn't resist. It was a lot of fun watching the Falcons MNF game there, especially because the outcome meant I beat Ryan in fantasy football.

Our final stop was Lulu's chocolate bar. I had a bellini and a vanilla strawberry cake and Ryan had a triple chocolate mousse. Both were okay, nothing stellar.

A fantastic night all-in-all!!

Wiley's Championship Barbeque

We knew we wanted to try this place when we saw that it was rated #1 on tripadvisor for Savannah. It is a bit of a drive outside of the historic district (but we had planned a day of driving out to the islands, so no biggie!). It is located in a plain stripmall, and only has a few tables. We were lucky and grabbed two seats at the bar, coincidently enough, right next to Wiley, so that was fun talking to him. This is without a doubt, the BEST barbeque I have ever eaten (sorry Nashville, New Orleans, etc.). We both had pulled pork and it was unbelievably simple, yet delicious. The food is priced a little high for barbeque, but it was worth it. Our recommendation would be to skip the sides and get a to-go order of the good stuff and take it to one of the scenic parks or beaches around. We will be back for sure! We even bought a bottle of their sauce so we can make it at home, well at least attempt to!

Olde Pink House

A trip for us to Savannah without going to the Pink House would not be complete! It is some of the best food anywhere (and a good value too). We waited about 40 minutes so we could snag a table in the basement tavern (complete with a fireplace and piano player...the upstairs main dinning rooms take reservations). While we waited we sat at their brand new attached bar and watched Tim Tebow score the winning touchdown while enjoying their signature peach martini (when in Georgia...). The wait for the food was well worth it. For an appetizer I had the she-crab soup (really more of a chowder...it was excellent and finished with cracked pepper and a drizzle of sherry). For Ryan's entree he had the filet with shoestring onion rings (perfectly cooked, our only complaint was that the presentation wasn't very pretty, basically a piece of beef of a huge plain white plate...but the taste made up for it). I actually had two appetizers for my entree (which they were nice enough to put on one plate along with a lovely arugula salad)...I had a napoleon of fried green tomatoes and crab cakes along with shrimp and grits. Both were delicious. For dessert we had a trio of mini-cupcakes that were really good. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, so much so that we ended up staying a few more hours after dinner and had drinks sitting on the hearth of the fireplace next to the piano. Pink House is a definite must for anyone traveling to Savannah.

I heart Savannah

We just got back from another amazing vacation, this time in Savannah. This is the fourth time we've been there, including our Honeymoon. Although this time the weather was a little uncooperative (it SNOWED!), we had a fabulous time nonetheless...our trip highlighted by amazing food and people, rather than the frigid temperatures! More to come from some of the wonderful restaurants we had the pleasure of experiencing.

Christmas morning

Merry belated Christmas everyone! Like everybody else, I have been insanely busy...this is actually the first time I've used the internet other than on my cell phone since winter break began! Ryan and I had a wonderful Christmas and were blessed to be able to spend time with good friends and family.

For Christmas morning we wanted something delicious and easy, so we made almost everything ahead of time. For one, we had leftover sausage and carmelized onion stuffing (leftover from Christmas Eve dinner...same recipe from Thankgiving), bacon, and stratta (also a previous recipe from this website...adapted from Giada's berry bread pudding...the only difference was using challah bread and making it the night before, so that the flavors could really meld together). Here are some pictures, taken with my brand new Canon EOS Rebel (thanks Mom and Dad!).