Part of our enjoyment when visiting other areas is to savor
the local cuisine. Besides, the girls say they are on vacation and deserve to
be treated by others, so because I want to eat when we return home, I try hard
to oblige them when we are away. The way we do our trips is to rent a house as
opposed to a hotel room, unless it’s just the four of us and then a room is
perfect. The reason we do the house is so that we can all stay together,
enjoying a place to hang out and relax, and not have to wander the halls. We
will usually fix breakfast there, but that is to keep us from having to rush
out the door. We would much rather enjoy waking up at our own pace and it takes
a while to pick out the correct hat for the day, anyway.
With our recent trip to Savannah, we arrived before the
house was ready and too late for breakfast, so we had lunch at 17hundred90 Inn & Restaurant. To be honest, it was my favorite dining
experience of the trip outside of the few meals we had at our rental home. The
17hundred90 had a small but very friendly staff and we entered through their
bar, which in itself was quaint with a local, homey atmosphere that I wish we
would have had time to enjoy more. The inn is comprised of three adjacent
residences, a duplex built by Steel White and a smaller home built by the
Powers family in 1888. It was a short walk to River Street and to our rental
property, which was a great benefit to everything we did on our stay. One of
the pluses to this restaurant was that it is said to be haunted and the girls
love a good ghost story. It wasn’t until we took our ghost tour the next night
that we saw the figure that had been placed in the window that was said to
represent the ghost of Anna who takes a great dislike to female visitors. Who
doesn’t enjoy dining with ghosts, right?
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Eating out at 17hundred90 |
For lunch the next day we were supposed to dine at Wild Wing
Cafe, but for some reason our group became sidetracked and skipped it. So we
wandered down to Anna’s, also at City Walk. It wasn’t what we had planned,
but our group has learned a while ago to be flexible in our wanderings. A size
ten group cannot afford to be too picky.
Tucked in a corner at Anna's |
Anna’s had both outdoor as well as indoor dining and we were
fortunate to be seated inside. Or maybe it wasn’t so fortunate. While the food
was good as well as the staff, the kitchen was open and so close to the tables
that the greasy smell overflowed into the dining area and put a stench to the
atmosphere. There was also a family member of one of the employees, or perhaps
the owner, who sat at a nearby table and threw orange peels at the floor toward
us. He kept staring at us as if we were
invading his space and gave a couple of us the shivers. The food was good but
the experience was not. We crossed it off our list of Return-Tos.
That night we had dinner plans at Six Pence Pub,
but the wait was over 45 minutes and we had to be at our ghost tour by 9:10. We
didn’t think we would have time so we decided to walk down to River Street and
grab a bite there. Again, another reason I wished more restaurants would return
to taking dinner reservations.

Flexibility came in play the following day as we were
supposed to eat lunch at Angel’s BBQ.
Several of us were really looking forward to dining here as who doesn’t love a
good barbecue. We were even more sold on the dining experience when their web
site said that they cooked the BBQ the night before and only remained open as
long as they had some left, usually having to close their restaurant by three
that day. However, the part they forgot to advertise was that it is best as take
out because they only have two tables and our group would have overflowed both.
Not that we would have minded taking it to go with so many wonderful squares to
sit at and enjoy lunch, but we were not prepared for the surprise when we got
there. We’ll try it next time, but plan it as a picnic.
So, we still needed to eat. We decided to return to Six Pence Pub
and hope they had a less wait for lunch. Lucky for us, they did and twenty
minutes later we were seated at two tables. It’s a great place for a taste of
Irish cuisine and drink. I ordered a Rueben and a Blacksmith, a beer
combination of Guinness and Smithwick. Now, I am more a bourbon and scotch
drinker but this beer was worthy of ordering one to go and I did as we wandered
through more squares, beer in one hand and cigar in the other.
The most depressing experience of the trip was to be had
Saturday night at Rocks
on the River. We knew this was going to be the most expensive meal of our
visit and usually we wouldn’t care, but it was not worth the cost of admission.
I understand that they were trying to maintain a certain clientele, but I can
only imagine that means gullible and easily duped. The steak, while being the
closest to medium rare I had had that weekend, came by itself. I had to order
my potatoes and vegetables separately. That wouldn’t have been too bad except
the price of the steak alone should have come with all of it already included.
The service was slow and except for the company we brought with us, the
atmosphere stuffy and spoiled. It is overrated and its companion bar Rocks on the Roof
equally so. The only good thing about the bar was the view off the roof. As I
think about it, the outside of the bar was all right, where the inside left a
lot to be desired. The staff we encountered was cold and rude–we actually had
to flag down someone to wait on us because we were ignored for the most part–and
the seating ridiculous. I can understand trying to be trendy, but if this is
what’s hip and happening now I hope it stays in Savannah and not venture down
my way. This is another place–or rather two places–permanently crossed off our
To Visit list.
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Not my idea of biscuits and gravy |
Our last dining experience before hitting the road for home
was at the SoHo South Café where we
met for brunch. Again, another trendy place, but this one pulled it off for the
most part. While the staff seemed confused most of the time and lost as to what
they were doing and the food an attempt at the unique, the atmosphere and decor
made up for it. The building is an old automotive service station they have
left open and filled with an odd assortment of tables and chairs. Old doors
decorate one wall and a piano waits to be played for the diner’s pleasure. It’s
open and airy with a quaint feel to it. The food, though odd, was good, and the
place would have been quickly on my Return list if the staff had not been so
confused as to what they were supposed to be doing. They need updated menus and
they need to provide more than one brunch menu for a table. They have a great set
up and have been around since 1997, and I can see the appeal to the locals.
Most of the experiences were worth the visit and some I will
return to, but I also look forward to going back and tasting what other places
have to offer. The girls deserve the time out of the kitchen, after all.
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This chair is broken! |
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Inside the SoHo |
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17Hundred90 was indeed the best place we ate at outside the house! Also, in my opinion, the only other decent place was Six Pence. I personally didn't care for it...good or bad....but that was just my limited taste in food I suppose. The atmosphere was nice and the food I had was ok, but I know almost everyone else enjoyed their Irish cuisine.
ReplyDeleteSpot on with the whole "Rocks" experience. Pricey, pretentious, and just not a fun place...with the exception of the people we brought with us.
I think the one place I will have to disagree with you was Soho. I understand what they were trying for with the decorating being "trendy", but I think most of it was lost on me. It was just a old garage that had been filled with junk and uncomfortable seats...at least mine was. My waffle was cold, they gave me enough butter and maple syrup (which was at least real), for almost half my waffle. My OJ...which cost $4 I think....came in a dixie cup size plastic tumbler, and the side of potatoes consisted of about 5 bites. Add to that, the confusion and seeming "first day on the job" service we got, It's a no go for me on a return visit.
All that being said, it was a great trip, with great friends and I wouldn't mind going back.
I remember you saying that about the waffle and syrup. And no place could cook a steak lol.
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