That Was No Lady, That Was Paula Deen
by E. Noel Preston, M.D.

   This past Memorial Day weekend Susan and I went to Savannah. We had already been there several times and had done all the de rigueur touristy things people do who go there, like staying at a bed and breakfast inn, taking a bus tour of the city, walking through one famous historic old home after another, and going on the "Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil " book tour and then seeing Chablis, the female impersonator. We had already eaten at destination restaurants like the Olde Pink House, Elizabeth's on 37th, and Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House. We had already seen River Street and its tourist-trap shops selling tee shirts, Confederate flags, beach towels and soldiers' caps (Who in the world do Southerners think Northerners think Southerners are? I've never seen so many copies of "Gone with the Wind," fake Civil War swords and rifles, dried cotton bolls, "Forget, Hell" license tags, or "Southern" delicacies like peach jam and pepper jelly and instant mint julep mixes. I once knew a Canadian who called Georgia "The Land of Red Clay and Idiots," and after prowling the shops on River Street I would be inclined to agree). 

   And so this time we were going to see Savannah from a different perspective: no B&B's, no horse-drawn carriage tours, no being herded through the Juliette Low or Davenport houses. We would have no tolerance for the contrived and gentle lunacy of Southern coastal cities like Wilmington, Charleston, New Orleans, or Ocracoke, no "ghost and graveyard" walking tours, no watching a man walk an imaginary dog, no credence for an antique dealer asking $2800 for a soup tureen. We were going to see Savannah as the Savannhians saw it, but in holiday style.

   One of my daughters said we should have dinner at "The Lady and Sons," a restaurant made popular by Paula Deen, its owner and chef. Ms. Deen conducts a daily cooking class on The Food Network and has written three cookbooks (John Berendt, author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" wrote the introduction for the first one). Her restaurant takes no reservations and potential customers must sign up with a hostess outside on the sidewalk in order to be seated. The waits are sometimes over an hour, but supposedly the restaurant sends someone out to offer biscuits to the people standing in line. There is a gift shop (surprise!) that sells "The Lady Can Cook!" aprons and "Taste Makes Waist" tee shirts, as well as food items like relishes and sauces. I looked at her dinner menu on the Internet and it offers Chicken Pot Pie ($18), Shrimp and Grits ($19), Crab Cakes ($20), Crab Stuffed Shrimp ($22), and an all-you-can-eat Southern Buffet ($17).

   We arrived in Savannah on Friday night and were too tired to stand in a line for dinner, so we actually went to River Street to look at the boats and the water, listen to the music, and see the crowds of people. We found a riverfront restaurant, and yes, it was a tourist spot, but it was amazingly good. It was The Boar's Head, and the food was delightful. I had shrimp and scallops sauteed in olive oil over angel hair pasta, and it was lavishly decorated with slices of red bell pepper, mushrooms, green snow peas, yellow squash, and green zucchini. Surprisingly, the Mobil Travel Guide doesn't even list the restaurant, but it was much better than where we had lunch the next day at the dreary 2-star-rated Johnny Harris Barbecue, where the crab soup looked and smelled like sausage gravy, the ribs were tough and chewy, and the sauce was thin and watery.

   On Saturday we went to Tybee Island and enjoyed walking on the beach and seeing the lighthouse. After our forgettable lunch we poked around the antique shops on Habersham and the arts-and-craft shops on Broughton Street, drove around the residential neighborhoods, and explored City Market at Saint Julien and Jefferson. That evening we tried to eat at The Lady and Sons, and the throngs of people outside waiting to get in certainly meant it was a popular spot. But, we were too late. It was 9:45 and the not-very-pleasant sidewalk hostess said they stopped taking names for their wait list at 9:30. And she didn't even give us a biscuit!

   That was the best thing that happened to us that evening, because we walked up the street to Garibaldi's and had one of the most spectacular dinners I can remember. Elizabeth's on 37th deserves every one of its four stars from the Mobil Travel Guide, but Garibaldi's, which only ranks two stars, is every bit just as wonderful. The restaurant is on the second floor of Savannah's old fire station and has a huge 18-feet tall ceiling. Three sides of the room are lined with gigantic 12 feet tall and 14 feet wide mirrors, with tall palm trees in large clay pots in between each mirror. The front side of the room is a huge window that overlooks the street below, and there are three large round chandeliers, each one with 20 lights, hanging high above. There were two large groups in this same room -- one with 20 people and the other with eight -- and they were very animated, one celebrating a birthday and the other a graduation. Amazingly, the room was quiet enough for gentle conversation and we didn't have to shout at each other to be heard. Susan had veal marsala ($18) and I had chicken rigatoni with alfredo sauce ($14), and both were delectable. The chicken was moist and tender, the sauce was creamy, rich, and full of sliced fresh onion, and the flourless chocolate tort was nothing less than fantastic. We each had a glass of wine and shared a fabulous salad, and the bill was under $62!

   Walking back to the car, we passed The Lady and Sons, which by now was closed. I looked through the large, plate glass windows that surround the seating area, and was surprised. It seemed to be a large, bare room with no curtains or other decorations and the furniture looked like old kitchen chairs and tables. Apparently most customers choose to go through the buffet, and it looks as if people help themselves from a high-school cafeteria-style steam table. I would think that with food at those prices someone should bring it to me -- and I would want a white cloth on the table as well. Maybe the wait staff brings food ordered off the menu and it's better than what's on the steam table, but it made me wonder if we really missed anything.

   The next day we went through Savannah's Catholic cathedral and it was astonishingly beautiful. The ceiling is sky blue and there are slender, ivory-colored pillars lining the sides. There are beautiful stained glass windows and the whole interior is light and spacious but totally resplendent. The gloomy, dark old cathedrals in Europe aren't half as lovely. We did more sightseeing and shopping and decided to try The Lady once more. This time we arrived at 5:20 -- but The Lady was only open from 11 AM to 5 PM on Sundays and the sidewalk hostess turned us away again. So -- now what?

   We walked around the corner and found Jazz'd, a tapas bar at Broughton and Barnard Streets, which isn't even listed in the Mobil Travel Guide, and it was fabulous. We had the spinach dip ($8) with sour cream, asiago, parmesan, and pesto topped with pine nuts and served in a sourdough boule; asparagus ($6) wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled with Bernaise sauce; grilled shrimp and scallops skewers ($8) marinated in ginger, soy, and oranges and garnished with green scallions; and vodka-marinated beef tips ($9.50) topped with an olive and Maytag blue cheese brulee. Talk about wonderful! It was one delightful surprise after another -- and they had live music too!

   Monday morning we had breakfast at Clary's on Jones Street, and their sticky bun was a warm, joyfully huge treat drizzled with melted sugar, topped with pecans, and stuffed with raisins. They also have pancakes, waffles, and eggs Benedict, and all are fantastic. It was now Memorial Day, and so we drove out to Bonaventure Cemetery to see the military graves -- and what other word is there for that sight but heroic? It was a good way to end the holiday.

   And as for The Lady? I think I'll wait for her to come out with a line of frozen food and pick some up at the Kroger.

E. Noel Preston, M.D. is a pediatrician in solo practice in Peachtree Corners. 6063 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 202-A, Norcross. (770) 448-1553. More information can be found at www.PeachtreeCornersPediatrics.com

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