Planning a trip to Savannah

This entry was written for a friend who is bringing a group of students to Savannah for a week of volunteering over spring break. If I ever break from interior design I think I'll be a travel guide writer. I'm not going to go as far as to call this an insider's guide to Savannah because I'm still very much an outsider, but I can at least give a little insight into some of my favorite places.

Required Reading:

John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) captures the essence of Savannah's eccentric, colorful side. Many of the places in "The Book" (as it's known in Savannah) are Savannah landmarks and popular stops for tourists. Bird Girl, the statue on the cover of the book as originally photographed at Bonaventure Cemetery has been moved from Bonaventure to the Telfair Museum because tourists were causing too much of a disturbance trying to find her and take their own picture. I do not recommend tracking her down at the Telfair because you have to pay $5 to see the statue which is sitting in the middle of a room surrounded by sub-par art and no photographs are allowed. Not worth it.

Some places mentioned in the book: Club One (Lady Chablis still preforms there), Clary's Restaurant (breakfast is yummy at Clary's!), Mercer-Williams House, Armstrong House, Bonaventure Cemetery.

Lay of the Land:

What a tourist needs to know is that Savannah is divided into three parts: Historic District (downtown), mid-town, and the southside. SCAD's buildings, boutique shops, local restaurants and bars, and touristy interests are mainly in the historic district. Midtown is considered 37th Street to Derenne which is where the southside starts. The southside is where "new" Savannah is. The malls, chain restaurants, and big box stores are on the southside.

The city was designed using a grid system and has twenty-four squares in the historic district. This is good because it means the streets are straight and traffic flow is good, but the squares all look so similar that it's easy to get lost!

Important streets in the historic district:

Abercorn St/Hwy 204 is the main vein in Savannah. It runs north/south the length from the historic district through the southside.

River St is THE tourist street in Savannah. It's paved in cobblestone and driving on it will rattle the fillings out of your teeth. I apologize to my car every time I have to drive on it. All the cheesy t-shirt and souvenir shops are on River St along with some restaurants and bars. This may not sound too exciting, but it is kind of cool to watch the cargo ships come and go from River Street. It's when you are at river level that you realize how huge these ships are.

Bay St is were a lot of the large chain hotels are located. There are also many restaurants located on Bay.

Broughton St is the main shopping/restaurant street downtown. Broughton starts at Martin Luther King and the shopping stops around Abercorn. When you see SCAD's library and theatre you'll know that you don't need to go any further. My two favorite shops in Savannah are located on Broughton. @Home Vingtage General is next to Marc Jacobs and The Paris Market and Brocante is near Saigon. Both stores carry unique, interesting items. I cannot afford 95% of the stuff at Paris Market, nor do I need something like a vintage stuffed badger or 15' tall replica of the Eiffel Tower, but all of their wares are eye candy to me so I go to look around when my mind needs stimulating. @Home's prices are more within my budget and I know I can always depend on this store when I need a fun gift for my mom or sister.

Paris Market has a coffee/tea/lemonade bar in the store

Broughton St.

Oglethorpe and Liberty Streets are main east/west running streets. They both start at Martin Luther King and run to Broad Street. Colonial Cemetery is on Oglethorpe across from the Police station. When the azaleas and trees are in bloom, Oglethorpe is a great spot to take pictures of "picturesque" Savannah.

Jones Street is the high rent district of downtown. Granted, there are lots (and lots and lots) of expensive homes in the historic district, but Jones Street is the quintessential expensive townhouse street.

Driving and Parking Downtown

Avoid this if you can! Especially if you are in a 15 passenger van. You'll never get a spot. Parking on Broughton St is free for two hours and parking on the side streets and in the squares is pay-to-park (feed the meters) so have some coins on you if you plan to drive downtown. All parking is free after 5 pm and on the weekends. Pay attention to the no parking signs because they often only apply to certain times in the middle of the night so the streets are clear for the street sweepers.

U-turns...I've never driven in a city so open to u-turns. Unless there is a no u-turns sign posted, feel free to hang a Louie and double back to the other traffic lane. Seriously. You'll even find directions on Mapquest that read "Do a u-turn at so and so street." Really. I'm not kidding. Sometimes its the only way to get to a business on the other side of the street.

Do I stop or do I go when I make a left on Oglethorpe or Liberty and find myself in the middle of the street facing a stop light? Hmmm...this is a decision all Savannah drivers face. The safe thing is to wait until the light turns green. However, if there is no cross traffic then it's okay to continue through the light. Honestly, no one really knows the answer to this one. There are no signs and everyone does something different.

Places to Stay:

Thunderbird Inn

Okay, I know what the Thunderbird looks like and I, personally, would never consider spending the night in a Motel 6 kind of place, BUT, looks can be deceiving, and are in this case. The Thunderbird is ALWAYS busy, the cars parked in the lot are not junkers, and the people coming and going all look like fine upstanding clean cut individuals. Rooms were renovated and are quite stylish (from the looks of the images on their website) for such an icon of vintage modern motel design. The Thunderbird Inn is located a block off MLK (behind the Hampton Inn) and withing walking distance to Broughton St, Bay St, River St and the main historic district. The price is roughly half the cost of the chain hotels (again, this is a no frills kind of place) and the location is okay. http://www.thethunderbirdinn.com/

Places to Eat:

*Also look under my other blog entries labeled "Living in Savannah." There are several good restaurants listed like Zunzi's, Back in the Day Bakery, and the Pirate's House.

Mrs. Wilkes

Forget Paula Deen's Lady and Sons' restaurant. Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room is where to go for the best southern meal. It's more than a meal, it's a feast. During peak tourist season the hassle of getting a seat at Lady and Sons is more trouble that it's worth. Since L&S does not take reservations you'll have to stand in line to get a table at maybe the time you want (if not, too bad! You'll have to pick from the times they have open.) and then come back at that time and stand around in the street waiting for your name to be called to be seated. The problem with this is that the reservation line forms promptly at 9 am and if you are not in line at that time then you'll not get the reservation time you want and/or you'll have to stand in a line two blocks long. Seriously. It's crazy. I've been to L&S twice and the quality of the food was different both times. The first time it was not good (everyone in my party agreed- nothing anyone ordered was the quality they expected) and the second time it was quite tasty.

I thought I was writing about Mrs. Wilkes? Sorry, I got side tracked. The point of my anti-L&S rant is that people go to Lady and Sons because of all the marketing behind Paula Deen and they go to her restaurant just to say they've been. Now, if you want an authentic, down home southern meal, you'll go to Mrs. Wilkes on West Jones Street. Like L&S, Mrs. Wilkes does not take reservations over the phone so you'll have to stand in line to get in and you'll want to get there a little early (not at 9 am though!). They are only open for lunch from 11 am- 2 pm and seatings are done in shifts. I recommend getting there at 10:30 to be in the first group taken so you don't have to wait until 11:45, 12:30, or 1:15 when the subsequent groups are seated because you'll have to stand in line to hold your place (remember--- no reservations. Just a place in line gets you in the door). Once you are seated at a family style table, the waitresses bring out about 20 bowls of different dishes for your table to share and pass around. At the end of the meal you'll take your own dishes to the kitchen and hand them over to be washed. It's quite a system they've got going on! Bring cash because that's all they take. It's $16 even + tip per meal. One more blurb of advice: wear stretchy pants with an elastic waist band! This meal is nothing to play with. You'll want to taste everything but with 20 dishes even one or two spoonfuls of each adds up to a mound of food. I've seen many a man leave Mrs. Wilkes rubbing their rounded belly and unbuttoning the top button of their pants. http://www.mrswilkes.com/

Waiting outside Mrs. Wilkes. Is it worth it? YES!

Crab Shack

The Crab Shack is...well...it's...what's the best word?... Rustic?... Unrefined?... Unpretentious?... Unexpected?... and I love it! This is the place to go if you want a ginormous platter of seafood in a no frills atmosphere. Cap'n Crabs Sampler feeds twice the number it says on the menu (4 people= order the platter for 2 people) which, on average, brings the bill to about $10 per person for a meal of crab, shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and a couple other types of shellfish (usually crawfish and muscles). Not into seafood? They have ribs and chicken on the menu too. Want a truly southern meal? Order the low country boil (potatoes, corn, sausage, and shrimp). For those of us from Indiana or Kentucky, the low country boil is what we eat just around Mardi Gras time, but it's everyday fare around here.

The Crab Shack is easy to miss if you don't pay attention to the less-than-obvious signage at the turn-off from Hwy 80/26/Islands Parkway on Tybee Island. You will not see the restaurant from the highway and have to wind around a few turns to get to it once you turn off Hwy 80.

I recommend an evening at the Crab Shack for dinner after spending time at Tybee Beach. http://www.thecrabshack.com/

Go directly to the menu: http://www.thecrabshack.com/menu/menu1.pdf

LuLu's Chocolate Bar
I love Lulu's!!! It has chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Chocolate cake, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate fondue, chocolate torts, chocolate martinis, chocolate everything! The atmosphere is very chill yet comfortable. It's located downtown on MLK a few doors down from Corleone's which is at the corner of MLK and Broughton. A note about ordering. Do not order the "drinking chocolate" thinking it is hot chocolate. I made that mistake and it is not! It's so strong that I could only handle a couple sips before pushing it aside. I do recommend ordering the fondue if you are in a group and want to share. http://www.luluschocolatebar.net/

Angel's Barbecue
I've heard this is the best BBQ in Savannah but I've not had the chance to try it (yet) because their hours are so limited. They are open Monday and Tuesday 11-3 pm and Wednesday-Saturday 11-6 pm. They are located behind O House (SCAD's Oglethorpe House) in a tiny little hole in the wall of a building. http://www.angels-bbq.com/index.html

One week later...

Oh! Hold up! Scratch that! Since I wrote the above entry Ghazal and I have stopped at Angel's to give it a try. I DO NOT recommend it. First, it's hard to find. It's completely tucked away in an alley way (marked Oglethorpe Lane) and unless you have time to go on a wild goose chase, you'll never find it. Second, the food wasn't that good. Actually, saying "that good" implies that it was sort of good but not really good. I should have written that the food was not so good. The BBQ was greasy and the baked beans had a completely different BBQ flavor than the barbecued meat (and the two BBQ flavors were not complimentary). Angel's food was definitely not what I was hoping for. And lastly, while I'm willing to go to a hole-in-the-wall sort of place for BBQ (because those are often the spots with the best flavor), this really was not the most pleasant restaurant. The "dining room" was about 4' wide and only had three 2-seat tables. (If that's the case, then the lunch rush is six people?!?!) And the "decor?" Yeah, that's not even a topic to discuss since the only common theme seemed to be pigs. So, there you have it.

Angel's BBQ on Oglethorpe Lane

This is it. Not much to see here. Keep moving on.

Saigon

Saigon is a staple for SCAD students and people who work downtown. I eat here at least once a week--- it's my fave! The cuisine is Thai/Vietnamese which might be a little to exotic for students from Kentucky, but if they want to venture out into a new taste, I recommend Saigon. It's on Broughton St across from Fudruckers and Panera.

My regular dish: Cashew Nuts (Rice with veggies. I ask for the chili sauce on the side because I don't like my food smothered in sauce)

Gallery Espresso

Looking for a place to chill out, read a book, log a little laptop time, or just chit chat with friends? Gallery Espresso is just right. It's a coffee house that serves a variety of coffee/tea/hot chocolate drinks, plus it has a selection of wine to choose from. They also have desserts and salads if you want a bite to eat. The furniture is worn out, the art is a mish-mash from a variety of local artists, and the bathroom walls are covered in bumber stickers. Just right for hanging out :-)

Gallery Espresso is at the corner of Bull and Perry on Chippewa Square. Chippewa Square is where the shots of Forrest Gump sitting on a park bench were filmed.

http://www.galleryespresso.com/

Mellow Mushroom or Vinnie Van Go Go's Pizza

Mellow Mushroom is a chain while Vinnie Van Go Go's is local. People will disagree on which has the better pizza, but all agree that these two places have the best pizza. MM is located on Liberty St a couple blocks off MLK. It's usally really loud in the Mushroom, but there is the option of sitting outside. Pizza pies are a bit pricey (plan on $24 for a large pizza which has eight slices).

VVGG's is located on Bryan St at the end of City Market. It's a build your own pizza place with choices of toppings you add to the base price of the size you choose. Have cash in your pocket because VVGG's does not take plastic.

http://www.mellowmushroom.com/

http://www.vinnievangogo.com/

Places to Drink and/or Dance:

Saya Lounge
Saya Lounge is my favorite night club in Savannah. It's a few doors down from Banana Republic on Broughton St. and is sort of non-descript from the outside because it's just the doors you are looking for, the nightclub is downstairs in the basement of a building. The atmosphere is upscale (not a typical bar), there's a dress code on the weekend, and the DJ is good. The floorplan is set-up with lounge seating that create semi-private conversation areas surrounding the dance floor. It's a great place to dance or just hang out and converse. No cover charge. http://www.sayalounge.com/

51 Degrees
The good thing about 51 degrees is that it has three floors and each floor plays a different style of music. The third floor is more main stream, the second floor is hip hop, and the first floor is international. The crowd is cleaner and nicer than Bar Bar. There is a $5 cover charge and hoodies/jackets must be checked at the door. 51 Degrees is located on Congress St a couple blocks up from City Market.

@ 51 Degrees

City Market: Bar Bar, Rooftop Tavern, and Wild Wings Cafe

City Market and River Street are where the regular "bars" are located. The bars can get a little rough on the weekends (remember there is a military base in Savannah so a lot of times the Army guys are out having a good time). Bar Bar has a separate room for dancing which can get overly crowded and make things not so fun. The DJ mainly plays hip hop. They also have a fuseball table and board games sitting around for people to play.

Rooftop Tavern is more of the stand around and drink/play pool kind of place.

Wild Wings Cafe is a restaurant/bar. The crowd is clean and more professional than the other nightclubs. They often have live entertainment. http://www.savannahcitymarket.com/entertain.html


Savannah Smiles Piano Bar
I'm a bit of a piano bar snob because I've been spoiled by the good times at all the different Howl at the Moon locations I've been, so Savannah Smiles is just okay or so-so to me. The entrance to SS is a bit of a challenge to find because it's located in more of a alley than on a street. The easiest way to get to it is to walk down Montgomery St from Bay St toward River St and turn right into the alley/street in back of the Quality Inn. It's really, really loud and very smokey (Two thumbs down from me). The entertainers are okay (again, not great) and they play a range of songs not just the old sing-along stand-bys.
http://www.savannahga.net/activities/savannahsmilespianobar.html




Places to See:

Bonaventure Cemetery

I don't know anything about the cemetery tour company I've posted a link to, but their site is really good for an overview of the cemetery (Lots of pictures and history about the cemetery. The story about the statue of Corinne is an interesting read!) Cemetery visitors are free to come and go and roam around without a tour group so don't feel like you have to schedule one. The benefit of going with a tour company is to get the background stories about the cemetery and those who are buried there. Bonaventure is a must see.

Getting there: Take Victory Drive headed toward Tybee Island. Look for the brown historical marker street signs for where to turn. It's easy to miss the signs so keep your eyes peeled.

http://www.bonaventurecemeterytours.com/home.html

Forsyth Park

Savannah's largest park features a large fountain which is an icon of the city. The park is always busy with walkers/joggers, SCAD's sports teams practicing soccer or lacrosse, people sunning themselves, and people and their dogs getting exercise.
Jepson Center for the Arts

The Jep is more about the building than the art. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the building is a study in light play with its large windows and louver systems. While the architect created a dramatic effect with his play in light and shadow, he didn't take into account how hot the Savannah sun can get. The Jepson Center is an oven in the summer and workers have to block the windows to prevent heat build up. I was not too impressed with the art collections at the Jepson Center. Unless there is a a featured artist that you are dying to see, it's free week, or you are a Safdie groupie, I would skip with Jepson Center.

Ghost Tours

Tours are big business in Savannah. There are general overview tours, historic tours, movie tours (lots of movies feature Savannah sites), food tours, riverboat tours, Paula Deen tours, and one of the most popular types--- ghost tours. If you did not already know this and believe in it, Savannah is a very haunted city. There are a number of tour companies that give tours but the most popular ones seem to be the Hearse Tour (hearse driven tour), Ghosts and Gravestones (trolley driven tour), and the numerous walking tours which take you through the squares and around the historic discrict telling tales of murder, death, and the spirits that are still hanging around. Ghost tours take place at night, usually around 8 or 9 pm and last 1.5- 2 hours.

My first summer here my roommate and some friends did a walking tour. It was fun and I learned about the public hangings in the squares, which buildings were believed to be haunted and a little history of the city.

http://www.ghostsandgravestones.com/savannah/

http://www.hearseghosttours.com/

Dolphin Tour
I have not taken a dolphin tour myself, but Casey from WKU did while she was in Savannah looking at SCAD for grad school over fall break. She saw lots of dolphins and had a good time because the tour guide let her drive the boat. The tour company is located off Victory Drive on the way to Tybee Island.

Tybee Island

Located about 20 minutes from downtown Savannah, Tybee beach may not be the prettiest beach in the world, but it fits the bill when surf, sand, and sun are in order. There are two main entrances to the beach. The first is located shortly after arriving on the island. You'll drive past a few art/craft shops and see the visitors center on the right at a stop light. Across the street is Chu's gas station. Turn left toward Chu's and follow the streets back to the beach parking. Tybee's lighthouse is located across from the parking lots. There are two types of parking- the gated lot and the parking meter lot. I usually park in the parking meter lot because the gated lot is expensive and it only saves a few steps.

The second point of beach access is on the other side of the island. If you stay straight (don't turn at Chu's) on the Islands Parkway the road will take you to the other side. This is the area where the larger hotels, restaurants and grocery stores are. There's really no benefit of going to one beach or the other with the exception of not needing to drive so far to get to the first one.

Keep your eyes peeled...Sandra Bullock and John Mellencamp own houses on Tybee.

http://www.tybeeisland.com/

Fort Pulaski

I have not been to the fort myself, but I know lots of people who have. Fort Pulaski is on the way to Tybee Island. It's a former military fort that now features a nature walk, bike paths, fishing, and several cannons. http://www.nps.gov/fopu/index.htm