Savanah Sojourn

Old Nov 23rd, 2013, 10:50 AM
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Savanah Sojourn

Here's a brief run down on our Savannah sojourn last month. Always wanted to see this historic place and so we booked a week with a Road Scholar program. Our stay in the Hilton Savannah DeSoto Hotel. This is a city for wandering. Those familiar know about the 22 squares and live oaks with Spanish moss and historic mansions with wrought iron fences, etc. You'll find other Fodor reports about Savannah which I won't duplicate. We did read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" before and during the trip. Locals may scoff at it a bit but they love the attention it brings the city. And I have in hand "Behind the Moss Curtain...and other great Savannah stories."

There are sightseeing trolleys and buggies and also a free Dot bus with certain stops. Also along the river front is a trolley. We didn't explore that area so much but it has some fun shops. What we mainly did was learn the history, visit some mansions in walking tours, explore some eating places, and hear some Johnny Mercer music (and I was forced on my feet to dance a little...don't sit in a front row). OK, here's a quiz: what is your favorite Johnny Mercer song? He is honored here as lyricist and performer. Wrote John Berendt, "Midnight is more than anything else a portrait of Savannah, and in a way the same can be said of Johnny Mercer's songs."

Just a little history...important name is Gen. James Oglethorpe, English visionary who laid out the city plan. Savannah was founded in 1733 as a buffer for the Colonies from Spanish Florida. The lovely squares were laid out by Oglethorpe himself and though some historic buildings were raised the squares survived modernization and certain mansions were preserved. Slavery was related to the increasingly important money maker...cotton. Savannah became a major port. When Gen. Sherman occupied the city he didn't burn it down but made it a Christmas present to President Lincoln.

Next installment: special dining and historic buildings and such. Another question: what is low country food and name one example?
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Old Nov 23rd, 2013, 11:11 AM
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Ozarksbill,

Looking forward to the next installment! I was glad I decided to visit Savannah last New Year's Eve, especially loving the squares, architecture and food. I'm gathering you liked Savannah?

As for the question, I'll play, so we'll see how ignorant I am. Low Country food (not looking anything up here so as to be an honest contestant) I believe is style of cooking from the coastal Deep South, from I would guess as far south as the Georgia Sea Islands and as far north as the vicinity of Charleston. So, cuisine from Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston would fall into this style, but Myrtle Beach and Jacksonville I'm guessing would be out of the Low Country cuisine zone? Brunswick Stew and boiled peanuts I associate with Low Country cooking.

Great report, Daniel
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Old Nov 23rd, 2013, 12:21 PM
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Any other guesses besides Daniel's? Low country food was pretty new to me living in Missouri and now Massachusetts...but you may know about such victuals as grits and gravy and collard greens. Come on, make your guess list. Then I'll tell you about our cooking school adventure. And family-style eating at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room with twenty dishes!!!
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Old Nov 23rd, 2013, 12:32 PM
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Hobotee, red rice, lima beans, breakfast shrimp, grits, collards, fried fish, okra soup, Hugenot torte, Beaufort stew.......
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 06:08 AM
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More about our Savannah sojourn...Looking down from the airplane window above I was struck by the miles and miles of sandbars and rivelets draining to the coast and piney woods. Finally Savannah airport appears below.

From Berendt's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" I learned that Savannah was where Capt. John Smith, murderous pirate, died of rum and left a map of treasure island. And that "Gone with the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell had a reference to Savannah as "that gently mannered city by the sea." And that this was the place for the first Sunday school (1736), first orphanage (1788), first golf course (1796), first hymnal used in the Church of England (1736) thanks to John Wesley's brief stay.

In our week's stay we toured a few of the several elegant mansions in the Historic District. We were taught and guided in walks by program director Savannah natives Paul Blatner and sister who have much knowledge, many stories. The Juliette Gordon Low house on Lafayette Square is the birthplace and home of this founder of the Girl Scouts. Impressive Greek revival house with white columns.

Another tour was of the Thomas Levy House which has been preserved by John and Virginia Duncan. The retired college professor and wife have accumulated lots of art in the house and also specialize in antique maps and books (office in back).

Another day walking to the Davenport House Museum we first had a first person talk from a "doctor" of the era explaining about the yellow fever epidemic of 1820. Much mystified he of course drained blood as a treatment. During our house tour another "physician" spoke of the epidemic. This house was the first one preserved by seven women who saw the value of historic houses. Some wanted to modernize and many older structures were torn down...no one had money to buy and renovate them. Then things were turned around.
Pictures: www.savannahtourofhomes.org/photography.htm
Also http://www.visit-historic-savannah.c...ric-homes.html

So began a battle to preserve Savannah's past. Also at the time some wanted to destroy the squares so you could have through traffic! Eventually the notion of saving the lovely squares won out. Mary Harty in "Midnight in the Garden" tells the author that the squares are the jewells of Savannah. "The thing I like best about the squares is that cars can't cut through the middle, they must go around them. So traffic is obliged to flow at a very leisurely pace." So we noticed in our walks as Bull Street goes from square to square. And what a setting for the houses such as oft passed red brick Mercer Williams House at Monterey Square. And also for the churches. We had a group picture taken at the elegant fountain at the large Forsyth Park not far from the Mercer Williams House.

To be continued: back to food and Johnny Mercer.
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 07:31 AM
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Loving your report. Hate to think we may have been at the same time last month and I missed the opportunity to meet you in person.

Looking forward to reading more...
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 07:41 AM
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I always associate food in Louisiana as "low country" more than anywhere else for some reason. Turtle soup, anything crawfish or any kind of "boil", red beans and rice. Even though many places have bread pudding, bananas foster, red velvet cake, pecan pie,and sweet potato pie- those to me are low country too.

I've had an unusual cream corn in LA a few times. Called maque chaeux(spelled something like that).
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 08:54 AM
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What I find fascinating is the sojourn of the Wesley's in this area. They were in Savannah, IIRC, and one of them, John, I think, preached at Christ Church Frederica on St Simons Island before leaving th Anglican communion. I used to teach at a Methodist College and found them still to be a strong influence.
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 11:46 AM
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Oh of course John Wesley a strong influence in Christendom, along with brother Charles, oft quoted in Methodist circles. From our teacher John Duncan I got the story that in his short Savannah stay John Wesley was a somewhat immature leader in the local Church of England congregation. But did inaugurate singing by the congregation, hence the hymns. He proposed to a younger woman but pleaded that he must bring it before the church, the being folks reluctant in their approval. So the young woman decided not to wait and married another and John left town.
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Old Nov 25th, 2013, 11:56 AM
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His monument is in my most visited square - across from the Planters Inn and the Pink House
http://www.visit-historic-savannah.c...-monument.html

Wesley got his start in Savannah as Oglethorpe's secretary, then as the rector of Christ Church. He and his brother were eventually sent back to England.

I love attending services at Christ Church, especially during the holidays

http://www.christchurchsavannah.org/...rch/history-2/

1733 - On February 12, the Colony of Georgia and Christ Church, a mission of the Church of England under the ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop of London, are founded.

1736 – The Rev. John Wesley becomes the minister. While here, he starts America’s first Sunday School and publishes the first English hymnal for use in America.

- See more at: http://www.christchurchsavannah.org/....mrjYMUjB.dpuf
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Old Nov 27th, 2013, 07:11 AM
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Eating was one of our treats in visit to Savannah. Top of the list was Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. This used to be a boarding house, is now a family-style Southern buffet. Our group gained entrance from the alley through the kitchen, avoiding the long line out front. Family style means you pass around the food in bowls and help yourself. I counted twenty such serving bowls...and here's my challenge: can you guess what was served? (Answers later)
www.mrswilkes.com

Another real treat was spending a morning with chef Darin Sehnert in his 700 Drayton Cooking School (in 700 Drayton Restaurant once an old hotel). So we spent the morning preparing our lunch with his instructions. (No, we did not go to Paula Dean's Cooking School...that's for tourists). Another guessing game: what six food entrees do you suppose we cooked up? Chef Darin really put us through the paces in preparations. Want to sign up for a class? www.700kitchen.com (recommended by Tripadvisor)

Other eateries: chicken florentine and herb roasted potatoes, pecan pie at DeSoto Hilton dining room.

Good pizza at Mellow Mushroom.

Trio plate-chicken salad, tomato, cheese, fruit dessert for lunch at The Gryphon. This tea room on Madison Square was once an apothecary and a library.

Lunch at Panera.

Club sandwich, potato salad, bread pudding at 17Hundred90 Restaurant.

Vics on the River with herb crusted salmon, bean medley, rice, salad, peach cheesecake www.vicsontheriver.com

Hamburgers at Six Pence Pub.

River House Seafood Restaurant with fried shrimp and french fries, key lime pie. Also wonderful praline candy at River Street Sweets.

And here's a recipe from River House for Chatham artillery punch: 1 1/2 gal. catawba wine, 1/2 gal. rum, 1 quart gin, 1 quart brandy, 1/2 pint Benedictine, 2 quarts Maraschino cherries, 1 1/2 quarts rye whiskey, 1 1/2 gal. strong tea,
2 1/2 lb brown sugar, 1 1/2 qrt orange juice, 1 1/2 lemon juice. Mix 36-48 hr. before serving...add one case of champagne when ready to serve.

I know other Savannah restaurants have been recommended.
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Old Nov 29th, 2013, 12:51 PM
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OK, ready to pass the victuals? I spoke about family style eating at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room during our Savannah visit, truly a highlight for me. Had a big appetite that day.
And I did count some twenty bowls passed around the table.

Here is what I recount: fried chicken, pulled pork, sausage, collard greens, squash cassarole, butter beans, green beans, black eyed peas, creamed cabbage, white rice, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, gravy, cucumbers, beans and ham, okra salad, dressing, fried okra, creamed corn, candied yams, beets, rutabaga, plus corn bread and also banana pudding. Whoops, I just counted 22 instead of 20 plus the bread and pudding!

Seems like a good time to make my list after Thanksgiving.

More later.
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Old Nov 30th, 2013, 04:40 AM
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Have loved reading your trip report ozarksbill! We lived in Savannah for 4 years and you absolutely hit the nail on the head when you wrote of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, "Locals may scoff at it a bit but they love the attention it brings the city." Exactly!

We lived there when the book came out and became a raging success. It was a fun era. During that period, the Savannah Hospitality Association, which my husband was head of "the year of The Book", awarded John Berendt the award for the "Person Who Had Done The Most to Further Savannah", and he most certainly had. Tourism, which had been flowing along at a stately pace, suddenly surged, and continued to surge through that then Forrest Gump.

We need to make a trip back. I'm delight to read that some of our favorites are still in operation...Mrs. Wilkes, Riverhouse Seafood, Vic's, but I wonder, is Elizabeth's on 37th St, the creme de la creme of our era, gone?
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Old Nov 30th, 2013, 08:15 AM
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The amount of food served at Mrs. Wilkes is almost obscene. We left there totally stuffed and there was still so much food left on the table!
Vic's was one of our favorite places. So nice to sit by the window and look out over the river while eating their yummy food.
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Old Nov 30th, 2013, 08:33 PM
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What a wonderful report! Thank you.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2013, 09:15 AM
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Here's a new take (maybe not really new) about the famous "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." "I don't get it really. Maybe I'm all alone in this world but I don't understand what all the Midnight fuss is about," says Murray Silver in his book "Behind the Moss Curtain and Other Great Savannah Stories." He never heard about drag queens and voodoo priestesses when growing up in Savannah. And the story about Jim and Danny was considered a nasty story about pathetic people.

"It doesn't help matters when Mayor Adams bellies his way into a public ceremony in Forsyth Park and makes loud proclamations about what splendid things John Berendt has done for our city." Just a lousy murder mystery he calls it. Actually no mystery, just a best forgotten incident.

Well! Admittedly I did think the voodoo stuff was silly.
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Old Dec 2nd, 2013, 01:36 PM
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I agree about the voodoo…poetic license. And Lady Chablis probably wasn't doing her thing while he was growing up, (unless he's very young), but she's real, and can be fairly outrageous. He sounds a bit prejudiced perhaps? At least against heavy people if he used the term "bellies" in regard to Floyd Adams. I haven't read Moss Curtain. Perhaps I should, then form my own opinion, but he and I are off to a bad start!
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Old Dec 3rd, 2013, 04:44 AM
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I'll keep reading this Moss Curtain book to see if anything else worth mentioning. Yep, I did think his criticism a bit too much. So Lady Chablis is indeed fact not fiction?

Our expert guide/teacher Paul Blatner accepts the Midnight book with a chuckle for what it is...semi-fictionalized account of real life that has benefited Savannah (my interpretation). A native of the city Paul has two masters degrees, one in American Studies and one in museum studies (Smithsonian program GW) and is co-founder of Savannah History Museum. Besides his wit he was so knowledgeable with many stories. So what we got was more of a mobile mini-course than tourist visit.

To be continued...cooking school, Johnny Mercer, etc.
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Old Dec 4th, 2013, 05:24 AM
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Hi starrs, annetti and all...thanks. I'm doing a kind of meandering travel report here instead of a day by day one.
Had never been to Savannah previously and now have a fondness for its "specialness." Now I'll say just a brief word on a few unique historical events and aftermath.

It seems General James Ogelthorpe arrived 1733 with a plan already in mind for Savannah. So the town was laid out in a ward system. Each had a name with public squares (now 22 of them) spaced throughout the town. Four sites called trust lots were reserved for important buildings. The streets are a grid of straight streets and gardens of five acres set aside for each lot holder for raising food.

Actually it seems the public squares were designed for camp sites with shade for the military. Soldiers were thus stationed to keep the Spanish from advancing north. Ogelthorpe returned several times. Originally slavery was prohibited as was indentured servitude in his plans but then in 1750 many prohibitions were repealed with limited slavery and a change to a plantation economy.

Skipping ahead to the War of Independence it seems about one third of the population was Patriots, one third Tory and one third on the fence. The 2nd bloodiest battle was fought in Savannah with Patriots and French defeated. General Washington visited in 1791.

A most important invention by Eli Whitney 1793 in a nearby plantation: the cotton gin. This led to big cotton exports. Whitney also made money on liquor and guns. 1820 was a terrible year with a fire destroying about 50% of the town and also a yellow fever epidemic...thus population plummeted from 7,500 to 1,500! Later lumber became a big export along with cotton. Many of the mansions owned by the traders.

Then came the War between the States...the South opposing Lincoln with Georgia seceding Jan. 19, 1861. Seems 55% of the Federal budget came from four Southern states. General Sherman occupied Savannah and planned to destroy the city, but reconsidered due to its charm...and needing dry docks. Thus Savannah was a Christmas present with bales of cotton to President Lincoln.

Jumping ahead, Savannah slept for years...and then in the 1950s came destruction of the City Market and many mansions threatened to be torn down for new structures. That's when a group of women organized what became a preservation effort.
Today tourism is the largest industry and much is due to the charm of the city. Especially the Historic District with the squares and mansions. Estimated some 1,450 restored structures. "Second to the squares in importance I would say is the vegetation. Savannah's abundant plant life mutes the city's sounds and helps create the famous Savannah hush." (from article Traditional Home).

To be continued...
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Old Dec 4th, 2013, 06:20 AM
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Haven't seen her/him, but I'm told Lady Chablis comes back to Savannah once a week to play the waterfront club where she/he got his/her start.
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