New Years in Savannah, GA | Mini Trip

Mini Trip to Savannah

Happy New Year! I can't believe I've had this blog for over a year now. In December 2018, Nick and I went to Pensacola for a few days to celebrate the new year. We had such a great time, we wanted to do another mini trip to ring in the new decade. Since I'm working now, we couldn't stay as long as we did previously. As a result, Savannah seemed like the perfect option being that we are about 4 hours away. We stayed in an Airbnb 2 miles away from downtown. Everything was a 10 minute drive or a short walk away.

I've been to Savannah a lot of times, but Nick has never visited. It was really cool going with someone who hasn't already experienced the city because there was a new appreciation for the history and architecture. We didn't really feel the need to make any official plans and just explored the city. That being said, there are some awesome tours that provide a lot of history facts and background information on some popular landmarks. If you're up for it, I suggest doing a ghost tour one evening because it's different than your typical factual tour.


Where to shop

Broughton street and City Market are where you'll find basically everything from shops to restaurants to bars. Since sustainability is a hot topic and hopefully something that's sticking around in the future, there are two shops I wanted to highlight. They are consignment stores, Civvies and Avalon Exchange. Civvies is very vintage based, and I think of it as a store you have to dig through to find some gems. I found a beautiful cobolt blue fur jacket there, but it was gone when I came back to buy it. Avalon Exchange is a store I hadn't visited in prior visits, but we found a lot of great pieces there. I got a vintage Fila shirt that was cut into a crop top, vintage silk wrap top in a red and white polka dot print, and a new pair of socks. Nick found a PFG there, an old master's shirt, and a really cool Rick and Morty T-shirt. They also have some really cool rings, sunglasses, and belts all new. 

River Street is a must go. They have pralines, a beautiful scenery, and just about every tourist souvenir you could imagine. This street is more for visiting rather than actual shopping. As I mentioned above, Nick hadn't been to Savannah which also means he's never tried a praline. We stopped in Savannah River Street Sweets to get him one (and myself of course). That being said, Nick and I stopped in Savannah Bee Company underneath the big bridge and are so happy we did. I am obsessed with bees and honey. They had a ton of honey products, but also had mead tasting. We originally tried mead in Ireland, so we knew already that we liked it. They offered 6 tastings for $10 a person, or you can split a single tasting like we did. After talking to a few of the workers, we found out there is actually a location off of Howell Mill in Atlanta. I will definitely be making a visit over there. 

Places to eat

Clary's Cafe

We enjoyed this place so much that Nick and I ate here twice. As a pre-warning, I have never stepped foot inside the restaurant. That reason is Clary's Cafe is busy all the time. There is typically a wait, or it's first come, first serve for the outdoor sidewalk tables. Our first visit we waited about 20 minutes for an indoor table then decided to just sit outside. 

They were slammed on a Monday morning. By the time we got to order around 11:00 AM, they were out of biscuits, english muffins, crab cakes, sausage, and bacon. Nick wanted a crab cake benedict with a sausage biscuit on the side. Essentially, Nick's whole order changed and mine stayed mostly the same. He changed his order to the country fried steak, and I got the stuffed French toast. We split a side of corned beef hash to make sure we were full. 

The country fried steak was delicious. The crust on the outside was light and not too oily. The gravy on top balanced the crunch of the steak creating a hearty meal. After ordering, I realized I was more in a savory mood, but the French toast was still very good. It had sugary strawberries and syrup in the middle with some cream cheese to cut the sweetness. There were 6 slices of bread formed into 3 "sandwiches" to create the stuffed effect. The corned beef hash was my favorite part of the meal. It wasn't too salty, but provided a great greasy flavor. 

Our second time there, we just immediately sat down outside. Because I enjoyed the corned beef hash so much, I ordered that as my entree and selected a biscuit between the option of toast or biscuits. Nick got eggs benedict, and we both picked grits as our included side. I loved my entree; it was the perfect hangover food on New Year's Day. Nick's was also good, but I felt like there wasn't any special aspect about it.

A very unassuming restaurant if it weren't for the
abundance of people waiting to eat here.

Rise

After a failed attempt to eat at Norobia's Grits and Gravy due to a remodeling closure, Nick and I ended up at Rise. The day before, there were people out the door waiting in line to order. We were apprehensive about going there due to this, but there was hardly anyone there when we went. This restaurant is basically to go with a little bar to sit at that has maybe 5 seats. We grabbed our food and took it to one of the parks nearby. I highly recomend doing this so you can enjoy the scenery more. 

I made my own biscuit with a cheddar biscuit, righteous chicken, pimento cheese, and honey. Nick ordered the Biscuit and Gravy box and added two chicken strips for protein. Both of our meals were finished within minutes. The biscuits tasted so fresh, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. We both had plenty of food. Including an Honest Tea, our meal total was $18. I wish we bought a donut from there because they had so many different flavors I hadn't tried before. Even better if you are on the road the next day, you can order online for a quick grab and go. 

Atlantic

Nick and I honestly had a bad experience here in a service aspect, but the food is too good not to mention. We walked to the restaurant from our Airbnb and were told the wait was 45 minutes. We told the host we were going to stay on the list, but walk back to our Airbnb to not sit in the cold and have a few drinks. We come back 20 minutes later and parties that came after us started sitting. A little annoyed, we waited longer and ordered drinks while we waited. We ended up waiting an hour and a half to be seated. The host gave us some excuse and at that point we just wanted to eat. 

We ordered the bacon wrapped dates to start. These were so good. The bacon was crisped perfectly, and the dates lost its harder texture and dissolved in your mouth. It was paired with a bleu cheese cream sauce. Nick and I were in love. For our meal, Nick got the beef tenderloin and I ordered the duck breast. The servings were small, but we also ordered a side of brussel sprouts to split. Both of our meals were tasty. We savored them even to the last bite. My duck breast has a sweet crisp on the outside and the maple glaze had hints of orange in it. It came with one half of a baby bok choy, so there wasn't much of a side. Nick's tenderloin was tender and had a strong flavor profile. It said there was bourbon but I tasted a pepercorn flavor with the dijon. His garlic mashed potatoes were so light and creamy, I was jealous of them! The brussel sprouts were a great addition. We probably would not have been filled otherwise. They had this sweet and spicy aspect going for them, and they weren't overcooked. 

Outside of the restaurant (which we saw for way too long).

The orange drink is their featured drink called Sunoco.
So good I'm trying to recreate it at home!

The Ordinary Pub

We ate here for New Year's Eve dinner. We initially had a hard time finding the restaurant on Broughton street because all there is on that level is a sign. You have to go downstairs to get there. The inside was really cool. There was a darker lighting and exposed brick throughout. It didn't feel stuffy and we could have worn jeans if we wanted to. We had great service, drinks, and meals. 

For an appetizer we got the mussels & pork belly. Nick loves mussels, and I love pork belly, so this was a great combination of our favorite things. It came in a salty creamy bleu cheese sauce with shallots and bread on the side. It was really good, but I wish there was more pork belly in it and a few more slices of bread. The appetizer was huge and we took a while to finish it.

Nick's entrée was the southern fried bison. It was greasy in a good way with a subtle kick from the pepper in the gravy. This truly was such a "him" meal. I got the short rib & kimchi. I love both of those ingredients, so I didn't really bother to look at the menu once I saw that combination. The hoisin on the short rib was thick and had a slight sweetness to it. Paired with the bacon fried rice which brought saltiness and the kimchi with some heat made a great dish. 

The stairs to get to the restaurant behind us.
I made the hostess get our picture since we usually have none from trips.

New Years Eve

There is City Market which is an area just between Riverstreet and Broughton that was closed off to vehicles. They had a huge stage with a live band playing. This is where everyone hung out in the beginning of the night and where the countdown to 2020 took place! We then went bar hopping around the area. It's so nice that Savannah is open container, too, because we weren't tied to one place trying to finish up a drink. 

If you are looking to stay in Savannah for a quick trip, there are a lot of routes you can go in regards to things you do, places to eat, and budgets. For your first time going, definitely book a tour or two to learn about the city. If you've been here more than once, try visiting Tybee or doing a cooking class in a fancy mansion. Savannah on multiple occasions can be completely different trips due to wanting to try out different experiences each time.