More Fried Chicken Skin, Please...

Brent and I took off on a little trip this weekend because 1.) it was my birthday and I am the May Queen, 2.) Direct flights out of Cincinnati to Charleston were super cheap, and 3.) There is a lot of good food to be had in Georgia's Low Country and it was high-time I got my hands on some of it. So...we packed our elastic-waisted pants into a couple carry-ons and headed for Savannah!

I won't lie...the main objective of this weekend trip was eating. Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House, The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant), and Elizabeth on 37th were in 1,000 Places to See in the U.S. and Canada and I really wanted to try them all.

Mrs. Wilkes' is only open Monday through Friday from 11:00-2:00, and since our flight was delayed we didn't get in line until 1:15 Friday and were about the last people allowed in the restaurant at 2:01. Perfect timing, Delta...phew!

It's a one-room restaurant with 4 big tables - two 8-seaters and two that hold 12. When you're shooed into the building, you sit down to bowl after bowl of straight-up Southern food. A platter of hot fried chicken was passed and there was another platter piled with the best biscuits ever to melt in my mouth. Excellent. I could have left after this and been a happy woman.

But instead of leaving, we ate some more. That night we tried the Chart House, a seafood place on Bay Street across from our hotel. We waited the extra time to get a table outside on the river and were pleased with the food and atmosphere. Two for two.

The next morning we got in line at Paula Deen's to place our reservation with the outside hostess. Here's how it works - to be guaranteed a spot you have to get in line at 9:30 a.m. and tell the hostess what time you want to eat. Then you have to come back 15 minutes prior to your time and wait across the street for your name to be called. Ohhhhhkay....sounds pretty precious, eh? We did this, and after our name was called we were assigned to a floor of the restaurant and then assigned a card with the type of table we would occupy. Floor 3, high-top bar table in case you're interested. We were then shooed into an elevator and finally, finally were seated at our chosen table. Wow. What a process.

Here we all are, waiting with great anticipation for our names to be called from the other side of the street...

Here's where this story gets scandalous, so hang on. I headed up to the buffet to see what all this fuss was about. What I found was your classic Southern fare - fried chicken, potatoes, grits, beans, collard greens, etc. Okay, fine, great. What I tasted next you will never, never guess...

I tried the chicken...yum! I tried the grits...fine, not great. The beans...eh. The hoe cakes...great! The cheddar biscuits...Red Lobster's are better. And when I tried the potatoes................

INSTANT!

Paula Deen serves instant potatoes at her famed restaurant where people go through all that rigamaroll to sit down and eat lunch! Shameful. I would write a letter, but broadcasting this on the internet is probably enough. And trust me, I'm sure they were instant. I know my way around a pile of mashed potatoes.

The sweet tea was good though. I drank about 3 gallons last weekend. I'm in sweet tea detox this week.

In news unrelated to eating...

Here's a shout-out to my Methodist peeps! John Wesley founded Methodism in Savannah.

And here's a shout-out to my Illinios peeps! You all know you love Casimir Pulaski on that one day each year when you don't have to go to school...

The Mercer House from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

The fountain at Forsythe Park

Outside of Elizabeth's on the night of my birthday. Best....meal...ever. Even better than Mrs. Wilkes'.

On Sunday we went to Tybee Island on our way up to Charleston. We had eaten enough in Savannah and decided it was time for a new scene. We soaked up some rays on the beach, because we are both so good at that. In truth, my SPF 70 suncreen was so thick I think I all but ruined my black leather purse from my suncreen rubbing off on it. Waaaaa-waaaaa.

Here's The Crab Shack on Tybee, where Savannah's "Elite eat in their barefeet". I bet they could also have one of those feet snapped off by one of the many alligators on the property. You can feed them for $3. Pretty wild place.

Does this guy remind you of anyone? "Dude, get your exit buddy!" I've got my 20th glass of sweet tea in hand.

We visited Drayton Hall, an old plantation outside of Charleston on Sunday. Kind of a disappointment, but neat nonetheless.

One of the many beautiful homes in the historic district of Charleston.

My 26th birthday was great! The May Queen is satisfied and it's now time to put away the phrase "It's my birthday month!" Until next year....