Savannah Day 2 - Belford's, Architectural Tour and the Olde Pink House!

After a great first day we were looking forward to what our second day would bring.  On Saturday we made reservations (or attempted to) for Sunday brunch at Belford's right in City Market - a couple of blocks of shopping and restaurant in the historic district.

Belford's Patio Area

Arriving on the early side we were lucky enough to grab a table for brunch under the large awning on the patio.  While it was warm, there was plenty of shade and ceiling fans circulating the air, making for a lovely time.  We thought we were going to a champagne brunch but those tricky Georgia state laws prevent any liquor service before 12:30pm on Sundays, so it was just straight brunch for us!
When I saw baked brie on the menu, I jumped right on it.  Not very southern, but it was calling my name!

Baked Brie

 The baked brie was yummy, and the puff pastry was nice and flaky.  The spreads really made this dish, though.  The honey was from the Savannah Bee Company, which is absolutely amazing.  So good, in fact, that we actually stopped off at the store and brought home some souvenirs!  Nick got the Blue Crab Frittata.

Frittata and Grits

The frittata was an open faced omelet with blue crab meat, roasted corn salsa and Cheddar cheese.  This dish had some good crab chunks, but after the grits from last night, these seemed a bit elementary - still delicious, though.

After brunch we had an Architectural Tour scheduled, one of the few things we had scheduled before we got down there.  The tour received all sorts of amazing reviews on Trip Advisor, and after reading up on the tour and finding out that it was a 90 minute walk around the city, we figured why not!

The owner/guide is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design and is a knowledgeable fan of the city, and we met him in the center of the city in Chippewa Square, right next to Oglethorpe's (the founder of Georgia) statue.

Chippewa Square

Among some of the great things we saw/learned was the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (the founder of the girl scouts!)

Scouts Started Here

And the Davenport House, which is a perfect example of a Federalist-style house.

Davenport House

Other places included the Kehoe House - all of the white and gray portions are actually rod iron!

Kehoe House

One of my favorite was the Owens-Thomas House, a part of the Telfair museums.

Owens-Thomas House

This was one of the best things we did all weekend.  It was a great tour of the city by someone who really knows and loves where they are.  We really learned a ton and actually enjoyed the process!

That night we had reservations at the The Olde Pink House, which is literally in an old pink house right on Reynold's Square.

The Olde Pink House

The restaurant is only the most recent of tenants in this house: it has held secret meetings that helped secure the original independence, it was a bank for planters, and a General's headquarters during the Civil War to name only a few uses.  We sat in a smaller room upstairs that was originally the master bedroom of the house.  Each room was decorated like you were sitting in a house rather than a restaurant - almost like the original L'Espalier or Mama Maria's.

I started the evening with a refreshing raspberry vodka lemonade drink.

Yum

I could have continued drinking these for the entire evening, but still wanting to enjoy and remember the evening, one was enough!  To begin our meal he had a bread basket with a variety of fun breads, including a warm yeast roll with sea salt and rosemary, corn muffins and biscuits.

Southern Bread Basket

The bread was really amazing - the yeast bread has such a great flavor.  The corn muffins were definitely not Jiffy!

For an appetizer, I just could not resist ordering the “Southern Sushi,” which had smoked shrimp and grits rolled in coconut-crusted nori. 

Southern Sushi

This was such a fun, playful dish - a great combination of flavors.  When I dipped the roll in the wasabi sauce it added a nice spice to each bite.

Nick had heard about this restaurant was told to get fried green tomatoes, so he chose the BLT salad, which used fried greens, applewood bacon and a sweet corn cream over greens.  The salad was delicious - Nick thought the tomatoes were perfectly cooked, and that the thick bacon was some of the best he had ever tasted.

BLT Salad

While I only had one of the first type of drinks, I had to try the raspberry martini - the puree and the fresh berries were just too tempting.

Martini

This drink did not disappoint!  For entrees, Nick had a pork tenderloin with bourbon sauce that was served with collard greens and a yam with vanilla butter.

Pork Tenderloin

I ordered the crab-stuffed grouper with a white wine lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and mixed beans.

Stuffed Grouper

I haven't had grouper in a long time, so I was excited to order this, especially since it was stuffed with crab.  The fish was well cooked and moist.  The two types of flavors worked well together and made each one even better.

While we were completely stuffed, we had to order dessert and went with the pecan pie.

Pecan Pie

The pie was also cooked with a chocolate, adding a whole other layer of deliciousness.

The Olde Pink House was a great restaurant and a bit more fancy, making for a great night out on the town.  Perfect for our Easter Dinner!

Day 2 was another success - we really got a better feeling for the city and learned the lay of the land.  We were not looking forward to having to go home the next day, but were ready for a hearty lunch at Paula Deen's - saving some of the best for last!