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!

Savannah Day 1 - Alligator Soul and Rocks on the Roof

I have been very bad about posting the past couple of days, but I have the legitimate excuses of being in Savannah for a long weekend followed by travel delays (thanks, United Airlines).  The wait is worth the reward, though, because I have tales to tell with tips on where to go when you head to Savannah, which you all (y'all?) should!

We stayed at the Marshall House, located right in the middle of the Historic District of Savannah. 

The Marshall House

"Panzanella" Salad - a great weekday go-to for any season

Panzanella Salad is something that Nick got me into when he and I started dating.  When we would make a salad to go with dinner at home, every time the meal ended and we were just sitting and talking we always picked around the lettuce and went straight for the croutons, carrots and cucumbers (who needs dessert?!)  After awhile, Nick enlightened me by introducing me to salads made without lettuce - who knew?  Turns out, he was well versed in the Panzanella salad universe because he made these quite a bit in college.  Overtime, this has become one of our go-to dishes when we want a light but satisfying meal.

Almost Ready!

Traditional Panzanella salad has stale bread soaked in water and squeezed dry, tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper - if the Italians were feeling crazy they would add onions and basil.  I've also seen recipes with raw bell peppers.  Not being a fan of a lot of these ingredients, we just basically took the idea of stale bread and a lettuce-free salad and ran with it!

Ricotta-Spinach Tacos - A Taco of a Different Color

Marathon Meatless Monday was upon us, and since I unfortunately do not get the day off, Nick was willing to step in and find a new recipe, shop and cook all on his day off - I am a lucky girl!  Meatless Mondays can be tough just because it really does force you to look outside your comfort zone for meals.  Not really having a go-to meat or fish protein to serve as the base of your meal makes it difficult to narrow down where to even start!  Luckily, Nick keeps a giant binder of recipes that he's either printed out online or found in old magazines.  Inside, he found a recipe for Ricotta Spinach Tacos from an old Food Network Magazine, so we were good to go.

The Necessities...

• 8 ounces of ricotta
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 white onion sliced into 1/2 inch thick rings
• 2 4-ounce cans sliced green chile peppers, drained
• 2 bunches of fresh spinach (about 1 pound) stemmed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 8-12 corn tortillas
• Kosher Salt
• Salsa Verde for serving

First step (as always in the In and Around Town household), the ingredients were prepped.

Sliced onion

City Table at the Lenox Hotel

In celebration of my engagement, my friends MR, AM and I headed over to City Table at the Lenox Hotel.  Both MR and AM were not sure where to go, but both somehow landed on City Table, and I was more than excited to try out a new place!  Having been to City Bar a few times I was curious to see what else the Lenox Hotel had to offer.

When we sat down we had to take quite a bit of time to review the cocktail list.  There were was such an amazing variety of options.  Sometimes I feel like a menu will be mostly gin or vodka, but not here: they had everything!  AM and I chose the to start with the Cool Hand Cuke, which had cucumber vodka, blackberries and pomagrante juice.

Cool Hand Cuke

This quickly has become my new favorite drink!  It was to die for - not too sweet, and the alcohol was not at all overpowering.  The cucumber vodka was refreshing, and then at the end you had some plump, vodka soaked blackberries to scoop out and enjoy.  If you go to City Table you MUST order this drink! 

MR ordered the Mango Mule, which had vodka, mango puree, ginger beer, and lime juice.

Mango Mule

Lemon Rosemary Pork Medallions - a test with the other white meat!

Once again I was in need of a new recipe and I turned to Williams Sonoma Cooking at Home for inspiration.  I wanted to do something different so I went for a recipe using the other white meat - PORK!  While there were a couple of recipes that looked interesting, I decided to make the pork medallions with lemon and rosemary.

The Ingredients