It’s almost time for Savannah’s Gastrogeek Week. That’s what I like to call it anyway. The 2016 Savannah Food and Wine Festival will be upon us almost by the time you finish reading this column. We’ve been talking about it for months, but the time has come. There will be a whole lot of Eating and Liking going on next week across the city. Big ticket dinners and lower end ticket dinners. Every year, no matter how often I beat the drum, I inevitably get 2 or 3 phone calls from people asking me what event they should attend. This time, I thought I’d write up some of my personal hot picks for the week. Great food and a great value. Plus you can use our promo code for a nice discount. We’ll get to that in a bit.
Taste of Savannah -Georgia Railroad Museum
I decided to start at the end of the week and work my way backwards. If you attended Taste of Savannah last year, then you know it was an absolute home run. The weather was custom fit by Joe Marinelli and his staff at Visit Savannah. Seriously, it could not have been a better day. There was a great, friendly crowd, fantastic food from some of our city’s best spots and enough beer and spirit samples to keep a smile on anyone’s face. I’ve said it before in this space and I will say it again just in case you were out of the room. 2015 Taste of Savannah was the best food-related event this city has ever seen. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of its follow up performance? Tickets are a very reasonable $59.00.
Q Masters Chefs and Vets -Service Brewing
This is a new event, so it isn’t getting the buzz that, frankly, it should be getting. Friday night, November 11th (Veterans Day evening) BBQ Masters from across the South will be part of a street takeover out in front of Service Brewing Company downtown Savannah. The names are significant. Southern Soul BBQ from St. Simons Island, Bryan Furman from B’s Cracklin BBQ. Savannah’s Michael and Laurence Gottlieb, Kevin and Kent Rathbun from Atlanta and many many more. I don’t know if he is going to serve them, but Kevin Rathbun’s Coca Cola Ribs are some of the finest you will ever put in your mouth. It’s going to be a Friday night party out in front of Service Brewing. All you can eat BBQ and Service Beers for $59.00? Great BBQ isn’t inexpensive. This is a great deal.
Secret Savannah Speakeasy – Georgia Railroad Museum
It would be easy to say that I am biased about this event because Eat It and Like It is one of the sponsors, but the truth is it was great in year one last year and promises to be better in year two. It was everything we had hoped for last year. A great party tucked back into a corner of the railroad museum. At night. The scene was great. The music was equally so. Flapper dresses and other period attire certainly make it a little more fun, but it isn’t required. We had a lot of people dress the part last year and the food by local favorites Circa 1875, The Florence and the brand new Kitchen 320 (which is wonderful) are part of the line up this year. Beer and spirits tastings all night long as well. This will be the best night time ‘party’ of the week. That’s a fact. $85.00 and worth every penny.
Celebrity Chef Dinner -Cohen’s Retreat
I make a big deal out of this event every single year for a very good reason. It is one of the best dinners of the week. It was last year at any rate. The James Beard Foundation is behind this event so the talent is fantastic. In the past we’ve had Southern culinary icons Hugh Acheson and Kevin Gillespie and many more. This year we have a couple of chefs from New Orleans, another from Memphis and some local talent as well. Including local favorite Lauren Teague, formerly of 22 Square and about to launch a new venture with Atlantic on Victory and Drayton in Savannah.
Obviously there are many many more events to enjoy. Chef Hugh is heading up an event at The Florence Monday night to raise money for a children cause he is passionate about and there are several wine tastings and classes throughout the week. There is plenty of everything for everyone. Just remember to enjoy responsibly. Now, about that promo code. Any of the tickets we’ve talked about, you can save 15 percent off of by using our promo code EatIt15. That includes the very popular combo tickets as well. Most of those are sold out already, but that is really the best way to save money on all the events. Take a $99 ticket to two events and save 15 bucks. Now you have two for 85. Which in some cases is the price of one.
See you on TV,
Jesse
