Thanks to all who joined us for this week’s episode of Eat It and Like It with Jesse Blanco. It was a departure from the normal kind of thing around here, but still great to see and meet the people that make your dining experiences what they are, right? Truth be told, we came up with the idea to do this episode back in 2017 when we kept hearing people refer to Eat It and Like It as a ‘restaurant review TV show.’
That offended me, because if you are a regular viewer, then you know that isn’t the case. We’ve got a show coming up on food for your pets. Hey, they are members of the family, right? They get to Eat It and Like It as well.
But I digress.
If you wanted to go back and learn a little more about the people we introduced you to Sunday morning, here they are in the order they appeared on the show.
Jean Lockhart – The Cotton Exchange Tavern – “Mean” Jean Lockhart makes one of the best Bloody Mary’s in Savannah. Ask any local. She got the nickname after a heated argument years ago with a boss. He backed down and followed up with “You’re mean!” She will tell you now, she can be, but she is generally one of those best kept secrets that visitors flock to upon checking in to their hotel. Year after year after year. Try the crab chowder. Yes, it is that good.
Lanease Washington – The DeSoto Savannah We found out about Lanease after a particularly rough day in the kitchen at The DeSoto. No shame there, everyone has them. Every. Single. Kitchen in the world has them. Well, turns out, “Ms. Lanease” offered a manager a hug in order to allow everyone to get a better handle on the situation. 36 years she’s been the voice of reason in that kitchen. Steady as she goes without ever a complaint. Well, except for that time in 2001 when a chef wanted her to hand squeeze a whole box of oranges for juice. She quit over it. The next day, they begged her to come back. She’s glad she did.
Charlie Wentway – Garibaldi’s Cafe – Classic restaurant. Classic bar. Classic bartender. Charlie has been behind the bar at Garibaldi’s for 13 glorious years. Hard to find a bartender in the same spot in this town. As a result, he has a huge following. Everyone knows Charlie. Everyone loves Charlie. The kind of bartender that will anticipate everything you need that evening. Here’s my funny Charlie Wentway story that we didn’t share in the show.
A few years ago, I was a banquet where Charlie was honored as a member of the tourism community. The kind of person who makes life easier for the visitors to Savannah. Well that night, he invited me to come in and try one of his brand new “PB&J Martinis.” Sounded very interesting. I promised to stop by.
Before I was able to do so, I mentioned in my column for the Savannah Morning News that Charlie was offering a brand new PB&J Martini. I described it as Peanut Butter and Jelly. Isn’t that what PB&J is to you? It is to me.
About 3 months later, I finally made it in to see Charlie for that Peanut Butter and Jelly Martini. Charlie was off the night I walked in, but I found out there was a tiny problem a few months earlier when I dropped that nugget in the paper.
Charlie’s ‘new drink’ he invited me to try was Pineapple, Basil and Jalapeno, not Peanut Butter and Jelly. He called it PB&J (I guess because it is) but imagine his surprise when he had a ton of people showing up his bar looking for peanut butter and jelly? Crisis averted he says. He was forced to create a new martini on the spot. Let the record reflect, if you ever use the term PB&J to describe anything, it’s peanut butter and jelly. And nothing else.
To watch the episode again, click here.
See you on TV,
Jesse
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