I’m sure there are a lot of you who can hardly believe it, but the lonnggggggg anticipated opening of The Darling Oyster Bar in Savannah appears to be on final approach. How do we know? They are hiring. They listed their openings late Summer and have been going through that process since then. Fair to say their doors will open at some point this Fall. Yes, finally. We are looking forward to it.

Oktoberfest activities are underway on both sides of the Savannah River. They started last week, but some of the largest haven’t happened yet, including the very popular Weiner Dog Races on the River. See the full list here.

We’ve also made up a lists of other food-centric events this Fall to include the popular Greek Food Festival and Jewish Food Festival known as Shalom Y’all. See that full list here.

Rocky’s of Savannah NY Deli is hosting their San Genaro in the South Festival once again on October 18th. Bill has made that into a very popular event down in Sandfly. They’ll feature some Italian street food including Sausage and Peppers, Homemade Zeppole, a Cannoli eating contest and a lot more. It will run 11am-3pm on the 18th. Look em up.

If you missed it late August, Savannah newest Italian restaurant, Lucia Pasta Bar opened in the Starland District. It is owned by Pizzeria Vittoria owner Kyle Jacovino. It’s a project nearly a decade in the making and finally a reality. The food is fabulous and yes, you can even get some of their pizzas at the restaurant previously only available outdoors at Starland Yard. Check out our quick write up about Lucia here.

Meanwhile, the list of new spots that will open here in Savannah is getting longer and longer. Some we can talk about, others we cannot just yet. They include Garden on the Square, a cocktail and small bites space adjacent to Brochu’s Family Tradition in Starland and FishBar, also in Starland on Bull Street. The latter project should have been ready to go already, but some issues with ventilation have caused the delay.

Daniel Reed Hospitality has announced plans for a Spanish Tapas concept on Liberty Street near Bull in the heart of Savannah’s Historic District. The space will be called SELA and will be ‘inspired by European All Day Cafe’s” I’m picturing Charleston’s Malagón. If it is anything close to that, we are in for a treat. We’ll keep you posted.

Savannah’s 208 Wine Bar has applied for a full liquor license. If all goes well on October 9th, Christina hopes to be pouring on the 10th. I had a great chat with her for our Eat It and Like It Podcast. You can read it or hear it all here.

And oh by the way, that we’ve been dropping episodes for that podcast weekly, sometimes 2 episodes a week. They are conversations with the people who make the food scene go around here….to include Savannah, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island. You can find them on Apple Pods and Spotify. Soon on Youtube as well.

If you had told me in the Fall of 2011 that we’d still be producing a very popular television show in this market in 2025, I’d have laughed you out of the room. In 2014, the food scene took off around here and neither I nor said food scene have looked back since. Season sixteen of Eat It and Like It with Jesse Blanco rolls out this weekend. 12:30pm Sundays on WJCL-TV. Set your VCR machine. We cover the food scene on both sides of the Savannah River like few can or will around here.

Circa 1875, Downtown Savannah’s very popular French Brasserie on Whitaker Street has sold. Co-Owners Donald Lubowicki and Jeffery Downey opened the space 18 years ago and turned it into one of Savannah’s go-to spots. It remains so to this day. They have no other plans. “After 46 years in the business, we are retiring.” Congratulations to both for a hell of a run including their service to this community.

Plenty of doings South of the Border if that is of interest to you (we are talking Florida, not Mexico)

Whiskey Wine and Wildlife is a very popular food festival coming to Vilano Beach, Florida on Nov 7-9th. It is a wonderful weekend on the beach about 10 minutes from the heart of Old Town St. Augustine. See more here.

To that end, I recorded a podcast about the tiny village of Vilano Beach a few weeks back after a visit. If you like to avoid touristy spots and live out of the way dives and slices of Old Florida, you should invest 11 minutes and give it a listen. Find it here.

We’ll have much more from Florida on the podcast weekly. Very much looking forward to that.

Of course, you can keep up with all of it by signing up for our newsletter. Once a week, every Thursday. No spam. That’s a promise. You can sign up at the bottom of the homepage of this here website.

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