October 1st may have fallen on a Sunday this year, but it was no less like a national holiday at my house. My first book, Savannah Food Crawls, was officially released to the public. The book has been on some book store shelves for a week or so, but this weekend marked the point where those who ordered on Amazon.com were beginning to get theirs delivered. I know this because I fielded a number of texts and phone calls from friends very excited about their copies being delivered. As you might expect, I am excited too, but for more reasons that just the fact that my Aunt Carole in Boca Raton got hers on Sunday night.
Over the last couple of weeks, since I received my promotional copies of this book, I’ve been not only flipping through it, but discussing it with several people around town.
The natural reaction is to think this is a book targeting visitors to Savannah. Of course it is. But the more I looked through, the more I realized that this book is an excellent guide for locals too. The number of people who have lived in Savannah for years, but can’t tell you exactly where Big Bon Bodega is located is staggering. I know this because I am asked regularly by people who admittedly “don’t get downtown all that much.”
There is certainly nothing wrong with not knowing your way around downtown Savannah and/or where you can find its best eats, but that’s where I think this book fits locals as well.
A friend of mine and local concierge, Amanda Marks, was one of the first people I handed a copy to. She knows the food scene around here as well as I do. It’s her job to keep visitors updated daily. I don’t think she minds me sharing that she was more than a little excited when I brought her an advanced copy. In exchange, I wanted her honest feedback. The text she sent a week or so later was “This is awesome. It is exactly what we needed.”
I’m biased, of course, but I can’t disagree.
Yes, there have been books written about Savannah’s food scene here and there, but none have broken down the whole of downtown from River Street all the way to Victory Drive in as much detail as this does. I broke Savannah into 15 different “walk abouts” or “Crawls” and told you where you should stop and why every step of the way. I like to think this book is 3 parts food, 2 parts drink and one part history. Did you know that Savannah City Hall offers guided tours once a month for free? That and more is in this book.
I believe this book is a solid resource for locals and visitors. Not sure where to go this weekend? Once you flip through the book, you will very likely have some options to choose from. Keeping in mind that this book contains zero fine dining (my publisher didn’t allow it). It is all approachable, affordable eats and drinks throughout Savannah’s Historic District.
If you like to eat in this town and I know a lot of you do, then you should have a copy of this handy. I spoke to a small business group last week downtown. Once I explained it, they agreed. I sold every copy I had except for 2. And those sold that afternoon on-line.
You can find them at The Book Lady Downtown as well as E. Shaver. Signed copies are available here or you can get unsigned copies as well as electronic at Amazon.com
If you prefer to join us at some of our events this month, we are hosting a dinner at Pacci Italian Kitchen Sunday night October 15th and having a small book signing reception on the 18th at 208 Wine Bar. On Thursday, October 26th we will be at Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton. Details and more dates coming soon.
Thanks, as always, for your continued support.
