The Olde Pink House - Savannah, GA

I know the conventional wisdom. Dining out on a holiday can be a sucker's bet. I don't disagree. When you travel for the holidays like we do, well, all bets are necessarily off; you have to eat somewhere. Couple that with the short list of places that are even open on a major holiday and the odds are decidedly not in your favor. Usually. The Olde Pink House tipped that conventional wisdom on its head. The food was fabulous.

The dining room was really lovely. The understated decorations made it even prettier.

The Dining Companion and I had an early reservation and the dining room was still quiet when we arrived.

The Olde Pink House offered a prix fixe Christmas menu. The nice thing about it was the number of choices we had.

 

There were a few drink selections on offer. So we started off with a cocktail. I went with the Pink Lady and the Dining Companion had the Planters Punch.

Pink Lady

Planters Punch

With drinks in hand we took a few minutes to look over the menu. Our server delivered a bread basket to enjoy while we decided.

Corn muffins, yeast rolls and biscuits.

 There was so much to chose from.

For starters we went with the Fried Pork Belly and the Roasted Corn Chowder. Both were very good but the Pork Belly won the appetizer round. It was just about perfect.

Fried Pork Belly, sweet potato puree and fried collard greens. I mean come on!

Roasted corn chowder with Neuske's bacon and a lobster beignet

On to mains and yet more choices...

I decided on the Crab Stuffed Shrimp and the Dining Companion had the Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop. The shrimp dish was great. Nice flavors, everything worked. But, but...that pork chop. It was fantastic. Really. Some of the best pork I've had anywhere.

Crab stuffed Georgia white shrimp, spinach & andouille sausage risotto with lemon buerre blanc.

Grilled Kurobuta pork chop, butternut squash puree brussel sprouts, caramelized shallots and Gala apple sauce - Incredible!

Finally we got to dessert and once again there were many great choices.

We had the Eggnog Cheesecake and the Pink Velvet Cake.

Eggnog Cheesecake

Pink Velvet Cake

The Olde Pink House definitely was not phoning it in for the holiday. They way exceeded my expectations. So much so that if I'm in Savannah again I plan to return there for dinner. If what we had was any indication we'll be in for a treat.

 Happy dining!

River House Seafood - Savannah, Georgia

The Dining Companion and I usually travel for the holidays and this past year was no exception. We spent the Christmas holiday in Savannah.

There is an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. With a nod to that tradition we headed to River House Seafood for an early Christmas Eve dinner.

The River House is located on historic River Street. A cobbled thoroughfare that wends its way between converted former cotton warehouses and the Savannah River. The street is lined with antique shops, boutiques, galleries, pubs, restaurants and hotels. It's a touristy area filled with enough unique places to keep us coming back.

One of the things that the River House is known for is a signature drink, the Chatham Artillery Punch. The drink is named after the Chatham Artillery; the oldest military organization of record in Georgia.

Chatham Artillery Punch

 We sipped one while we looked over the menu.

We were there for seafood so we started with the Local Blue Crab Dip. Warm and cheesy and brimming with crab. We were off to a good start.

LOCAL BLUE CRAB DIP - parmesan cream sauce with house made flour tortilla  chips

The Dining Companion knew what he was going to order when we sat down. He was there for the shrimp and crawfish etouffe. It was delicious.

SHRIMP & CRAWFISH ETOUFFE - Rich & spicy tomato based roux mixed with crawfish meat & shrimp served over cornbread

I went back and forth but in the end I had the shrimp and grits. So good.

SHRIMP AND STONE GROUND GRITS a local favorite with country ham and roasted tomatoes in a butter reduction sauce, served over parmesan grits

While we didn't technically have "seven fishes" our dinner felt enough in the spirit of the tradition for me. We all have our own traditions; some we inherit, some we make up. Wherever they come from the best part of a tradition is sharing it with others.

Whatever your own holiday traditions may be I hope you got to enjoy them and share them with the people you love.
 

Happy traveling! 

Christmas in Dixie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everyone had a great holiday (whichever one you celebrate!) and a very happy New Year.

I took a few weeks off from the blog. Well, to be honest it was more than a few. Thanks to everyone who stopped by while I was away!

The Dining Companion and I (and the 4lb-Wonder!) spent the recent holiday in Savannah. We spent the time doing what we do; walking, dining, drinking and shopping.

And due to some awesome weather we spent time outside in the sunshine. Of the three of us the 4lb-Wonder enjoyed the weather the most. She took every opportunity to drag the Dining Companion outside.

Thanks again for checking us out. Stay tuned for some Savannah dining fun. We enjoyed seafood on Christmas Eve, ate Christmas dinner in a colorful and some say haunted, old house and wound the whole thing up with burgers and beer.

Happy holidays and Happy New Year from our corner of the world to yours!*

*I may have just used up 2016's whole allotment of exclamation points. Oh well, in for a penny!!!

So long 2013 and thanks for the memories...

I had it in mind to do a list of the HappiTraveler highlights for 2013. This won't be a top 10 list exactly but please indulge me while I take a look back at the past twelve months.


Well, for starters, the Dining Companion and I spent time in four different parts of the country in 2013. Lots of moving hither and yon without a lot of downtime. That's actually a good thing but makes for a very hectic year.

Finally got out to the West Coast to visit family for a few days of laughter and fun. We enjoyed our visit to California and look forward to getting back there. Much fun was had by all.

Also got to visit my East Coast family. The trip became a whirlwind when airline delays lopped over a day off of the trip. It was a super quick trip but we had a great time.

This is also the year I finally ate, what for me, was the best BBQ in the country. I have no doubt.

We ate a lot of good food. Not all of it was great but we landed on that side more often than not. Some of it was even memorable. (see BBQ mentioned above)

 And last but not least we got a dog. She's a great traveler, a must in this family, and has brought more happiness to us than we could have thought possible.

We feel blessed and thankful for everything. Including the ups and downs, the high and lows and all of the in betweens we had in 2013.

I hope your coming year is filled with Health, Happiness and Prosperity and all of the people and things that bring you joy.

Happy 2014!

Note: We visited the San Jacinto monument this week. I'll be posting about that coming up.

Happy Holidays

Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and a belated Happy Hanukkah from the HappiTraveler family. The Dining Companion and I wish you Peace, Health and Prosperity in the New Year.

May the return of the light find you blessed with all of the things that make you happy and fill your hearts with love.

The happiest of travels to you and yours.

2013!

Happy New Year everyone! My wish for you all is a healthy, happy and prosperous 2013! Be safe and have a wonderful evening... (Next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled programing)