I was at a party last weekend and I suggested ideas for doughnut flavors. I would love to develop a recipe for a sweet tea and lemonade doughnut. More than that I wish someone would make some and offer me one. By the way, National Ice Tea Day is June 10th.
I created a Change.org petition to bring a Fleet Week to Savannah. New York and San Francisco have Fleet Week celebrations. Savannah is home to many veterans and many senior citizens, and Fleet Week would appeal to many people in the area. It would be great for tourism as well.
El-Rocko Lounge is the new hot bar in Savannah. I stopped by last Friday on its opening night. It’s retro decor and delicious cocktails are worth a visit. I had a cocktail with Campari and it was delicious. It is the type of place that I would expect to hear the entire Daptone Records catalog. El-Rocko will also host live music shows, so it is a nice addition to Whitaker Street.
My new favorite place for people watching is the Top Deck Bar at the Cotton Sail Hotel. The crowd is a mix of bachelor parties, southern belles, fancy tourists, and seersucker-wearing frat boys.
Jelinek Creative Spaces hosted Savannah Bazaar this past Saturday. It was fashion-themed with a fashion show. I took some photos.
I will be performing on May 17th at Crash Comedy at The Sentient Bean. Crash Comedy is a fun monthly comedy show of sketch comedy and storytelling.
The 100 Black Men of Savannah held a joint mixer with Urban Savannah this week, and I attended the event. It was held at The Florence which has a lovely rooftop that’s great for socializing on a spring evening.
Urban Savannah’s mission to cultivate and support black-owned businesses in the city. I met John Voner, the president of Urban Savannah last fall at GeekEnd.
The 100 Black Men of Savannah’s mission is the mentor kids, provide education support and help high school kids envision the possibility of a graduating from college. Harold Oglesby (pictured above) spoke about the need for more male mentors. BTW, tonight (April 9th) is the night of the 20th annual gala which will be at the Marriott Riverfront.
I brought my camera and took some photos of some of the attendees. There were professionals who worked for the city, attorneys, business owners and more. Everyone was super friendly. I plan to get more involved in the community this year.
This blog is a local food and culture blog. Though I may report some news, it is not nearly as good as Orange Street News. I read about the local blog and newspaper run by nine-year-old Hilde Kate Lysiak yesterday, and she has inspired me to step up my blogging.
Anyway here’s a quick round-up of local Savannah news.
There’s a new restaurant in Starland. The Vault opened a week ago to an enthusiastic and hungry audience. Bill Dawers went and he wrote his first impression.
PJ’s Thai on Abercorn has closed. I was looking at the sign when a man who’s working there told me that a new pizza place will open in the same corner spot. I hope it is not a chain restaurant.
Is the number 14 CAT bus ever going to go down Broughton Street again? Also, why would anyone park illegally in front of the bus for noontime mass at St. John The Baptist cathedral. This past Monday, a bus was pretty much stuck because of cars parked on Abercorn in front of the church. I had to get out and walk.
I overheard some business people (they were wearing ties) walking along River Street and someone said “35 to 40 on Broughton St” was talking about square rent prices for retail. If that’s the case, that would explain the recent openings of Tommy Bahamas, Club Monaco and Michael Kors.
BTW, I am an aunt again. I have a beautiful nephew that was born last week. He’s a happy spring baby.
I am picky about beer. When I was younger I used to drink Stella Artois, Blue Moon and maybe a Pilsner Urqell but now I drink mostly craft beer and I prefer IPAs. Craft beers tend to excel with IPAs in my opinion. IPAs are hoppier than other beer, and I like the taste. What is craft beer? According to the CraftBeer.com, craft beer is small, independent and traditional.
The first time I went to a microbrewery was in Cincinnati. Back in the 1990’s I would hang out at this place called Barrelhouse Brewery which was a brewery and brewpub. It was the first place where I learned how beer is made since they regularly gave brewery tours. Years later, I toured Brooklyn Brewery which is now one of the biggest craft brewers in the United States.
My third brewery tour was just a few weeks ago at Service Brewing which is craft brewery located here in Savannah. Service Brewing was founded by veteran Kevin Ryan in 2014.
“Our mission first and foremost is to make great craft beer, but we also want to give back to charities that support service”.
Not only does Service have an IPA, they brew a double IPA called Battlewagon. Know the difference between a Pale Ale, an IPA and double (Imperial) IPA.
On Friday, I got a chance to meet the staff and take a group photo of the team. They had raised money for a nonprofit that is focused on suicide prevention for soldiers. Service Brewing serves the community of Savannah, soldiers and veterans by its mission to serve others and to support others who serve. The beer is good, too.
Happy Spring! I went to the Forsyth Farmer’s Market over the weekend, and I bought some yummy produce. This morning, I use the kale and scallion to make an impromptu green and healthy casserole.
First, I added oil to the casserole dish and preheated the dish. They I added garlic, chopped onion and one banana pepper to the dish. Then I drained and rinsed one can of Northern white beans. I also chopped a few scallions and then added feta cheese, cheddar cheese and two tablespoons of heavy cream.
Then I pulled out my spices. I added black pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and oregano. I added the kale last after sauteeing the kale in water and one clove of garlic. Lastly, I had some leftover rosemary focaccia that I got from Back in The Day Bakery. I broke off a few pieces and threw them in. The result is a very delicious and inexpensive casserole that can either be a side or an entree.
The Thursday before last, I went to the first night of Savannah Stopover to see some of the up and coming bands. It was fun! I couldn’t go the other nights because I went to visit family last weekend. Other than Ra Ra Riot, I had never heard of the bands I saw. However, they were good. Ra Ra Riot headlined a show with two other bands at Ships of The Sea Museum.
First up was local Savannah band, Breakers, who sound like what would happen if surf rock met up with Joy Division and Depeche Mode. Lead singer Samford Juice has such confidence on stage. He reminds me of the lead singer of The Liars, Angus Andrew. [BTW, I saw The Liars perform at the Siren Music Festival back in either 2002 or 2003.] Anyway, the band’s pretty good.
Next up was Sun Club. Sun Club is a band from Baltimore, and the music is pop meets punk. Listen to them on Sun Club.
Then I went to Club One to see DEGA perform. With only two people, DEGA is like a downsized version of Dirty Projectors. Asyln and Kalen are based in Athens, GA. They just did a showcase at SXSW.
I did see a little bit of T.Hardy Morris at Congress St. Social Club, but not long enough. The music is alt-country rock. After the stopover, he was part of an “Athens in Austin” music showcase.
The last act I saw that night was PWR BTTM at Ampersand. PWR BTTM is a queer punk duo who do witty banter like Kiki and Herb but they play guitar and drums.
Are you going to SXSW?! I’m not but this year I get to experience some of the best up and coming bands here in Savannah. The Savannah Stopover music festival is like pre-gaming for SXSW. From March 10-12th, there will 100 bands playing in 3 days at 10 venues in downtown Savannah. This is a great showcase of indie music featuring from all over the United States and a few acts from the UK and Europe.
The best thing is that the Savannah Stopover is only $79 for a three-day pass.
Who’s playing?! When I first looked at the list, I only recognized Ra Ra Riot, Blitzen Trapper and French Horn Rebellion. Then I listened to the Savannah Stopover playlist on Soundcloud, and I realized that I have listened to some of the bands before. [Too bad I can’t fit the Shazam app on my phone.]
Everyone has ideas. Some of them are brilliant. Some of them have been done before. Some of them are dumb. Ideas are great, but the execution is what matters. Last week, I had an idea, and the reason I think it is a good one is because it can be executed easily and it is an opportunity for recycle stuff and do something good.
Loop It Up Savannah is one of the members of Jelinek Creative Spaces, a co-operative creative space for artists and entrepreneurs in Savannah. Molly Lieberman, a lady who greets everyone with a smile, is the founder of Loop It Up which creates opportunities for local kids to make art.
If you are like me, you probably have lots of beads from broken necklaces, bracelets or earring. That jewelry detritus can be donated to Loop It Up.
I am organizing a bead drive from now until April 1st. Details on how to donate are listed fully on the Beads and Bubbles LaunchRock page I created.