Southern Style Sunday: Taste of Savannah
This past weekend I had the unique pleasure of visiting one of my favorite Southern cities, Savannah, GA, for the express purpose of tasting a vast array of fine wines and gourmet food offerings from local restaurants and vendors.
There was “Irish” ice cream from Daddy O’s-the “Caramel Crunch” flavor was even more fantastic than the vendor’s personality!
There was a great amount of emphasis placed on the farm-to-table movement at the festival. Vendors, like this woman above, were demonstrating how to prepare healthy meals built on locally sourced ingredients.
Out of all of the wines that I tasted over the weekend, I particularly liked the muscadine varietals from Still Pond Winery. The reds were on the sweeter side, though not excessively so, and would pair perfectly with fall cuisine.
While being a strict vegetarian significantly lessened my culinary options in a land where shrimp and grits and fried chicken reign supreme, Paula Deen’s roasted root veggies were absolutely delectable and more than made up for the limited selection.
There were also these energizing cold-pressed juice shots, that I’m pretending counterbalanced some of the damage done this weekend.
The Taste of Savannah event at the Savannah Food and Wine Festival not only fully delivered on both ends, it also provided several intimate demonstrations where I was able to learn cooking tips and techniques from some of the region’s most acclaimed chefs like one of my personal favorites, Hugh Acheson. Acheson talked about how simple, yet vital, cooking from scratch can be. He stressed the use of seasonal, local ingredients, texture, plating, and really caring about the food that you are preparing. In spite of his incredible success, he was remarkably funny and nonchalant throughout the demonstration, and afterwards when I got to talk with him for a little bit about his cooking philosophy.
The Taste of Savannah was an event that truly allowed me to see how vast and varied the quintessential Southern cuisine actually is, and how much of an emphasis is placed on sustainable habits that benefit communities and the environment on multiple levels. The event was the epitome of Southern leisure; everyone appeared to be fully enjoying themselves as they were strolling along the historic Ellis and Johnson Squares, and taking in the crisp, sunny afternoon in the heart of the beautiful city. It was definitely a glass-half-full kind of day.
