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Savannah Restaurant
Week Is Here!
The deals are back in town! The second annual Savannah Restaurant Week is about to kick off, Jan. 28-Feb. 6 with 3-course-for-$30 menus from participating restaurants.
The final line-up is not complete, but also expect some lunch deals and bargain priced upgrades to the 3-for-$30 menu.
Participants include Alligator Soul. Ruth's Chris Steak House, Belford's, Kao Thai Noodles & Rice, Rocks on the River, Vic's on the River, 17 Hundred 90, Chart House, River House Seafood, Corleone's Trattoria and Sugar Daddy's Wine and Food Bar.
To view the menus, go online.
Next Week In In the coming issue of Connect Savannah you'll get teh 411 on my lunch gang's visit to Asian Buffet on Eisenhower Drive. A little something for everyone is the rule of the house!
Even if favorite team didn't make it to Super Bowl XLV, that doesn't mean you can't use the gridiron match-up as a reason to party! I offer a course-by-course recommendation for your beer and wine selections. Click here to see the archives and read the coming issue.
Sol: New Menu & Pricing
Sol's new owners, Andrea and Bill Johnson, and their chef, Aaron Doyle, have released a new menu for the popular Habersham Street eatery.
Some Southwestern aspects of the original menu were retained, but this menu is an exploration of international cuisines - Indian, Southeast Asian and contemporary American.
Menu prices have also taken a nose dive. Only one entree tops $12 - and there are plenty of choices in the $5-$7. I've been tasting wines with Andrea for weeks, and can assure you that she has assembled a new wine list that is approachable - with your palate and your wallet. I think you'll see frequent turnover of the list to keep it fresh and interesting.
Hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 5 p.m. - until. 1611 Habersham St., 912.232.1874.
Plan Ahead for Savannah Wine & Food Experience
This popular charity event is back -- set aside Sunday, Feb. 27, 5-8 p.m..
The tasting of more than 156 wines and food samples from a growing list of Savannah area chefs and restaurants will be held at Savannah Tech on White Bluff Road.
Proceeds will benefit the wounded and their families of the Hunter Army Airfield 75th Ranger Regiment Association.
Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Johnnie Ganem Package Shop, both locations of Habersham Beverage, Jeff's Beverage Depot, Coastal Beverage Warehouse, Whitemarsh Beverage and Largo Superstore.
For more information, call 912.980.5050.
Cake It Away Offers Custom Cakes, Baked Goods
I'm happy to see my long time friend Valerie Dixon spreading her wings and following her passion.
For more than 20 years, Valerie was the person who provided the cool cakes we ate at employee gatherings and at her own family functions. Now, she's goin' big time with her own company, Cake It Away.
She has a beautiful portfolio of wok on herwebsite.
Consultations are by appointment only, which can be made by using the contact form or e-mail address on the website. You may also call for an appointment, 912.272.7303.
Congrats Valerie!
Join Me For
Wine & Chocolate
The Feb. 8 edition of Tuesday with Tim in Ruth's Chris Steak House Wine Cellar will showcase a trio of wines paired with gourmet chocolates from Wright Square Cafe.
All three chocolates are hand made by the cafe's chocolatier -- who will be present to talk about chocolate and the candy making process.
We will sample three wines: Elio Perrone Bigaro Rose - 50% Muscato 50% Brachetto; Ca De Medici Lambrusco Rosso; and seductively luscious Merlot from Napa Valley's Swanson Vineyards.
I personally selected the wines and the chocolate pairings from a tasting with cafe partner Gary Hall. Consider this evening a prelude to romantic Valentine's Day surprise!
Call Ruth's Chris for reservations, $20 pp++, 912.721.4800.
Savannahfoodie.com and savannahfoodie.com Tastings are trademarked properties and contain copyrighted material that may not be reproduced or distributed without express written permission of
Tim A. Rutherford (C) 2010.
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Far Niente Family Wine Dinner Friday, Feb. 4. 6:30 p.m., Aqua Star, Five wines, four courses, $75++ per person. Call now for reservations, 912.201.2085 The Aqua Star staff invites you to join them for one of the most spectacular wines dinners yet - and to get a sneak peek at exciting  new changes that have been made in the restaurant.
The evening kicks off in the redecorated Aqua Bar with Scharffenberger Sparkling Brut. Empire Distributor's Director of Wine and award-winning sommelier, Eric Crane, is returning to again share stories of the wineries and will help us discover the fine wines of the Far Niente family.
Chef Roger Michel will start the night's culinary adventure by showcasing the preparation of one of the evening's dishes in the newly enhanced demo kitchen. The rest of the evening is bound to be a  treat as you sip the great wines from the Far Niente Family Vineyards and savor four fantastic dishes.
The menu is: First Course Large hollow Blue Point oysters and red cabbage marmalade served with a champagne sauce
Second Course Lobster aspic and caviar with cauliflower cream
Entree
Braised veal shank with sweet garlic tomato compote
Hand rolled potato and spinach dumplings
Dessert
Souffl� glace with Grande Chartreuse verte |
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Bits and Pieces...
A Pair of Wine Experiences at Noble Fare
On Monday Feb. 7, the restaurant hosts Chaim Gur-Arieh from
C.G. di Arie . Chaim is known worldwide as the developer of such classics as Captain Crunch Cereal and Hidden Valley Ranch dressings. Today he is all about the wine - and you'll get to experience that skill at this dinner.
On Thursday Feb. 17, Adam Lazarre is back. Adam is wine maker for Lazarre, Fat Monk,Villa San-Juliette. He produces some world class wines - and is a storyteller in the first degree!
Both dinners begin at 6:30 p.m. and are priced at $99++ per person. Call now for reservations, 912.443.3210.
Oyster Lovers Have A Friend At Westin Savannah Harbor
These first of the month oyster roasts are Westin Savannah Harbor have become a popular destination for guests of the hotel -- and scores of your friends and neighbors.
Admission is free -- to listen to live music or view First Friday on the Savannah Waterfront fireworks. Oysters and beer are priced by the bucket (if memory serves, $15 for a bucket of oysters) -- and there are plenty of other grilled goodies and libations available on an ala carte menu.
Casual, fun and a mini vacation await at this world-class resort -- just across the river. The next roast is Friday, Feb. 4, 7-10 p.m.. The band is MoanJam.
For more information, call 912.201.2000.
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A Modern Cheese Knife From The 1940s
Little did I know when I was shooting annual reports and training stills for General Electric Plastics in the early 1990s that its Ultem plastic had been the basis for what has become my favorite cheese knife.
 Harold Joseph Fairchild had discovered the amazing properties of Ultem in the 1940s. The cheese knife was created in the early part of that decade by Fairchild at his firm, Fairchild Engineering, and was designed specifically to cut his favorite cheese, Velveeta, so that it would not stick to the knife. Fancy cheeses were not existent in this country and if they were, most of us could not afford them.
Fairchild designed "military devices" for the US Government during WWII. He was a grad of Ohio State University who was born in 1904. He was apparently a very practical man, who knew what he wanted - and saw no barrier to the accomplishment.
I found this cheese knife on my Spring 2010 trip to Napa Valley, when I stopped off in Healdsburg for lunch and wandered into a kitchenware store. The owner asked if I was looking for anything special.
I explained that I was a kitchen store veteran and the proprietor probably didn't have anything I hadn't seen. She handed me The Cheese Knife and a block of cheddar. Ultem is virtually non-stick, the flared ridges push the cheese away from the block - and the knife's surface.
I was sold.
The photo here is of my Cheese Knife and a block of ubiquitous Sharp American Cheddar I sliced for a snack last night.
You can get the entire back story on The Cheese Knife website, or you can try one out in person - and take one home - from FORM, 1801 Habersham St.. Cheese store, cheese knife...doesn't get any easier than that.
Brancatelli Shows Another Side of Italian Wines What? An Italian wine maker that doesn't bottle Sangiovese?
Yeah, that's the line from Giuseppe Brancatelli.
I had the pleasure of meeting Giuseppe on Saturday night during a tasting held at FORM. The former restauranteur is shepherding a fairly  | |
L-R: Adam Richard, owner of Uva Imports; Giuseppe Branatelli, the wine maker; and Claude Auerbach, wine director at FORM.
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young winery into production from beautiful property in Tuscany. Currently, three labels are available locally and include:
Valle Delle Stelle 2008: Varietals are aged separately for 6 months in new and 2nd year French barriques, then bottle aged for 6 months prior to release. This wine can be cellared for up to 8 years. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc
Giuseppe Brancatelli 2007: The 100 percent Syrah is aged for 14 months in new and 2nd year French barriques then bottle aged for 6 months prior to release. This was one of two Brancatelli wines selected by Italian wine author Luca Maroni for inclusion in his prestigious catalog, 2010 Annuario Dei Migliori Vini Italiani. Maroni awarded the wine 90 points.
Valle Del Sogno 2007: This is the biggest of the three IGTs we tasted, a rich, robust juice that, while luscious now, will be at its peak in a few more years. Varietals are aged separately for 14 months in new and 2nd year French barriques, then bottle aged for an additional 6 months prior to release. This wine can be cellared for 8 to 10 years. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc. |
Advertising in Savannahfoodie.com Tastings
After some lengthy testing, I'm ready to open the weekly Savannahfoodie Tastings newsletter to advertising.
With more than 1,000 subscribers, the newsletter is read by folks who truly enjoy food, drink and entertaining. The newsletter experiences measurable open rates of around 35 percent -- and has racked up plenty of accolades from restaurant owners and retailers who have been featured.
In coming weeks, the website, www.savannahfoodie.com, will be revamped and refreshed with new content.
It's affordable, flexible and easy to advertise. Drop me a line at savannahfoodie@comcast.net and learn more!
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