Sunday 29 June 2014

Headed south - Statesboro, Savanna and Georgia BBQ

Continuing the blues and BBQ on our trip we stopped in Statesboro, home of bluesman Blind Willie Mctell and an important city in southern blues culture. It's a quaint and pretty little town which conjures up the stereotypical image of southern life. A lovely long trail runs the length of the town like a backbone , each mile of it dedicated to different blues men who called Statesboro their home. We walked the Willie Mctell mile in the scorching Georgia sun. Having worked up an apatite we visited the local favorite for BBQ a hole in the wall named Vandy's which serves simple chopped pork sandwiches with a tart vinegar based sauce as Georgia BBQ is known for served on plain white bread. Cheap and satisfying, their sandwiches live up the reputation we'd heard.
Vandy's BBQ sandwich
After leaving Statesboro we made for the near by historic

Bonadventure cemetery in Savanna
epicenter of Savanna, which also lives up to it's reputation. It is one of the few old southern cities that was untouched by the civil war. The architecture has a largely French influence and is beautiful, reminding me of down town Paris and Montreal but applied to huge southern mansions which have since been divided into downtown apartments. The stunning architecture is complimented by  21 different squares, miniature parks dotted throughout the city each which it's own unique flare. Forsyth park sits at the head of it all with singular gothic beauty , Spanish moss hangs from the towering oaks along the charming pathways at one end a huge and spectacular fountain . Two blocks walk from Forsyth park is a historic cemetery , Calhoun has been reading midnight in the garden of good and evil and was excited to see the cemetery discussed in the book and I must admit it is a beautiful resting place.
Entrance to Angels BBQ
Calhoun at Calhoun square in Savanna
Though steeped in history Savanna is by no means a one trick pony it has a thriving arts scene largely driven by the world class arts college downtown, the products of which are displayed in stores and public places all over the city. Then there's the food. We had come for the BBQ and made trails for Angel's BBQ, a funky little restaurant tucked away down an ally off of main street. We arrived before it opened and there was already a line, here the hogs reign supreme! The menu consists of 5 items done right. I ordered the brisket sandwich, Calhoun the Angels special which was a pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw. They have a medley of sauces ranging from Angel droppings and Angel house sauce (their own creations based on Memphis and Carolina sauces) to boss hog sauce. You add your own choice of sauce to the mountainous meaty sandwiches accompanied by bottomless sweet tea. The inside of the restaurant is plastered with posters, stickers and even oil paintings of angelic pigs. There are only 3 tables all engraved with a flying pig (I loved the table).
We both agreed that Angel's was our favorite BBQ place so far.
Angel's brisket sandwich
We left Savanna in high spirits headed onward to Florida.
Well, we made one last stop at a small seaside community restaurant called The Sudbury Crab Company. A small crab shack on the water that only serves seafood caught wild and local that day. We enjoyed lightly battered shrimp, grilled swordfish and 2$ beers all served with a warm ocean breeze accompaniment . If your in the area it's defiantly worth a  snack stop.  
Also check out the new merchandise on our Etsy site.

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