Paula Deen Yall!

Savannah.....Georgia.....only about 2 hours from Ponte Vedra. In fact, a lot of my patients come from Georgia to have surgery in Florida. I thought that was a little odd at first. Anyway, the ladies in my family LOVE Paula Deen. She has really made something for herself, which I really admire. I have read her book, watched her show, make her recipes, saw her speak in Dallas a few years ago, and we always said we were going to take a "girls trip" to Savannah to visit her restaurant. Since my Mom and Mopsy were in town, and we are so close to Savannah, we had to go. We got up bright in early to get a head start on our day.

Downtown Savannah

So...I didn't know this until we did a little "research" but Paula Deen's restaurant/hosting system/reservation system is very organized. If you  want to eat at Lady and Sons, you have to get in this line outside the restaurant, and wait until 9:30 am. Then they take your name, put it on a list, and they give you a time to come back to eat.

The line

Waiting in line to hopefully get our desired time slot!

Once we got our "reservation" made (11 am) they told us to come back 15 minutes before that and line up across the street.  With a little time to kill, we headed to Starbucks.

Work it girl!

AP from TX

 Finally it was 10:45...we could line up out front of the restaurant. I kind of felt like we were all a herd of cattle getting called.  They have this man that comes out, "rings" a skillet and yells some, and that is how they start the day at Lady and Sons. Then they call you in group by group, people are staring and anxiously awaiting their turns, and you kind of feel like you are taking the walk of shame across the street to go in. There had to be over 50 people lined up across the street with reservations waiting to be called. That is how they do it all day apparently. Organized...and if your complete party isn't present, you aren't getting seated!

Then we finally made it in...we had arrived! We were all so excited (well, the girls anyway). There are 3 levels of the restaurant. Each one is decorated the same way. Cute wooden tables, exposed pipe and cute southern decor, and a buffet and hoe cake/biscuit making station in the back corner.

Can yall smell that fried chicken? delicious!

At Lady and Sons, you can order off the regular menu but I don't know why you would..the buffet was awesome! It is just a country style buffet- you know- fried chicken (the best I've had), mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, butter beans, collards, creamed corn, turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, the list goes on. and on. Once we had our sweet tea (Paula's signature...real sugar, lemon and mint) we headed for the buffet.

Oh yall! I forgot to mention...the hoe cake girl! There is a lady in the back of each floor of the restaurant and she makes cheddar biscuits and hoe cakes. A hot hoe cake with maple syrup...yum!

Delicious



I can't believe I'm gonna post this, but this is how stuffed you are and what I thought most everyone looked like after eating...if you go, wear stretchy pants and be prepared for this face.

Headed into a food coma

After lunch, we made our way down to the Paula Deen Store. It is pretty jam packed with people and things, but beautifully decorated.

These are the measuring cups she uses on her show...the whole set is $200!

Such fun!

After Paula Deen we went around and explored the town a little, enjoyed the weather, and did a little shopping.  There are a lot of pretty, historic looking buildings in Savannah.

After a mini tour of Savannah we were all ready to get back to Ponte Vedra.  We were excited about going to the TPC Sawgrass Christmas Tree lighting....more on that fun evening to come!