Off the Beaten Path: Byrd Cookie Company's B. Tillman Restaurant and Bar

If you want a chic, sophisticated lunch, you usually don't venture too far from downtown, right? Who knew that there was a sleek restaurant and bar and tucked away on Waters Avenue and housed inside a cookie factory, to boot!

Turning right onto Waters Avenue from Stephenson Avenue, you might have noticed the massive grey-roofed industrial building peeking out from behind the Exchange restaurant. That's Byrd Cookie Company. A Savannah institution that's been baking up world-famous scotch oatmeal and key lime cooler cookies since 1942.  Inside that building, there's more than a cookie and gift shop. It's also home to B. Tillman Restaurant and Bar.

The most immediately striking thing about B. Tillman's is the decor. Cool white leather booths. A color palette of monochromatic grays and unfinished wood. It's all very Restoration Hardware. Not to mention, there's a big glass window where you can peek into the cookie factory. So I guess there's a splash of Krispy Creme playfulness there, too.

The menu matches the decor. Sophisticated, or what I like to call "Chef-y" type items dot the menu. Sandwiches are slathered with "aioli" and there's hummus made with cannelloni beans instead of chick peas. Something called a "pizzette" and a grilled romaine salad. But all that's balanced with a distinct nod to Byrd's southern heritage.  Pimento cheese served with toasted crostini and deviled eggs with chives.

With that in mind, I decided to have the best of both worlds.

For my appetizer I ordered the pimento cheese plate. It's a spicy, surprisingly un-mayonnaised twist on a southern staple. It's thick, flavorful, and much more dry than your typical store bought, church-potluck variety. It's perfect for loading onto the sturdy toasted crostini slices.

For my lunch, I ordered the grilled Caesar salad. A head of romaine, lightly seared and crisp on the outside, drizzled with creamy dressing and sprinkled with bacon and Parmesan cheese. The addition of the bacon with the seared romaine really gave the salad delicious smoky flavor.  If you've never had grilled salad before, B. Tillman's might be the place to try for it the first time.

Now you didn't think I'd dine at a place owned by a cookie company without eating some cookies, did you?

When I paid my check, the server brought my two powder sugar drenched key lime cooler cookies and instructed me to head to the gift shop.

 In the gift shop, you can show your lunch or dinner receipt for a discount and you can visit the cookie bar where you can, I kid you not, sample every single flavor of Byrd's delightful cookies for free. FOR FREE.

This cookie lover was in heaven.

So if you're looking for something different, a little bit sophisticated, a little bit southern, and very sweet, head to Byrd Cookie Company's B. Tillman Restaurant and Bar.

B. Tillman Restaurant & Bar6700 Waters Avenue(912)721-1564

Dreaming in Cookies: Modern General’s Dreamy Iced Coffee and Cookie Bar

The entrance of Modern General beckons pedestrians inside from Broughton Street with a chalkboard reading, "Treat Yourself to a Dreamy Coffee.” Once inside, Modern General invites patrons to write down their dreams on orange slips of paper and drop them inside the “dream box” on a table near the door. Modern General, or Modern General: Sylvester & Co, as the shop’s sign reads, is more than a coffee bar.They also sell a multitude of sleek “modern” gifts and housewares.

 I picked up a “USB Mixtape”  (a flash drive cleverly disguised as an audio cassette tape. The nineties child in me swooned, and I had to buy it).  

But the main event at Modern General is their coffee and cookie bar located in the back of the shop. Today I’m talking about their cookies, specifically. ( I didn't order coffee, as I’d just come from The Coffee Fox when I visited). They sell for $2.75 each, but let me assure you, they’re worth their weight in gold. The “dreamy” cookies are unlike any you can buy in Savannah.  

Double Dare Ya Cookie

First up, I tried the Double Dare Ya Cookie. This cookie was chock full of huge chunks of toffee, white chocolate, milk chocolate,  and dark chocolate.  The chunks were about the size of broken candy bar pieces, making it truly a chocolate chunk cookie. 

What is most remarkable about these cookies, and all the cookies at the cookie bar is how thick they are.  With a moist, just-chewy-enough-without-being-doughy  consistency, you’ll be scratching your head.  How is it possible to bake a cookie that thick without burning the outside? Magic?

Peanut Butter Chocolate

At the barista’s recommendation, I decided to try the peanut butter cookie on my second round (don’t judge). This cookie, equally as thick at the Double Dare Ya, differs from most traditional peanut butter cookies. 

The cookie is more of a traditional brown sugar chocolate chip cookie base with big blobs of peanut butter folded in.  This cookie definitely breaks the mold, if just by sheer magnitude and decadence.  I enjoyed every peanut buttery bite. Pure bliss.

As I left, happily buzzed on chocolate and peanut butter, I stopped to look inside the Dream Box. I contemplated the folded strips of orange paper where others had scrawled their dreams with black ink. 

What interesting dreams had I had lately? I didn’t know.  But I knew I’d be dreaming in cookies that night.

Sylvester & Co.

205 W Broughton Street
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912-236-1150

Open 7 Days a Week  10am-6pm

Eating Local, Literally: Raised Vegetable Garden Installations at Savannah Restaurants

If you frequent Foxy Loxy Cafe and Print Gallery like I do, you might have noticed there's something different about their courtyard lately...

Right next to the Acoustic Altar  (the stage area of the courtyard), there's a large rectangular wooden box housing a vegetable garden!

Photo Courtesy of Foxy's Facebook Page

Thanks to local landscaping and garden installation company, Savannah Victory Gardens, Savannah restaurants looking to amp up their "eat local" options can opt to have a raised bed vegetable garden  installed right in their backyard! For local restaurant patrons like me, that means I can eat salsa made from cilantro that grew up just a few feet away from where I'm sitting. It means I can enjoy a collard green quesadilla or other delightful mixed greens picked only minutes before arriving at my table.

And Foxy's not the only restaurant here in town hosting their own vegetable garden. Savannah Victory Gardens is also responsible for the boxed garden lush with collards and other leafy vegetables situated behind popular burger joint, The Green Truck Pub. 

 

Photo Courtesy of Savannah Victory Garden's Facebook Page

Even if you're not into the "eating local" or "eating organic" trend you have to admit, it's nice eating fresh vegetables. When you're eating at a restaurant that houses it's own vegetable garden, you can enjoy the food with confidence. You know that it hasn't been sitting around in a vegetable truck or supermarket for days, growing bruised and increasingly brown by the minute. Instead, your salad will be bright, cool, and crisp. The herbs garnishing your meal will be pungent, ripe with flavor in every bite.

Foxy Loxy and Green Truck have their own gardens. I wonder which restaurants will follow suite and have gardens installed. After all, local restaurants growing their own food? It definitely brings a whole new meaning to word “housemade salsa.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d fork that, Savannah.

Restaurant Love: I've Got a Crush on Back in the Day Bakery

Confession: I've got the biggest crush on Back in the Day Bakery. As I was scrolling through my photo albums through years (phone photos, Facebook albums, and scrapbooks) I started to notice, 1. I have a lot of pictures of food. 2. Most of them are food photos from Back in the Day Bakery.

Today on Fork This, Savannah I explore a brief history of my restaurant crush and some of my favorite items on their menu.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY RESTAURANT CRUSH

Love at First Sight

I stumbled upon the bakery in early 2007 when I was looking for cupcakes for my vintage inspired 17th Birthday Party. The nice folks at Paris Market and Brocante referred me there when I asked where they got their delicious pastel butter cream cupcakes.

When I walked into the bakery for the first time, I fell in love. The decor was retro. Pops of pink, blue, yellow, and green pastels. There was a big crystal chandelier wrapped in white Christmas lights hanging over a vintage farm table. Elementary school style storage cubbies served as a bar counter. The walls and floors were unfinished. Pages from cookbooks were pasted on the wall in patches.  Bright pink roses in milk bottles adorned each table. It might of been the cupcakes, it might have been the decor. It might of been a mixture of both. As I purchased the cupcakes I needed for the party, I was already planning my next visit.

17th Birthday with my first Back in the Day Bakery Cupcakes

And visit again I did. When I was an undergrad at SCAD, Back in the Day Bakery became my token lunch place. I went before or after classes. Sometimes I'd order their flaky ham and cheese croissant. Or the best chicken sandwich on earth, the aptly named Super Chicken (thick slices of roast chicken and white cheddar between slabs of airy ciabatta, topped with lettuce and onions, and smeared with a rosemary infused miracle of a mayonnaise). I've probably celebrated three or four birthdays there since finding them.

My 18th Birthday at Back in the Day Bakery

But when I graduated from college in 2011, I wasn't in the area anymore. So I didn't visit as often. I'd stop by on a Saturday here or there. But I thought I'd finally gotten over my crush. I was in my early twenties. Too old for crushes!

Nowadays
Now back at SCAD for graduate school, I started stopping into Back in the Day Bakery during the twenty minute time slot I have between work in midtown and classes in the downtown area. During those twenty minutes, I'm usually stressed about balancing work and school. Worried about an assignment. Worried about finding a parking place close to Arnold Hall.

But Back in the Day Bakery is always a little respite from those worrisome thoughts. You get the sense that the folks working at Back in the Day Bakery actually like working there. The gals behind the counter always have a smile on their faces. Never mind that the place is slammed at lunchtime. Or that the person who just ordered was short with them. They greet every customer with genuine smiles and they seem just as excited about the food as I am. They gush over the flaky, buttery buttermilk biscuits Back in the Day serves on certain days. Or something new they've got in the baked cases that day. With that kind of enthusiasm, you can't help but let your worries slip away a little. Besides, how can you worry when you're tearing into a Tomato Caprese sandwich that's bigger than your face?

Caprese Sandwich (Tomato, balsamic, fresh basil and mozzarella)

I post Instagram and Facebook photos from the bakery regularly. Without fail,  Back and the Day serves up their sandwiches and sweets looking cookbook photo-shoot ready. So it's no wonder I can't help taking a picture of every blessed thing I eat there (Sorry for making you hungry, Facebook friends).

Jam and Biscuits with Iced Tea and Newborn Cupcake

The Happy Day Salad (You can read about that on my first post ever)

Vanilla Buttercream Cupcake

 I often bring one of Back in the Day Bakery's white to-go bags to class. As I pull out my buttermilk biscuit and jam or Mexican Hot Chocolate shortbread, my classmates gaze at me jealously, "Where did you get that delightful thing?"

And I just smile, "This place called Back in the Day Bakery. You have to go there."

Sounds like I've totally gotten over my crush, right?

SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ON THE MENU

If I'm in a bad mood, I can always count on something like the Strawberry Pie Bar (If a fruit cobbler and a strawberry pie got married, then Back in the Day's  Strawberry Pie Bar would be their child. A winner of the culinary genetic lottery, trust me) to brighten my mood.

You cannot eat something like this without smiling. The man sitting next to me kept staring at me as I devoured it. Finally, he shyly asked as I brushed crumbs from my face, "What was that delightful thing?


Back in the Day Bakery's Cinnamon Bun Saturday is probably my favorite way to kick-start the weekend.

On Saturdays only, you can sit down to one of Back in the Day's house specialties. Their massive sticky buns slathered in rich, creamy white icing. If you're used to Pillsbury or Cinnabon, you'll never go back after having one of these. It's like tasting butter for the first time after being raised on margarine

You know how the best part of most sticky buns are the middle? Not so with Back in the Day's buns. The whole bun is like the center. It's sticky, bready, twisted heaven.

I may not be doodling "Back in the Day Bakery" on my binder but let me assure you, I'm crushing on them. And if they keep feeding me things like their sublime Strawberry Pie Bar, and sinful Saturday sticky buns, something tells me I'm not getting over this crush anytime soon.

Back in the Day Bakery

2403 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401

(912) 495-9292

Hours Open: Tuesday-Saturday 8am - 5pm
Closed Sunday & Monday

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name": Three Reasons I'm a "Regular"

What is it about those restaurants we return to over and over again? Is there that one menu item, that special sauce you just can’t live without? That quirky barista who serves up your soy latte with a smile. That fry cook who can spout a one-liner like he’s the star of his own sitcom?

What is it that keeps us sliding into those same booths week after week, picking up the menus we’ve read so many times we know it by heart, “I’ll have the B-1 please, ginger on the side.”  Announcing to our friends outside the packed restaurant, “It’s cool. They know me here.”  You know the places. The places where ordering is really just a formality.

In Savannah there are three, maybe four restaurants where I have that kind of relationship. Folks at these places know me by name. And they know what I’m going to order. And I know right where I’m going to sit. That’s right. I’m what they like to call a “regular” in the dining industry.  But why?

1. I Feel Comfortable Eating There Alone

I’m full time grad student and I also work full time.  So I don’t have a lot of time to make plans, so I find myself going out to eat more than a sensible person would. And my lack of planning usually means I’m dining alone.   And I want to go somewhere I feel comfortable doing so. For me that means the servers are friendly, but not too chatty to the point that I feel like they should be pulling up a chair. The worst are ones that actually do. Slide in beside you and whip open a notepad, gum smacking in their teeth, “What’ll be, sweetheart?”  

Then there are ones that ignore you completely. Or fail to acknowledge the fact that you’ve eaten at the place seven days in a row and ordered the exact same thing. When you arrive on the eighth day, you walk up to the counter, and nothing. Not even a hint of recognition.  Just a, “What can I get you?”  like you’ve never eaten there before in your life.

Bottom line, if I feel comfortable dining alone at a restaurant, it means I'll keep coming back.

2. Location, Location, Location 

I form habits out of convenience. Anyone who’s been following this blog so far might have noticed I’ve covered a lot of restaurants in the Sandfly area of Savannah.  So it should come as no surprise that I live in that area. I go to restaurants that are near where I live. Or on the way to the places I frequent. Places I know I can drop in and out of quickly when I’m in a hurry. 

3. The Food is Delicious 

I frequent places where I know pretty much anything on the menu is amazing. You know that place, the one where you’re often stumped when ordering because, well, everything on the menu it just so darn delicious.  Consistency matters too. I need to know that I can order my favorite sandwich with the sauce on the side, and it’ll be equally tasty the first and five hundredth time I order it. 

So what about you, what makes you a “regular”? 

Nostalgic BBQ Lunch at Sandfly BBQ

Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker's Free Falling blasts from the stereo as I walk into Sandfly, Georgia's aptly named BBQ joint, Sandfly Barbecue. Vintage license plates from states like Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee line the walls. In the small dining room, cherry red booths cozy up to framed pictures of music legends like Elvis Presley and Hank Williams. The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones.

The Dining Room

Hank Williams

Like its decor, Sandfly Barbecue is a little bit nostalgic, a little bit rock-and-roll. The chalk-written menu behind the counter has all the familiar BBQ favorites you'd expect--pulled pork, ribs, mac and cheese, Brunswick stew--making it the kind of place you used to go with your grandparents after church. Back when you still had to wear a napkin tucked in your shirt collar. Or the kind place you might stop to eat on a cross-country road trip across southern Americana. Sandfly's menu is as extensive as it is classic, so I've broken down my favorites below:

THE MAIN DISH // THE BEEF BRISKET JR. SANDWICH

Beef Jr. with Fried Okra

 It's approximately six ounces of tender, chopped just-salty-enough beef brisket on a classic hamburger bun with sliced pickles on the side. The meat is juicy (not greasy), smoky, and flavorful-- you don't even need sauce.

But the sauce  takes this little sandwich over the edge. On the table, you've got three sauce options. A creamy yellow-orange one--a sharp mustard-based Carolina style (if you opt for the Pork Jr., I highly recommend the Carolina style).  A reddish one that doesn't even need to be labeled HOT. I can see the red pepper seeds through the bottle. And a maple syrup colored one. It's a sweet, slightly tangy--more of a Memphis style. If you're a fan of "Memphis Style" barbecue sauce like me, pick the last one.  A little goes a long way. I drizzled on just a teaspoon or so, and the sweetness really heightened the flavor of the beef.  

THE DESSERT// HOUSEMADE COCONUT CAKE

The kind of cake that starts a fight. If you're lucky, you come to Sandfly Barbecue when they have a freshly baked coconut cake sitting on a stand at the order counter. Get it before it's gone. Trust me. This ain't your synthetically sweet grocery store-bought cake. This is a cakewalk style, state fair blue ribbon-winning coconut cake. The best I've had at any bakery or restaurant in Savannah. 

It's sweet, but not too sweet, fluffy white cake frosted with thick, coconut flecked frosting. It's never dry, with a hint of pineapple if my taste buds aren't fooling me. The whole cake is topped off with an indulgent flurry of shaved coconut. They serve up generous hunks of this creamy coconut cake on green checked parchment paper. If you happen to order the last slice of cake like I did, I'd watch your back. 

Come for the barbecue, stay for the coconut cake. Either way, if you don't usually venture outside of the downtown area for a good meal, I highly recommend you grab the car and hit Truman Parkway for a short road trip to Sandfly, Georgia. Roll down the windows, put some Neil Young on the radio. The nostalgic, rock-and-roll- road-trip meal awaiting you at Sandfly BBQ won't disappoint.

Sandfly BBQ

8413 Ferguson Avenue
Savannah, Georgia 31406
(912) 356-5463
OPEN Monday – Saturday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Price: Meals range from $7-$15

Not Your Mother's Blueberry Muffins

Forget everything you know about blueberry muffins. Those blue-dotted yellow cake crossovers often found gracing the baked cases around town. Those muffins with batter so sweet the berries seem sour in comparison.  Make way for Great Harvest Bread Company's Ultra Healthy Muffins that have more in common with a wholegrain slice of bread. And I mean that in the best possible way.

The Muffin

In these wholesome muffins, plump, juicy blueberries take center stage. Berries abound in every bite and the batter doesn’t upstage them—it’s packed with bran, whole-wheat flour, a touch of oil, and only lightly sweetened with orange juice and brown sugar. The rest of the recipe, the owner explains, “is confidential.”  And you won't find any paper cupcake wrappers here. They serve these muffins naked, fresh from the pan.

The Experience

Tucked away in Sandfly Georgia's Norwood Shopping Plaza, Great Harvest Bread Company quietly bakes up bountiful breads and other wholegrain goodies.  And they’re more than willing to slice up a free sample of their sweets and breads. Just ask! Their prime location, right next-door to Savannah Power Yoga makes Great Harvest Bread Company a great spot for a post-meditation munchie. I dropped by last Saturday before heading to the Lake Mayer, a nearby park for a mid morning run. I ordered an “Ultra Healthy Muffin” slathered with butter and an iced tea.  The muffin had the stick-to-your-ribs sustainability you usually get from a bowl of oatmeal. It was satisfying and delicious. I felt energized for my entire run. 

Eating a muffin named “Ultra Healthy” definitely does something to your psyche. You feel like you’re eating the “right” thing, like you can enjoy it without the guilt of indulgence. And for that, the folks at Montana-based Great Harvest Bread Company are marketing geniuses.

Ultra Healthy Muffins are available in the baked case on select days. Butter is available upon request. Visit their Savannah website for a complete bread and sweets schedule.

Looking for an ultra healthy muffin that’s also ultra delicious? Fork this, Savannah!

Great Harvest Bread Company
7360 Skidaway Road
Suite J -1
Savannah, Georgia 31406
(912) 777-7263
M-F 6:30am-6:00pm
Sat 7:00am-4:00pm

Something simple, something spicy, something sweet: ordering al a carte at Blowin’ Smoke

Situated just over the 37^th Street tracks in a refurbished filling station on Habersham , Blowin’ Smoke Southern Cantina offers open air seating and a chockablock of southwest/southern goodies like tequila lime chicken tacos and chipotle mac and cheese—all with a psychedelic flair. It’s also my favorite place to order al a carte.  Their menu is rife with ample al a carte options, but today--I bring you the best items for pleasing any palate. 

SOMETHING SIMPLE // BLACK BEAN SOUP

Folks fancying something simple without compromising taste can spoon into a bowl of simmered black beans with broth, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. The generous dollop of cool sour cream takes this dish to the next level of delicious.  Looking for protein? Add pulled pork for just $2 more.

SOMETHING SPICY // CHIPS AND SALSA

The Chips and Salsa Appetizer might be difficult to screw up, but it’s also equally difficult to spice up. Blowin’ Smoke rises to challenge with what my server called “doctored up” salsa. They start with a bottled salsa base and the chef adds his own twist with garlic and chipotles. The result is a distinctly thick, spicy as heck salsa.  Scoop it up with bubbly, crisp housemade tortilla chips for an al a carte experience you won’t soon forget.

SOMETHING SWEET // SOPAPILLA

A little bit chewy, a little bit crunchy; flash-fried flour tortillas cut into wedges, drenched in honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Bring a friend or two along for this sweet south of the border classic. This decadent dessert comes heaped in a basket with plenty to share. Dining alone? With this scrumptious sopapilla to share, you’re bound to make a new friend!

Ordering al a carte?  Fork this, Savannah!

Blowin’ Smoke Southern Cantina is open Sunday - Thursday 11am to 10pm and Friday & Saturday 11am to 11pm. Simple, spicy, and sweet options available all day.

This Salad Will Change Your Life

Famous for their signature pastel butter-cream cupcakes, Savannah's Back in the Day Bakery might not be most conventional place to sample a life-altering salad, but let me assure you, they can deliver.

Spiced walnuts, shredded carrots, golden raisins. Sounds like ingredients for a killer carrot cake, right? Add a bed of spring mix, peeled cucumbers, sliced beets, a sprinkling of Parmesan pecorino cheese. A drizzle of rich, caramely balsamic dressing.  Pop a few cherry tomatoes on top. Garnish it with a generous scoop of pimiento cheese and a hunk of crusty house-made ciabatta. That’s Back in the Day Bakery’s Happy Day Salad. A salad that’s bound to brighten any day.

Served up in a parchment lined pie pan, the Happy Day Salad is colorfully arranged, its flavors artfully assembled.  Want a little extra protein? For a couple bucks more, ask for a scoop of rosemary chicken salad or for a meatless, equally tasty option, pimiento cheese (pictured here).  You won’t be sorry.

Like Back in the Day Bakery and its owners, the Happy Day Salad playfully pairs the sweet and savory. Cheryl Day specializes in sweets, like the dense, sugar-dusted Starland brownies and cupcakes so classic you’ll swear she stole your grandma’s recipe. Her husband Griff is responsible for the savory, like rustic breads and grab-them-before-they're-gone ham and cheese croissants.    

Venture over to Savannah’s Starland District, home of Back in the Day Bakery. Order the “Happy Day Salad.” Maybe add a cold mason jar of brewed iced tea to wash it down. Take a seat (I recommend one of the red bar-stools overlooking W 40th street ) Take a bite--sweet golden raisins and tangy balsamic provide the sweetness most salads only dream about. Cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, cucumbers, and beets, give a cheerful pop of color and satisfying salad crunchiness we all know and love.  Repeat. Watch other patrons stare at your plate longingly, “Where did she get that?”  Leave happy.

The Happy Day Salad appears on Back in the Day Bakery’s lunch menu, available Tuesday-Saturday 11am to 3pm.  Fresh baked desserts like sea salted chocolate chip cookies and pink butter-cream cupcakes are available in the case all day, or while they last.

O happy day? Fork yeah!

Back in the Day Bakery

2403 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401

(912) 495-9292

Hours Open: Tuesday-Saturday 8am - 5pm
Closed Sunday & Monday