I had the pleasure of taking a second food tour by Savannah Taste Experience during my trip. This tour, called the “Famous and Secret East Side Tour” focuses on the eastern part of the historic district, and goes as far south as the Chippewa Square area. (Note that this tour is now called the Port City Food Tour.) If you do the First Squares tour along with this one, you will have covered so many of the wonderful areas of downtown Savannah. The two tours do have a bit of overlap but not enough to deter you from doing them both.
Capital Bee Company: Honey Tasting
This tour’s meeting spot was the Capital Bee Company at the eastern end of Broughton Street. This is a super cute boutique gift shop and also a honey store. They have a beautiful sample counter set up with tons of honeys and sauces that you can try. This is a bit of an overlap with the First Squares tour since that tour also does a honey tasting, although at a different shop.
Java Burritos: Taco with Peach Salsa and Lime Margarita
Our second tasting was very close by. It’s just across the street! Java Burritos is kind of like Chipotle but also with a full coffee bar and a full cocktail bar which means it’s extra awesome.
At this location we got to try one of their delicious tacos! This taco was served on a corn tortilla, with braised beef, lettuce, corn, potatoes, and a peach “salsa” (because: Georgia!) A couple of things were really good about this taco which were the corn tortilla and the seasoned potatoes. Both had a great flavor that I really enjoyed. I didn’t love the peach salsa, though. It was kind of like eating fruit cocktail on the taco. And peaches and corn is kind of weird together, or is it just me? I felt it could have used some cheese or sour cream or something.
The interior of Java Burritos is really gorgeous. They did a great job retaining the historic nature of the building, and everything is done in a beautiful white and black scheme that looks incredible with all the gorgeous natural light pouring in through huge windows.
But anyway, who cares about the taco when they have amazing margaritas?? I got their classic lime margarita and it was absolutely lovely. Of course the great thing about Savannah is that you can get your cocktails in a plastic cup to go! It’s so fantastic to just walk around with a great drink in hand and just enjoy the scenery.
Zunzi’s: Conquistador Sandwich
At this tasting, we got to sample The Conquistador! The Conquistador is Zunzi’s most famous sandwich and it has earned all kinds of accolades from publications, tv shows, food personalities, etc. It consists of French Bread, Chicken, Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Provolone, Parmesan, Zunzi’s Sauce, and Zunzi’s Dressing. I thought it was really good! The sauce and dressing reminded me of a caesar dressing but with a unique twist. So if you like chicken caesar wraps or sandwiches, I’d say you would really like this. I sure did!
Parker’s Market: Fried Porkchop
Parker’s Market is a really neat place with a long history. The building is from 1899 and it was used as a gas station since the very early days, and you can still get gas there today! Inside, it’s a fabulous market and kitchen with great southern classics and everything you could think of for a great and quick lunch. They have everything from fried chicken and mac & cheese to a full breakfast bar including award winning biscuits.
Our tasting here was a fantastic fried pork chop and a fountain drink. Of course I got iced tea!
The side of “Parker’s Sauce” was incredible! Described as “our creamy blend of spices that pairs perfectly with chicken,” it’s a lot like a remoulade and it was delicious. I really should have checked to see if they had bottles of it in the store that I could buy. That would have been a great thing to bring back in my suitcase!
Mint To Be Mojito Bar and Bites: Pork Empanada and Coconut Mojito
Our tasting at Mint to Be Mojitos Bar and Bites was the one true overlap between this tour and the First Squares tour. Both tours come to this same restaurant but I didn’t mind too much because their empanadas and mojitos are really good!
I was able to try their pork empanada this time whereas I’d tried the chicken one the day before. I also tried a different flavor of mojito: I got the coconut! The owner suggested that if we’d like to try a flavor other than the traditional lime, that she recommends the coconut and the pomegranate. The coconut was fantastic!
Leopold’s Ice Cream: Butter Pecan
Leopold’s Ice Cream is quite an institution in Savannah! Their ice cream recipes have been unchanged since 1919. We got to sample the Butter Pecan which happens to be one of my favorites!
