The new issue of Food & Wine magazine hits the newsstands on June 19.
The magazine includes restaurant editor Kate Krader’s picks for Restaurants of the Year. These are “the most exceptional openings of the past year — places that astonished her with their energy, originality and style.”
Among the five honored establishments is The Grey, the newish restaurant in the old Greyhound bus station at 109 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The Grey is joined on the list by new restaurants in Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In other words, Savannah is keeping company with four of the largest metro areas in the country on Food & Wine’s list.
This is yet another step in the Savannah restaurant scene’s quiet revolution, which, in my estimation, has been going on throughout this century.
We’ve been seeing an increased focus on fresh and local ingredients. We’ve been seeing chefs and restaurateurs with more daring menus and concepts. We’ve especially been seeing attempts to build upon the best qualities of traditional southern cooking.
Savannah can certainly boast wonderful restaurants that have been around for decades, but consider the huge number of restaurants that have opened in the 21st century in the greater downtown area, including 45 Bistro, Back in the Day Bakery, B. Matthew’s Eatery, Leoci’s Trattoria, Circa 1875, Local 11 Ten, Green Truck Pub, Butterhead Greens Café, Flying Monk Noodle Bar and on and on.
I know I spend more money on eating out than most people, but in the last week or so I’ve had a Saturday lunch in The Yard at The Grey, had dinner at the bar at The Florence, enjoyed lunch at the Henry Street location of Sandfly BBQ, dined late at Betty Bombers inside the American Legion Post 135, had breakfast at The Sentient Bean and also dined at 22 Square inside the Andaz hotel — 22 Square might be the best restaurant that isn’t already on your radar.
What an extraordinary list of restaurants — and I biked or walked to all of them.
I’m often critical of the downtown economy’s over-reliance on tourism, but tourists certainly buoy our burgeoning restaurant scene, and culinary tourism is a growing trend. A new generation of residents is also encouraging restaurateurs to push the envelope.
The best part of this story is that there are more good things on the way — from restaurants about to open to ones that exist only in the imaginations of their future owners.
The recognition from Food & Wine is certainly a big deal for The Grey, but it’s also another boost for our entire restaurant scene.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.