Today, our Savannah food binge continues at the Pirate House. Located at the historical Trustee Gardens within a stones throw of where Oglethorpe originally set camp as he came ashore. The Pirate House has been serving food and drinks to its customers shortly after the founding of the city of Savannah in 1753.
The Pirate house is in a building that originally housed all of the necessary equipment required for Oglethorpes colonists to run the experimental garden that spanned 10 acres. They planted everything from grapes, mulberry trees and various fruit trees all with seeds imported from around the world. Oglethorpe had high expectations of producing large variety of crops in the area, but unfortunately, most of the crops did not take. Only enough mulberry trees were cultivated for silk worms to produce a mere 6 lbs of silk. The crops that did seem to thrive in the Georgian soil, peaches and cotton.
The Pirate house today serves traditional southern soul food, buffet style. There is also a menu for customers to order from but we did not come here to eat appetizers, we are here for the big boy meal. Buffet it is.
Just as all of the other great southern cuisine we have had in Savannah, this is real southern home cooking. Collard greens, biscuits and gravy, BBQ pork and of course, crispy fried chicken. All of which done perfectly and finger licking good. If someone was holding a gun to my head and I had to choose between the Pirate House and Mrs. Wilkes. I would still have to go with the soul food queen of Savannah, Mrs. Sema Wilkes.
When it comes to dessert, it is a whole different story. The banana pudding at Mrs. Wilkes was great but the Pirate House wrapped up our visit with some of the best tasting pecan squares we have ever had.
And how can Ava complain when there are lollipops at the end of a meal?
“Ahem… ummm.. Ava, your dress is falling off.”
Many real pirates back in the day really did visit this restaurant when they would come ashore to Savannah. Lots of stories and legends surround the location and many believe it is a very haunted place.
It is even believed that the adventure novel Treasure Island was originally conceived by Robert Louis Stevenson right here in the building. Captain Flint is also believe by many to be based on an actual pirate captain that frequented the joint.
After our stomaches were once again filled with delicious soul food, we needed to sit down. And we were not going to just sit down anywhere, we are going back on the Old Savannah Trolley tour that we went on yesterday to let the vibrations of the road settle the food into every little crevice of our digestive tract.
Even though the tour was the same as yesterday, our tour guide and driver was different. A born and raised southern gentleman who has been driving tourist around for 13 years, he knew the city very well. The picture above doesn’t do it justice but we were very entertained by his commentary and the flamboyant Judy Garland song reprisals.
Inspired by our fabulous trolley driver, Ava got back to the Mali Mish to admire her equally fabulous and fantastically new Barbie toothbrush.
over and out,
dan
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