While in Savannah, Georgia for Kara and Zach’s wedding, Kelly and I had a chance to spend a day with a couple of Kelly’s good friends from college.
Charlie and Emory had visited us in New York City a few months ago when we all went to a Camera Obscura show at Webster Hall. They live in a house — yes, an actual grown-up house! — in Gainesville, Florida. In honor of Father’s Day (and to see us!) they made the drive back to Charlie’s hometown of Savannah.
We made plans to meet up for “brunch” (they still do that in the South, right?) after which Emory casually asked, “Do you guys want to go for a swim?”
It was very hot and humid because the South is very hot and humid, so we of course agreed. We figured we’d go to Tybee Island, which is the popular coastal town 20 miles away, or some shitty swimming hole in the dirty South. Instead, we followed our friends back to a former plantation that Charlie’s family owned. It was a massive spread of houses, farms, woods, and quite possibly “the most perfect swimming pool in the world” (in Emory’s words) .
“Wow, how big is this place?” I asked.
“300 acres.”
“Hmm, how many acres is our apartment in Brooklyn?” I mused, jokingly.
“Well, an acre is a football field,” Kelly said.
***
Charlie, a fully fledged Southern boy — born and raised, a rarity in my normal circle of Brooklyn and LA friends, asked, “Hold on. Do you guys want to go for a drive in the Jeep?”
Uh, yes.
It was no ordinary Jeep, but rather a classic, weathered-down model sometimes used by Charlie and his dad to hunt wild boar that roam the property. Charlie still had the keys on his Gainesville keychain and before you could hum the theme song to Indiana Jones, we were off.
“The Most Perfect Swimming Pool in the World”
Guest house where Charlie and Emory stay while visiting home.
Southern Comfort Food
This trip also introduced me to the indulgence that is the Low Country Boil. It’s basically boiled shrimp, potatoes and corn cooked in a pot the size of a garbage can. You can sprinkle some chili powder on your plate (as I did) and start peeling. I had it first at Kara and Zach’s rehearsal dinner, and then again witnessed Charlie and Emory ordering it at the famous Crab Shack in Tybee Island for lunch, and then yet again for dinner at the local favorite, Despositos.
Heck, if I lived in these parts I sure as hell wouldn’t mind it a few meals a week myself!
Another cool thing about Savannah is all the restaurants make you shuck your own oysters. I’ve had my share of some 5 million oysters all over the world but have never seen restaurant owners place such a trust in their customers with very sharp objects. Anyway, I learned to shuck my first oyster and can’t imagine going back to full-service.
Despositos is a local hole-in-the-wall seafood shack (there wasn’t even a FourSquare mayor!) Charlie and Emory were most excited to take us to. “We figured you guys are from Brooklyn, so rather than trying to impress you with a fancy chain restaurant we wanted you to experience the real thing,” Charlie said. “This is where we locals eat.”
Except Despositos was closed — for no good reason other than the owner didn’t feel like opening up that day. (“Classic Despositos!” Emory cried). But we were crushed. Charlie, in disbelief, peered through the glass door into the darkness.
Later, as we were about to call it a day, Kelly had the brilliant idea to call the restaurant “just in case.” And voila, dinner was served. Classic Despositos indeed!
