Paula Deen’s the Lady and Sons Restaurant

Posted by Chef Cristian Feher on 15:52 in The Blog | Comments Off on Paula Deen’s the Lady and Sons Restaurant

When in Savannah, Y’all Gotta Try Lady and Sons!

By: Cristian Feher

We stopped in to Savannah, GA for a day on our way up to Toronto. The town lives up to its reputation for being one of the oldest port cities in the South, dating back to the 1700’s.

The boardwalk, still paved with cobblestones, is a menagerie of of old and new – a luxury super-yatch with a chromed grill (seemingly straight out of a Jay-Z video) is moored onto the old boardwalk, across from a line of old Victorian buildings now turned into pubs, restaurants and shops. The Atlantic water in the port, choppy and brown from the mud bottom, fills the air with a sweet ocean aroma. Somewhere in the distance, a street musician fills the air with soft jazz. Water vessels of all shapes and sizes zip and chug across the water. I could have spent the entire afternoon taking in the sights and sounds, but I arrived to Savannah with a mission – I wanted to try Paula Deen’s food.

I met Paula Deen a few months ago when she hired me to food style one of her TV segments in Orlando. I can tell you that she is a genuinely charming woman with a great sense of humor, and a real love for food. But you can only tell so much from a scripted recipe, and 4 minutes of on-air cooking. So, we made our way, excitedly, up the street to The Lady and Sons restaurant for some no-frills, Southern cuisine.

It is apparent that much television money has been invested in this restaurant  – probably, much of it on professional restaurant consulting – the place runs like clock-work. The space is built to feed an army. Three floors, each with their own buffets, serving staff and dining room managers. And although we arrived on a Thursday afternoon, which found the restaurant  half-empty, we still received a call from the hostess letting us know that our table was ready for our reservation.

Upon our arrival, we were efficiently shuttled up to the third floor via an elevator, and seated promptly. While a welcome plate with a pancake and a biscuit were served to each of us, I looked around at the building, which seemed to be completely renovated to look “old and country”, while a polite server with a Southern accent went over the specials. I, however, had no interest in the specials. I wanted to try it all, and so I signed up for the buffet.

Now, I am not shy. I will admit that I can throw back a few thousand calories in one sitting like it’s nothing! I’ve all-you-can-eaten many cuisines, and generally, my strategy is to have the restaurant lose money on my visit – I have always managed to accomplish this goal. That is, until Lady and Sons.

I should have known I was up against professionals when the buffet attendant rambled into the radio hidden behind his ear (like a secret service agent), efficiently calling for refills. He was not messing around.

The spread ran like this: fried chicken, braised spare ribs with bbq sauce, collard greens, mashed potato, gravy, pork and beans, black eyed peas, Brunswick stew (pulled pork stew), and mac ‘n’ cheese.  A separate salad buffet was tucked away into a dark corner, as if to satisfy some local ordinance, or feed a vegetarian, should they accidentally stumble into Paula’s restaurant while lost or disoriented.

My first plate consisted of everything except gravy (which I thought would fill too much valuable real estate in my stomach). The food was as advertised: Crispy where needed, sweet where needed, tender where it called for it, well-seasoned and deliciously flavorful. The cooks in the kitchen are following recipes as they’re supposed to (which is one of the hardest things to do as a restaurant owner – have the cooks actually follow the damn recipes!). I picked up a little red bottle with Paula’s picture on it, and dashed some “signature hot sauce” on it for good luck. Yes, it was very touristy, and I am admitedly a fan of Paula, but we were having a blast stuffing ourselves with all this good ol’ Southern grub!

One and a half plates, a bite of banana pudding, and the buffet beat me by technical knockout. Southern food is what it is – tasty as it is heavy. If it wasn’t for a bottle of digestive enzymes, I would not have been able to make it the rest of the day without being taken back to the hotel in a wheel barrel to take a turkey nap.

It is obvious that the main attraction to Lady and Sons is Paula Deen’s fame. But the food is good, and I would go again. The experience was fun. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s all going out to a restaurant has to be – fun!

The next time you find yourself in Savannah, make some reservations at Lady and Sons. Chances are, you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.