Tastemaker: Savannah Girlfriends

Whether you want to kick up your heels or unwind beneath the Spanish Moss, Savannah is the perfect Southern destination for a girls’-only weekend. To lend some insights into choreographing the perfect girlfriend getaway, we turned to four of Savannah’s leading ladies—each with a very different area of expertise.

• Where in Savannah would you go to get the ultimate spa experience?
  Debbie: I go to Vanilla Day Spa. It’s the best facial, the best manicure and pedicure.
  Karen: Yeah, Vanilla Day Spa.
  Kristin: I go every month to Savannah Day Spa, but there’s also a treatment at Vanilla that’s amazing…they wrap you in a cocoon and put hot mud from the Dead Sea on you, and then they wheel the bed into the shower… You walk out and you look like you have phosphorous all over your skin, it’s amazing.
  Jacquelyn: I say Savannah Day Spa, hands down, but another good one is Glow Medical Spa.
  Kristin: Yes, I love Glow!
  
• What are some of the essential shopping spots in your city?
  Debbie: As far as clothes, I like Monkees, BleuBelle, James Gunn, Terra Cotta, Mint, Custard Boutique…all locally owned places.
  Karen: Zia. He makes all of this really unique jewelry. I’ve recommended it to clients and they come back to me and say, “I just spent $500 at Zia.”
  Debbie: Yeah, Zia is another one of my favorite places. Some other fun places are Arcanum and DC2, both for home accessories. For pure antiques, I think Jere’s Antiques. Jere’s wife has The Corner Door on the corner of Whitaker and Jones streets, and she has neat stuff too. There are some other great places you can go and just dig around in, like Habersham Antique Village.
  Jacquelyn: Polka Dots is great on Whitemarsh Island. It’s the most girly store ever…when you walk in, and you want to just buy everything. @Home is great, too.
  Kristin: And Wright Square Café is great if you want unique chocolates.
  
• Where would you go for a girl’s brunch? Lunch? Dinner?
  Debbie: I will tell you two of my old Southern favorites, and I’m a yankee: Wall’s BBQ, and a place that a lot of people don’t know about, Smoke Station BBQ on Waters Avenue. [The owner] goes fishing every weekend and serves his own fish.
  Kristin: There’s also that BBQ stand in the parking lot at Victory and Bull, Thursday, Friday, Saturdays, and maybe Wednesdays. The ribs… the meat just falls off the bone. Back in the Day Bakery is a little pricey, but it’s really good.
  Jacqueline: Vinnie Van Go-Go’s for pizza, Vic’s on the River for lunch
  Debbie: Papillote, the French takeout place. I got something to go, it was unbelievable brioche filled with mushrooms and chicken and creamy sauce… it was unbelievable.
  Karen: I love the Olde Pink House. They’ve got the new little side bar which is great for lunch. Cha Bella is really good, too.
  Debbie: Elizabeth on 37th is my number one. Olde Pink House, and I love Sapphire Grill, it’s one of my all-time favorites.
  Kristin: You cannot go wrong with Sapphire Grill. And Saigon…it’s never bad.
  Karen: For a girl’s weekend, I think Jazz’d is really fun.
  Debbie: Firefly Café for brunch.
  Kristin: I think Lulu’s has the best Sunday brunch. They have bottomless Bloody Marys or Mimosas for $10 and French Toast with Grand Marnier.
  Jacquelyn: On Tybee, Sundae Café and the Breakfast Club
  Kristin: Or if you can’t get in the Breakfast Club, go to A.J.’s. They have the best Mahi Mahi.
  Karen: I really like The Distillery… they have beer flights, like you get with wine, but you can sample like seven different kinds of beer.
  Kristin: Zunzi’s for lunch…
  Jacquelyn: Yes, Zunzi’s…if you haven’t been before, tell them, and they’ll let you taste the food.
  
• Where do you go when you want to get dressed up and go dancing?
  Kristin: The Jinx, Thursday Night Dance Party
  Karen: The back room at Bar Bar or the third floor at Club 51 Degrees. I went with seven girls I work with, and as long as you go with a group of girls you know, it’s fun.
  Jacquelyn: You can dance at Mercury Lounge.
  Karen: Yeah, I love dancing right in front of the stage at Mercury. And if you get the right band, at Wild Wings.
  Debbie: Saya
  Jacquelyn: Wet Willie’s is kind of a tourist trap, but our clients love to go there.
  Kristin: I think Local 1110 is great.
  Debbie: Yeah, Local has great food, but it’s also a great place to just hang out. It’s so funky and contemporary.
  Jacquelyn: For a great drink, go to Il Pasticcio and order the Bobblehead… it has champagne and chambord and comes with a sugar rim—so good.
  Karen: The Cherry Bomb at Alligator Soul. But you have to ask for Roscoe. Roscoe is good.
  
• What is your favorite local event or festival?
  Karen: St. Patrick’s Day. Go to the Rail Pub, you get free breakfast with drinks St. Pat’s morning.
  Debbie: Savannah Music Festival and Savannah Film Festival are my top two.
  Jacquelyn: Savannah Music Festival.
  Kristin: Yeah, Savannah Music Festival.
  
• If you and the girls wanted to head to the beach, where would you go?
  Karen: If I want to hang out with people, I go to the beach right in front of Tybee Times, but if I don’t want to see anybody, I go to the Back River of Tybee.
  Debbie: The North Beach Grill… that’s a fun place.
  Kristin: We always go to the south tip of Tybee, but we always end up at Hucapoo’s.
  Jacquelyn: Or you can go to 11th Street beach and hang out with all the locals.
• What are some fun girls’-only activities you would plan for your girlfriend getaway?
  Karen: If I came to Savannah for a girls’ weekend, I’d take a cooking class at the Mansion On Forsyth Park or Kitchen Outfitters.
  Jacquelyn: Yoga at the Jepson on Saturday mornings is fun. Oh, and Leopold’s Ice Cream

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