Welcome back to Savannah Flavors, our weekly newsletter bringing you the latest delicious details from Savannah’s culinary scene every Thursday.

Here is what’s on the menu today:

• Le Café Gourmet Opens New Location 🍰

• Crystal Beer Parlor’s favorite hot dogs, dumplings, and Beer in SAV 🥩

• Homemade Pumkin Kaddo bowrani recipe 🎃

• Evening at The Public Kitchen & Bar 🍹

THE MAIN DISH

Le Café Gourmet expands into new production and retail space on Victory Drive 🥐🧁

I have a feeling that my wife and I are not alone with our retirement dreams of moving to a village in the south of France, but until we buy that house in Apt, a little bit of France is moving closer to our Savannah home.

Tucked neatly between the new Aldi and the Victory Station plaza is a white cinder-block duplex that will soon be Le Café Gourmet’s bakery headquarters and second retail space.

“We are now in the process of finishing the remodel,” said Helen Hall, who bought the business back in 2022 from founders Alexandre Darbousset and Angela Yeo. “We can move our bakers in probably in the next week or so.”

For starters, 1701A East Victory Drive will be a production-only facility that supplies the café that sits just steps from City Market, but a big blue sign bearing the Eiffel Tower has clearly piqued the collective consumer interest. 

“We’ve already had so many people knocking on my door,” Hall added with a laugh. “Even though it says ‘opening soon’, they’re coming in to get bread.”

So that her staff does not have to endure what will certainly be an endless retail line in those first weeks, baguettes, boules, brioches, and all the gorgeous Gallic sweet treats will be baked here and then head up to 53 Montgomery Street to be bought and devoured.

Once her crew is “acclimated to the new bakery,” Hall explained, “the retail side will open up,” most likely by the end of December.

At that point, Le Café Gourmet ‘Deux’ will be a “retail bakery,” a “kind of a grab-and-go or come-and-get-it-and-go,” she coined of the new boulangerie whose onset of onsite sales will be posted on the socials by her managers.

The imminent residents of the Aventon apartment complex and Parksiders are going to buy them out every day of the week. 

“Everybody says, ‘Helen, you’ve got a goldmine here,’” said Hall with a laugh.

CHEF’S CRAVINGS

John Nichols, Paige Brown, & Ben Mammina - Crystal Beer Parlor 🍔🍻

Each week, I ask the folks behind the phenomenal food at our favorite places around Savannah these same simple questions:

When you are not in your restaurant kitchen, where do you go out to eat and what do you order?

Crystal Beer Parlor is one of one. In existence since 1933, the hallowed Savannah haunt has been lovingly guided through its latest era by John Nichols, who bought the classic gastrobar back in 2009 and has dedicated himself to keeping part of the city’s past in its present and future. For visitors, going to CBP is a restaurant ritual, and for residents, it is a treat. This week’s Chefs’ Cravings come courtesy of Nichols, general manager Paige Brown who has been with Nichols since Day One, and beverage manager Ben Mammina, now in Year Thirteen at CBP.

PB: We eat here a lot (cue the agreement laughter). It’s so hard because we’re here, and we still enjoy the food.

JN: I have to tell you, when we opened this place, I was very conscious of the fact that I had eaten out many times before, and I said, “Whatever we do, it’s going to be better than what we can eat at other places.” First and foremost, our deviled crab is the best you’re going to find anywhere.

PB: Oh my gosh, shrimp and grits - and people go on shrimp-and-grits tours. Do you know what I’m saying? They search out the best in whatever town they go to. Our crab stew we make by the truckload every day.

JN: Every day.

PB: And our onion rings are, by far, the best. Handmade from scratch, they are a labor of love.

JN: For our club sandwich, we don’t use pressed turkey. We roast our own, and that makes all the difference in the world.

PB: I like going to the beach to get dinner because I live on Wilmington Island. 

PB: Also, The Deck. Best location on Tybee, always was.

PB: I don’t really go out a lot downtown anymore. That’s more Ben because he’s a little closer and Johnny. Since I’m on the island, I lean toward those places. Lili’s on the island is good, and the Steakhouse on Whitemarsh is delicious. The service is so good. I really enjoy it. It is great, and Annie Allman plays on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s a cousin of the Allman Brothers. She’s fantastic. She used to own a guitar store in town.

BM: When you asked that question, Savannah is kind of sectional or cliquey in a way. You’re either on the islands or downtown, so back to the island, have you been to Back River Brewery?

(NWG replies that he wrote about Back River Brewer’s food back in June.)

BM: I was blown away by what they’re doing there in such a small space. The beer is outstanding, and the food is excellent. Total sleeper. And then you have Sea Wolf out there, which is killer. That’s unique in its own, what they’re doing there.

PB: Great hot dogs.

BM: And I’ve got to mention Raw. More in our area, C + L. I went to a Korean steak night there about a month ago. Apparently, once a month, I think, they do a steak night. A friend took me, and I was blown away by the quality of the food that they’re putting out of that little kitchen. I mean, they’re doing seared steaks with a curried pâté. They were charred and beautiful. I don’t want to give away my little hideaway but Ben’s [Neighborhood] Grill [and Tap].

JN: On Hodgson Memorial?

BM: Nick’s [Lambros] place. It’s like a miniature some-kind-of-version of this.

PB: It’s like a miniature Crystal. Their burgers are great.

BM: The wings are really good, and his beer selection is unique.

PB: Starland’s really cool to bounce around in. There’s lots of options, and if you’re going to a show at Victory North, that’s a really good place to grab dinner first. 

JN: I love The Vault, too. Their spicy dumplings: delicious. They cause a little perspiration, but they’re out of this world. The grilled pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables, a nice savory sauce that they drizzle over it all, delicious, delicious.

PB: I’m going to have to tell you that The Crow Bar’s got one of the best burgers in town. And the wings. It’s so great.

BM: Always overlooked is PS Tavern on Bay Street. Their food’s really good. Their wings are killer. Their pizza’s great. 

PB: I’ll have to go try that.

And for a special occasion?

JN: Paris (laughs).

BM: Cotton & Rye. That thick-cut pork chop is always amazing.

JN: I love Cotton & Rye’s wings.

PB: I like Sundae Cafe at the beach, such a surprise in between a liquor store and a 7-Eleven. White tablecloths but you can go in your flip flops. It’s so quaint and cozy.

JN: What’s your favorite thing there?

PB: I love their oysters Rockefeller because they make them with collard greens instead of spinach, and they have a Cajun cream sauce. They’re delicious! The steaks are delicious. Their shrimp are flash-fried really lightly. It’s so good. They cream their spinach with boursin.

JN: Oh, yes, yes, yes.

PB: I could name a bunch of things. The ahi tuna is delicious.

JN: Ben and I went to dinner at 45 Bistro, and I hadn’t eaten escargot since I was 18 years old. Y’know, I just pictured the slug moving around in my intestines and said, “Never again.” I have to tell you, that recipe - it’s Alfredo [Soto], isn’t that his name? He worked here for a while.

BM: He might be the chef there now. I’m not sure.

JN: I think he is. Anyway, it’s a cream-based sauce. They’re not served in a little dish with the shells. They’re in a little crock with sundried tomatoes…

BM: Is it cream-based? It’s different. I wouldn’t say it’s super-creamy, but he’s right.

JN: It’s absolutely delicious. Maybe it’s just tons of butter. He ordered it for his appetizer, and I kind of took it from him.

BM: And he didn’t want it!

JN: And their espresso-rubbed ribeye: probably the best steak in town.

BM: I would say so, yeah.

JN: It’s outstanding. Outstanding!

BM: And you can’t not bring up the beef carpaccio. 

JN: It’s a classic dish: chicken parmigiana at Garibaldi. I hadn’t been in years, and friends wanted to go. It was outstanding.

BM: I do want to mention The Grey.

PB: Oh yeah.

BM: Johno [Morisano] and Mashama [Bailey] have been such big supporters of us, and they’ve done a lot for the Savannah food scene. The food there is excellent, unique, and delicious. 

JN: Mashama’s smoked collard greens. Have you ever had those? That’s heaven!

PB: I hate that we can’t go there as much as he can come here!

BM: I have to mention one more place: Brochu’s. What they’re doing is awesome. 

JN: I haven’t been there.

BM: Well, you’ll have to take me sometime! It’s super-laid-back, such a great atmosphere. The chicken platter three ways, it’s amazing. The liver toast is my favorite.

PB: That sounds delicious. A chicken platter? That’s right up my alley.

JN: Next stop!

-Neil Gabbey

TRIED, TASTED, TRUE

Kaddo bowrani

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE

More than a decade after we left Baltimore, many of our favorite restaurants are no longer in business. Rereading that sentence, it sounds like my wife and I were financially essential to their respective existences, which obviously was not the case. Nevertheless, even though we are here and not there, we have been saddened long-distance to see the closures of B Bistro, City Cafe, Hamilton Tavern, and a handful of other former favorites.

Now in its 35th year, The Helmand is standing the test of time and then some, still serving superbly authentic and approachable Afghan cuisine. My wife and I were not regulars at the center city stalwart, but whenever we went, we shared kaddo bowrani. 

Honestly, I think everyone who has ever eaten at The Helmand has begun the meal with this peerless pumpkin appetizer. Sweetened with sugar but still savory, the burnt-orange squash is pan-fried and then baked until fork-tender, plated with a cascade of garlicky yogurt sauce.

Naan never had it so good.

At this point, shirk the urge to Google ‘kaddo bowrani’ because the majority of the online images do the dish no justice. It should not be a solid wedge of pumpkin, nor does it need to be slathered with spiced beef.

Enjoy it as you would a side of mashed butternut squash.

Incredibly, Baltimore Magazine writer Hannah Feldman somehow cajoled The Helmand’s owners into sharing their recipe for kaddo bowrani, which appeared in the November 2005 issue. Well-crinkled and a little stained, that page has a prized place in my recipe box and comes out every year when the temperatures drop and sugar pumpkins reappear in grocery stores.

This year, I was slow to the draw, maybe because October was unseasonably warm, and I did not buy my first baby pumpkin until after Halloween. By then, they were all gone from Kroger’s big cardboard bins and just a few remained in Whole Foods’ vestibule.

All in all, The Helmand’s recipe calls for few ingredients, and the preparation is dead-simple, aside from peeling, seeding, and chopping the pumpkin. If you are a novice with this cucurbita, take care lest you peel your knuckles in the process. 

My method is to halve the pumpkin through its equator and scoop out the seeds and fibrous strands with a soup spoon. I then grip the hollowed out half firmly between all four fingers and the heel of my left hand while I work a speed peeler around the surface.

To sever the stem and base and to chop the pumpkin into two-inch chunks, make sure your knife is sharp.

Place the pieces with a half-teaspoon of salt in your largest oven-proof skillet with the cooking oil and sautée for at least ten minutes, turning once as they brown just slightly and while the oven preheats to 350°.

Off the heat, sprinkle the sugar and the cinnamon over the softened squash and stir to coat. The original recipe calls for three-quarters of a cup of white sugar, which sounds like a lot because it is. If you use the right pumpkin, you can cut that down to a half cup without altering the final flavor. 

Cover and place in the oven to bake for about a half hour, during which time, you can whip up the sauce. Even for one baby pumpkin, double The Helmand’s sauce allotment. You will thank me later.

Dump two 5.3-ounce tubs of yogurt into a mixing bowl and whisk in two grated garlic cloves, a half teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of water. Greek is great, but the sauce should be creamy and not clumpy.

For the last fifteen minutes the pumpkin is in the oven, your house will smell fantastically like fall, and your mouth will water.

Remove the lid and use a fork to press the pumpkin pieces, each of which will give easily. The end product will not look uniformly whipped like potatoes or other squashes and will retain a little texture.

Serve with a generous drizzle of the yogurt sauce and eat using any warm flatbread as your utensil. As long as the little pumpkins are available, kaddo bowrani can be your new fall tradition.

-Neil Gabbey

THE RECIPE

HARD GOODS 

• 1 baby (sugar) pumpkin

• ½ cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus a dash more (used separately)

• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated

WET GOODS

• ¼ cup canola oil

• 2 5.3-ounce cups of plain yogurt

• (optional: 1 tablespoon water)

DO THIS

1. Cut the pumpkin crosswise through its equator

2. Scoop out the seeds and the fibrous strands from both halves

3. Peel the skin off of both halves

4. Cut and discard the stem and bottom end

5. Chop the pumpkin into 2-inch pieces

6. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat

7. Add the ¼ cup of oil and the pumpkin pieces to the skillet with a ½ teaspoon of salt

8. Preheat the oven to 350° 

9. Covered, sautée the pumpkin for at least 10 minutes, turning once

10. Remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the softened pumpkin

11. Set the lid back on the skillet and place it in the oven

12. Bake for at least 30 minutes

13. Whisk the grated garlic and a dash of salt into the yogurt, thinning with water to make a creamy, dressing-like sauce

14. Remove the skillet from the oven and use a fork to press-mash the pumpkin pieces, leaving a little texture throughout

15. Serve hot, topped with yogurt sauce

BEEN THERE. ATE THAT.

The Public Kitchen & Bar

My wife and I fell in love with The Public Kitchen & Bar right when we fell in love with Savannah. On our first scouting trip many moons ago, the Daniel Reed Hospitality New American casual chic brasserie caught our eyes because everything about it reminded us of Europe.

Except for the shrimp and grits, of course.

Tucked into the southwest corner of Bull and Liberty Streets, the setting is nearly Parisienne, always just enough bustle of both food and car traffic beneath the beautiful live oak canopy to let diners know they are in the heart of someplace special. 

When we left Baltimore, The Public became our resto replacement for b. (Bolton Hill Bistro) and City Café, both of which were COVID casualties, and it has never lost its place on our Savannah shortlist of favorite eateries. We counted ourselves among the happily relieved when DRH decided to rebuild after a kitchen fire devastated the restaurant in June of 2020.

A few Fridays back, we headed downtown on the early side and were lucky to be seated outside, along Liberty this time. By ten after five, only one other sidewalk table remained unoccupied, and the rez-de-chaussée and English basement dining rooms were nearly full, too.

Precisely like a bistro in the 6e arrondissement, an al fresco meal at The Public almost does not necessitate any food due to the stunning location, location, location. While the service is always superb and attentive, we often sit there wishing that our meals would not be served so quickly simply to afford us more time to enjoy the ambience.

We timed this visit just right as the fall menu had recently been rolled out. Though our longtime favorite autumn linguine with roasted root vegetables had not reappeared, my wife’s appetite was tempted by the house sausage primavera ($26). Because she rarely eats pasta, I chalked up her choice to the facts that we were at The Public and that it was topped with goat cheese.

One of the best and worst parts about all of the menus here is that any diner is spoiled for choice: deciding is difficult. My wife was this close to ordering either the seared sea scallop starter ($18) or entrée ($34) or the newly added pumpkin curry ($25). I hemmed and hawed over the savory brined grilled pork ($28), mostly to have the side of walnut roasted brussels sprouts, and the braised lamb shank ($36). 

In the end, I went with the lamb burger ($19) because I had ordered the bison burger on our last visit, because I had not eaten lamb in a long time, and because I love goat cheese almost as much as my wife.

The bowl of pasta was quite a portion, brimming with crumbled pieces of the house-made sausage atop plenty of creste di gallo and nicely charred slices of roasted red pepper, all just barely buoyant in a subtly spicy red sauce. Though there can never be enough chèvre, the dollops melted creamily into the first several mouthfuls in a dish that will grow even more apt as the temperatures continue to drop.

The lamb burger was certainly a thick and tasty patty, although its interior was dry, perhaps overdone or simply in need of a yogurty condiment to partner with the herbed goat cheese. What is billed as a “sweet pepper jam” was anything but and packed a piquant punch that smacked of New World capsica and overwhelmed the chèvre. The fries were fries, and I suspect that they are not fresh-cut in-house, perhaps due to volume demand.

My mouth was hot, but The Public was just as cool as it has always been, the bubbly gastrobar that makes us feel like we are on vacation in our hometown every time we eat there.

Luckily, Doki Doki is just a few blocks north: a single scoop of cafe au lait did the trick.

-Neil Gabbey