The Florence

Not many people have heard of this newer resto in Savannah from Hugh Acheson... You know, the adorable uni-brow slinky chef that is loved by all for his sense of humor to make fun of himself and celebrity cookbooks like the nachos by Kris Jenner and "Pimp My Shrimp" by Coolio. The pouch has a very similar sense of humor except that it only has one fan and twice as fat as Hugh... It's really kinda depressing. I know I will be crying myself to sleep again tonight. But Hugh's year old Eyetalian resto in Savannah is another addition to the growing food scene there. While the location is further away from the main historic downtown area, it still draws a crowd, although, a later crowd. One recent Saturday, the place was basically dead, even the cool bar/lounge space upstairs was slow. More people came in as it got later and later. But I don't care, I prefer it to be slow so they can make my food spot on. The space is pretty nice and open with a good size bar. The open kitchen which is the norm these days was laid out well to let the diners peek what's going on back there. The brick pizza oven is commercial but it should still do it's job for the pizzas.While the space is simple overall, it also feels kinda sterile and quiet like an old school hospital.
The servers were mixed with the knowledge of the menu or how dishes were prepared. While my server was sweet and all, she was not around much and knew very little about the dishes but the server for the tables on either side of my table was extremely attentive and knowledgeable. The pouch gets fucked again. So, I kept it simple for my clueless server... Let's sample some Eyetalian morsels.

The Boulevard “HEY”. Bourbon, dry and sweet vermouth, campari, orange bitters. These little pre-bottled cocktails were cute but they weren't all that memorable. Then I saw they had Coors Banquet for $3... Score!

Menu was pretty straight forward, some interesting dishes and some good old standbys.

Long Live the Queen (Margherita). Tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil. Basically, a Margherita... But this Margherita looked a little off. If was almost entirely white, the crust, the cheese, except for the spots of red tomato sauce. This was awful, undercooked, raw gummy flour, flavorless, colorless... just bad execution. How the fuck could they let this out of the kitchen? They prolly know the demographics don't know or don't care what they get except that it's a Hugh Acheson resto and he was on the TV, so whatever comes out it has to be, no, must be right. The watery cheese on top was not mozzarella but instead RICOTTA. Was I suppose to fold this thing up and eat it like a calzone since it's full of ricotta? Who the fuck knows but I ate a slice and pushed this off to the side, I was done. The silly server girl comes over and says, "Can I take this away? Are you done with this?". Totally fucking clueless nitwit... 90% of the pie is there sitting on the side and she doesn't see anything wrong with it. So, I had to explain to her what was wrong with it in a very nice way like talking to my 4 year old nephew... I asked her if it's not too much trouble to have the kitchen throw this pie back into the oven for another minute or so and put some mozzarella on top also since they can't take the ricotta off. She said sure and off she went and.... The manager comes over after a short discussion with the server about the 'ZA. Manager says the pizza was totally made wrong and that it shouldn't have ricotta on this pie. Thanks for confirming what I already told the server. So, the manager was very nice about it and said another pie will be sent out correctly. I did mention to her to keep it in the oven for an extra 25 seconds if it's no trouble.

Second try... And well worth it. No ricotta this time. Beautiful blisters and a bubbly crust. Now, this tasted and looked like a Margherita pie. The crust was really nice, developed char blisters, nice pull and chew to it. The sauce even tasted better when it's actually heated correctly and the mozzarella melted nicely. This was a very decent 'ZA when it's done correctly which they obviously can when they want it to.

Whole Egg Yolk Ravioli. Ricotta, foraged mushrooms, brussel sprouts, sweet peppers, butternut squash, radish, puffed parm, hab broth, fennel pollen, prosciutto. Can they put enough shit on this dish? Yes they can and yes they will... I like their style. This was a beautifully presented dish. Real nice. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

The egg yolk was in fact raw which was very nice. I love runny yolks all over. The giant egg yolk ravioli was pretty tasty, pasta was done spot on with a bit of a bite to it "al dente". The yolk gave it that extra flavor. The veggies surrounding it were really nice as well and the few pieces of prosciutto was just enough to balance it out with that salty hint. This was a winner.

Pork Cannelloni. Marinara, kale, chilies, oyster mushrooms, mozzarella. You know how restos put food in a cast iron just for show? This was actually cooked in it. It was hot hot hot which was great. The marinara sauce was the real winner here and the porky tubes were full of flavor and everything in this pan married very well together in flavor and presentation. I kept eating this non-stop. 

Black Bucatini. Calabrian chilies, garlic sausage ragu, bottarga, shrimp, clams. Black bucatini, how fucking awesome is that? Love love the black bucatini pasta.. Until I took a bite. It was almost raw. So undercooked it wasn't even funny. Is this coming from the same kitchen as the other dishes? Doesn't seem so... So sad because this plate looked so well composed. The shrimp was spot on, coulda used a couple more clams, the sausage ragu was good and the rest of the ingredients worked except that damn crunchy pasta. It was almost there, so close... It's like pumping one off and then someone opens the door right before you squirt. Brad knows what I'm talking about. So rude!

Coors Banquet. This was the perfect ending to a mixed dining experience... A giant can of Coors Banquet brew. Pound this thing fast and you will forget all the poorly executed food that was had... Until I post this.

Ok, it wasn't all that bad, there were a few really good dishes but the poor dishes really stood out the entire night. It was so strange. A server that disappeared, a manager and the rest of the kitchen watching me eat the entire time to searching for someone to pay the bill. I was exhausted and so ready to get the fuck outta here. I like Hugh and all but shit, I wouldn't come back here if he was cooking every dish. Don't feel bad because this place will do well no matter what they serve. It's Savannah hipster central.

1 W Victory Dr #B
Savannah, GA 31405
912-234-5522
http://theflorencesavannah.com/