Opened in January, Anita Deli Sandwich is catty-corner from Crystal Beer Parlor and more than fills the space vacated by its predecessor.
Just before Thanksgiving 2020, Chef Patrick McNamara’s satellite shop Totally Baked pulled out of 348 Jefferson St. and returned to his Noble Fare home base. Anita Rentz had been one of McNamara’s employees at Totally Baked, and on Dec. 1, she and husband Robert became the location’s new co-owners and co-chefs.
“We had to start from scratch,” Anita Rentz recalled. “It was a shell.”
In a little more than a month, she and Robert designed and built out the restaurant themselves, turning a blank canvas into a fully functional and well-fitted deli.
Driving 60 miles northeast of Savannah through Beaufort County, S.C., at the very end of U.S. Highway 21 lies Hunting Island State Park, gateway to St. Phillips Island. Once, a rustic getaway for media mogul Ted Turner and family, in 2017 South Carolina State Parks acquired St. Phillips with help from the Nature Conservancy.
The 4,682-acre island, accessible only by boat and recognized by the National Park Service for its intact ecosystems and near lack of human development, is portal to another era.
Turner, consummate conservationist, worked diligently in his 40-year stewardship of St. Phillips to maintain the marsh, forest, and dune ecologies just as they are. The island’s interior boasts untouched stands of mature pine, live oak, magnolia, hickory, and cherry trees. Wistful strands of Spanish moss cascade from the upper canopy. Saw palmettos punctuate the understory.
The dry weather has returned, or so it seems for now. As we enter tropical storm season it remains to be seen just how much rain we will get. It is often droughty in Georgia, but especially here in Coastal Georgia where our sandy soils typically drain quite well. We’ve gone from droughts (last summer) to floods (this past winter), and weather extremes like these stress plants. What can we do to get the most from our sprinklers? Here are a few questions and concerns I’ve been fielding in the office of late, I hope they can help direct you.
Jane Fishman is a contributing lifestyles columnist for the Savannah Morning News.
The Silver Meteor pulls away quietly from the modest Savannah depot, just as it always did, before the isolation, before the pandemic. This is Amtrak’s southbound 97. Savannah is the approximate midpoint between Boston and Miami. The tag on my bike headed for baggage reads MIA. I’m hoping that means Miami and not “missing in action.” We’re heading to Hollywood, Florida. During the ride I find out from a very congenial car conductor, Mr. Appleman, that bikes cannot be unloaded in Hollywood. Someone goofed when we made the ticket. We make an adjustment. I text my friend to meet us in Ft. Lauderdale.