Elizabeth on 37th

Housed in a handsome Greek Revival mansion, Elizabeth on 37th Street remains a must-meal in Savannah. The team behind it has been winning awards since it opened, in 1981, with chef Elizabeth Terry in the kitchen and her husband, Michael, greeting guests in the antiques-filled parlor. Elizabeth, whom the New York Times dubbed the “queen of Savannah cuisine,” married contemporary techniques with old-fashioned flavors that she discovered in her exhaustive research into the region’s 18th- and 19th-century culinary traditions. Her protégé, Kelly Yambor, has taken over in the kitchen but still relies on Elizabeth’s inspiration and the freshest Georgia ingredients. Tables occupy the rooms where one of the city’s grand families, the Spragues, entertained lavishly in the 1930s and ’40s and many original details remain intact. Coastal specialties like local oysters or Virginia sea scallops appear regularly on the menu, which also features specials like blackened grouper that will give you new respect for the joys in Southern cooking.