Last week (March 2nd, to be precise), while in town for his "Main St." tour, President Obama took a break out of his day to have an impromptu lunch at Mrs. Wilkes. Mrs. Wilkes happens to be located in the Downtown Design District of Savannah, where I both live and work. The few blocks of Whitaker St., between Jones St. and Taylor St. (considered the Design District), could very easily be thought of as a main street of sorts, at least for those in the know. Often overlooked by those visiting from out of town, it's a hidden gem packed full of antique shops, design boutiques, galleries, clothing boutiques, and one lone restaurant.
One need only spot the line spilling out of Mrs. Wilkes to know that you've discovered a beloved Savannah institution. Housed in the garden level of what once was a boarding house, meals are served family style at this restaurant. There's no menu, you simply dine on what’s been prepared that day, everyday being Omakase (chef’s choice). Tables seat ten at the most. Be prepared to dine with both neighbors and strangers. Break the ice with your table mates by deciding which direction to pass the bowls. The days offerings are a combination of such Southern staples as fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, okra, biscuits and banana pudding. In the tradition of the boarding house, diners carry their dishes to the kitchen just as Mrs. Wilkes guests have done since 1943. Mrs. Wilkes great-grandson runs the business just as she did during her heyday. Once one has dined at Mrs. Wilkes you can cross another item off of your list of 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.
On the day of the Presidents arrival in Savannah none of us expected him to venture into the Historic District, let alone grace us with his presence in the Design District. Then around lunchtime who pulls up in front of our shop, but a Georgia state trooper. Out of the back seat jumps a secret service agent. Then a fleet of motorcycle cops pull up and the blocks of Whitaker St. between Jones St. and Taylor St. were suddenly blocked off. It was then that we suspected something important might be about to happen. We did ask the state trooper if Obama was coming round, and he nodded in the affirmative. Then, through the grapevine, we found out that he was on his way to dine, family style, at Mrs. Wilkes. Suddenly into the lane (what would be referred to as an alley in any other city, is referred to as a lane in Savannah) pull the President's motorcade and Obama gets out and enters Mrs. Wilkes. While the President dined on wings and black-eyed peas (despite the announcement that his cholesterol was borderline high at a physical earlier in the week), the streets around the barricades were flooded with shop keepers and people from the neighborhood waiting to catch a glimpse of the President once he vacated the restaurant. And get a glimpse of him we did.
Later, we would learn that Obama snubbed Paula Deen by not dining on the lunch she had catered for his speech at the Savannah Technical College. Then he proceeded to rub in said snub when she managed to track him down for a handshake at Meddin Studios. He informed her that he'd just had the most wonderful lunch, not at Savannah Tech, but rather at Mrs. Wilkes. Ouch. "Let me tell you it was so funny, because he busted himself," Paula said about her conversation with the President. "He said, 'I had the most wonderful lunch today.' And I thought, 'Oh My Gosh we catered lunch for him at Savannah Tech and he's fixing to tell me how wonderful it was.' And I was getting my chest all blown out and then he said, "Yeah we went to a place called Mrs. Wilkes. I said, 'What!'"
