I was in no danger of starving this week as we picked up some groceries at Publix on the way in. But we ate out several times and it can be tricky to find good vegetarian food in a town much more interested in sea food.
One of our favorite places to eat on Tybee Island is A-J's Dockside. They're on the marsh side of the island and their outdoor seating has a great view of the sunset. During busy times it can take a while to get a seat that time of day - though in October on a weekday we didn't find it to be much of a problem (though the gnats and mosquitoes were a problem). A-J's has a veggie burger - which was not on the menu, though I found it a little bland, as were the fries. Not bland though were the hush puppies - they're very good (and not good for you at all). They had a distinct corn taste, and had an occasional sweet corn kernel to sell the effect. Their key lime pie is also good. It was more rich than zesty, though. My favorite menu item of theirs turned out to be a Sunday brunch item - the cheese omelet wrap. It's just a cheese omelet wrapped in a tortilla but everything was cooked perfectly and it tasted great. (The grits were really good, also.) A-J's does "bar food" but they do good bar food. If only they could make it healthy too!
A surprising dining success was Uncle Bubba's Oyster House which is located a little to the west on Whitemarsh Island. It's a little slicker of a restaurant (as it falls under Paula Deen's purview) but that has some benefits. It's comfortable and has a warm atmosphere with a marsh view (though again, outside is bad in October in the evening). I had a cheese quesadilla (which might have been off the appetizer menu, I admit) which was well-made and flavorful. The fries were great, and crispy.
The best dining of the week by far, though, (and probably by far the healthiest) was at Tybee Island Social Club. Their menu was a little more gourmet and included some explicitly vegetarian options. They had just started a new fall menu when we were there. I had the black bean burger, which was a little bland, but the chipotle aioli it had added a lot of flavor. I added their sweet potato chips, which were midway between soft and crispy if you can imagine, and they tasted great in the chipotle aioli they also came with. I also ordered a salad which was not a mixed salad. It had spinach (yay!) with a little salt I think under some ricotta, roast cauliflower and some dried tomatoes, poached apples, and roast squash seeds. I didn't eat everything there, but the spinach and ricotta was a refreshing change of pace and the roast squash seeds (which had some sort of seasoning , I believe) were excellent. For dessert we settled on a mint chocolate creme brûlée. It had a rich but not overwhelming chocolate taste and just enough mint to add flavor but not enough to make it actually minty - that could have been disappointing but it actually worked perfectly. Also, the richness of the dessert contrasted well with the almost burnt flavor of the crust. My wife - who is a much better judge of food - found that perfectly to her liking. I wasn't sure at first, but warmed to it. All in all, interesting food that was good, reasonably healthy, and not badly priced. The atmosphere is nice too (some accent lighting and a mostly wood interior, some natural, some painted white) and they have outdoor seating available. Recommended!
There are still some places we'd like to try (or try again) in the Tybee Island area. We were up in Hilton Head one day and we almost stopped at A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant; they have some vegetarian food too.
All in all, not a bad week food-wise. Tybee Island and Savannah may not be a vegetarian's paradise but there's still some good food to be found there!
(Having said all that - I can't wait till the next time I get to eat at Feast in Bloomington!)
