I'm ready for another mouth hug.
Sweet Potatoes.
Let the mouth hug continue.
Yeah.
So we have pulled out of the main downtown historic area.
Apparently, here they serve the world's best banana pudding.
How are we doing gentlemen?
Good. How are you?
Good. I'm Santana.
Hi Santana.
I'll be taking care of you. Santana from Savannah.
Yeah. And the funny thing is I'm getting married this Saturday.
And my last name is going to be Hannah.
No!
Santana in Savannah.
Yes.
Santana Hannah from Savannah.
Well, I know y’all have never been here before.
Let me tell you a little bit about our menu.
We have an eclectic menu.
It's like, I don't know, home cooking, you know what I'm saying?
It's like a hug from inside.
- So I have my eye on a couple of things. - Talk to me.
And if we're missing anything, then you can... I mean, I really want to try the country fried chicken.
You have to.
And then I also want a little bit of the peach glazed barbecue chicken.
Are we all sharing this?
We're all sharing.
Okay. I like this idea.
I would do the baked sweet potato with the pecan butter and corn pudding.
Fantastic.
Oh, okra!
Let's do that. That's a southern dish.
All right.
Thank you, Santana Hannah from Montana.
No, not Montana.
No!
Oh, wow. I said Hannah Montana.
She didn't hear. She didn't hear.
We've just arrived. I mean, we haven't even got any food in front of us yet.
And I already feel like we're in the south.
Santana Hannah from Savannah.
All right, my loves. It's time!
Hey, Santana.
This is the country chicken with collards and garlic mashed potatoes and cornbread.
Oh my gosh.
Y'all enjoy. I'm gonna come back and check on you, okay?
Thank you, Savannah.
Thank you very much.
Country fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread and collard greens.
This feels proper Southern.
What is 'collard' greens?
No idea.
Is it like a collared shirt? Like a normal shirt, but smarter.
Not that. Look at that.
That's boneless.
That is boneless. A giant piece!
Look at that with melted... oh wait, is that cheese or is it like a cheesy sauce?
It's gravy.
I thought that was cheese, but Ducky says that's gravy.
It does look like the gravy we had on the biscuits this morning.
That's true.
Oh my gosh, you hear that crunch?
Wow.
That's brilliant. That is amazing.
Perfectly crunchy on the outside. Juicy in the middle. Succulent.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it's the gravy. It's the gravy that makes it.
I don't know what's in that.
It goes perfectly with the crunch on the outside of the chicken.
Okay, I'm gonna try some with the collard greens.
Let's have some collard greens.
Oh! It's really tangy.
Quite sour.
Are they pickled? Maybe they're pickled.
- Oh! - It's kind of sour.
Well, I had it with the gravy the first time round. Without the gravy, it's bitter.
Yeah.
What do you mean yeah?
Yeah!
Is that... supposed to be like that?
Yeah, it's supposed to be bitter.
By itself, I'm not a fan.
Oh, it's horrible.
No, it's not horrible.
How is it?
Yeah, I'd say the chicken is unbelievably good.
The collard greens...
They're cooked with lemon, so they have that bitter...
That's what that is.
Okay, I was not expecting that.
Didn't see that coming.
I was saying, we don't know what collard means.
Yeah, it's just like our leafy vegetables, a staple in the south.
I feel like this is maybe an acquired taste.
It is, for sure.
I haven't acquired it yet.
Yeah, that's okay.
Next menu item…
This is the barbecue chicken with our corn pudding and baked sweet potato with our pecan butter.
Wow.
This is peach glazed barbecue chicken.
I know Georgia's big on peaches. I learned from Justin Bieber.
Exactly.
But peaches and chicken? Is that a thing?
Alright, let's do this.
Cheers.
Wow.
Okay. Wow.
Mmmm!
I don't think I was actually expecting it to taste really peachy.
It's like apricot jam.
But on like baked chicken.
I really don't know how to process that.
It's a revelation.
It's like reformatting my taste buds.
Alright, now I really want to try this.
I think she said this was sweet potato with sweet potato butter.
I mean, look at that. It looks like it's just melting in.
I feel like we do jacket potatoes.
We do.
A lot. Why don't we ever do jacket sweet potatoes?
Well, they're not that big generally in England.
In England, yeah. This is massive.
Look at that, how orange and soft that is.
I mean, it's spooned on like it's flipping melted butter on like a Cinnabon.
That's what it looks like.
Look at that!
Oh, baby. Oh, baby.
It's like a sweet potato buttercream.
That is delicious.
What's crazy about it is that they're using like the same ingredients that we use in the UK.
Yet the flavours are completely revolutionary.
Is that seasoned at all?
Unreal.
I think it's genuinely just baked with that sweet potato butter on top.
It's just melted in, made it so soft.
I could eat that every day.
All right, what's this guy? What's this guy?
Are these grits? Creamed corn?
No, corn pudding.
OK.
This kind of looks like a pudding.
How you doing guys?
Do you like the corn pudding?
We haven't tried it yet.
OK, it's different.
It's different?
Oh!
Do you like it?
It's strange, but good, right?
I really like that. What is that?
It's corn pudding.
Why is it so good?
We gotta fix your face.
What's in it?
The texture is out there. The texture is just...
That's what throws me off.
But I really like it.
You do?
I'm not a fan either.
I do not like that.
I love it.
It's OK.
It's definitely an acquired taste. The textures.. me too. I can't handle it.
I love that texture.
It's a bit vomit-y.
A bit what?
Vomit-y.
Ah!
I can't do it.
Take your time and I'm going to go ahead and grab another plate and bring it out.
Next courses, yeah, we're ready.
Thank you so much.
Bye guys, congratulations!
Y'all take care.
Thank you, babe.
This Southern hospitality is on another level.
It is on another level.
They're not joking when they talk about the food and this hospitality out here.
It's amazing.
All right, we're doing the fried catfish with the grits and sweet potato fries.
Fried catfish.
There's biscuit, there's tartare sauce, homemade tartare sauce, and ketchup.
Fantastic.
What is grits?
It's like a ground up... I'm not sure what it is.
But I know I love them for breakfast. They're delicious. And they're great with catfish.
Okay.
Yes.
In England, we’ve got fish and chips. This is fish and grits.
Fish and grits.
Let's go in with the catfish.
Oh, you're going straight in with the sugary sweet potato fries. Are they good?
Sugar!
Brown sugar.
Oh!
That works.
Man, it shouldn't work. It really shouldn't work.
That tastes like the first time I had sweet and salty popcorn.
Yeah.
You know?
That's exactly it.
And you're like, why didn't we do this?
That's exactly it.
I knew that. It's just dried, ground up corn. That’s all it is.
No, really?
Yeah.
Corn? Grits is also corn?
Yeah.
Isn't that amazing?
It is amazing.
We haven't tried it yet.
We've only tried the sweet potato fries.
You like the sweet potato fries?
What would be a more southern way of saying that?
What?
Amazing.
No, I was just...
It was a joke because they call it maize in some other cultures.
- Oh, that was pretty good. - I need to catch up.
That went straight over my head.
It's okay.
Oh, smell that.
Fish and grits.
Smell that. Cheesy grits.
I like mine with butter, two eggs over medium. So good.
Eggs and grits?
Yes.
Okay.
Oh, wow. It's like corn porridge.
You like it?
I do like that.
People do like shrimp and grits.
We just had corn pudding and you didn't like that.
But this is different.
There's more of a crunch to it.
It's gritty.
It is gritty.
There's a crunch to it.
There's also cheese on top.
Yes. You can't beat it, anything with cheese it better.
The flavour is much more savoury than the corn pudding.
It's good. Absolutely.
Y'all enjoy!
Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!
Okay, this fish.
It's very, very soft.
It looks like it's going to be extremely tender.
I don't know if I've ever had catfish before.
Okay.
Wow. It's a stronger flavour than cod.
Much stronger flavour.
I mean, it tastes of something.
Fish and chips just tastes of whatever you put on it.
It tastes of vinegar usually and salt.
I’m struggling to describe the flavour of it.
Maybe it's the spice, like the herbs and spices it's cooked with.
I don't know, but it's delicious.
I feel like this was the most similar to what we have in the UK.
Sweet potato fries….some weird porridge thing with cheese in it.
You're not a fan of?
I was expecting to like the grits more.
I've heard a lot about it.
With that texture profile. You're walking a very fine line.
I fell off one side. When it came to the corn pudding.
Corn pudding you didn’t like, I loved that.
You fell off the other side when it came to the grits.
Oh, I'm excited about the pudding.
Oh no, wait. We've got one more.
How are we doing?
Very good. We’re ready for the next.
Put the camera down, Ducky and eat.
She filled my tea up again.
Is that a thing?
Is it just bottomless tea?
Yeah. Usually tea is the unlimited option.
All right, you guys. Next course is our pecan chicken with okra and tomatoes.
My favourite pickles are sweet, hot garlic pickles that we make here.
They're so good.
Hot and sweet.
What’s this again?
That's the pecan butter for the chicken.
Pecan butter with pecans.
That's a lot of pecans.
Yeah, pecans.
Yeah.
Am I saying it wrong?
No, you're good.
I love the way you say it.
Maybe we're saying it wrong.
Okay.
I doubt it.
Come on then, Josh.
Let's go.
You know what?
It's not an overpowering flavour of pecan.
If that was peanut, all you would taste would be peanut.
That's true.
But there's quite a strong chicken flavour in that.
The chicken is delicious.
The butter is slightly sweet, but not overpoweringly at all.
That's delicious.
Okay.
Garlic hot pickles.
Big pickle!
Have you had this before?
Is this a thing?
Yeah, yeah.
That is good.
That is really good.
It's got a kick.
It's got a kick, but it's sweet.
It's sweet. That is delicious.
You know how a lot of people in England don't like pickles?
If they were like this, everyone would love pickles.
Also, it's just massive. Look at the girth of that pickle.
It's a girthy pickle.
That is a chonky pickle.
How do we feel about this stuff?
Oh, the pickles!
Told you. Those are my favourite. We sell those by the jar too.
Do you?
Can we buy some?
Absolutely.
We can get some to take home.
Yeah. How many jars you want?
Oh, 10?
I'll take two.
Don't play with me. I'll make some magic happen for you.
Now, okra.
Okra looks like a vegetable that shouldn't be eaten.
Well, people love it.
I like it fried. Try it. Just try it.
People eat it over rice.
Ok.
I like that.
You know, that would be great in a lasagna.
Oh, yeah. I can see that. Like a vegetarian lasagna.
So, what's the most popular dish here?
It would probably be our fried chicken on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Our meatloaf is extremely popular.
The pecan chicken, the pot roast, that chicken.
I mean, it just depends on your mood.
A lot of customers come here daily, but a lot of tourists come here because it's not so congested.
We're off the beaten path from River Street downtown.
It's really nice.
So, we're back here in the cut.
It feels like we're in the middle of nowhere. It’s amazing.
I love it, too.
Oh, Steve.
Well, y’all got some good stuff here.
Cappuccino pie…I'd eat that last because it's frozen.
Yes. That's why I brought the knife out just in case.
Fantastic.
That's our famous banana pudding and homemade sweet potato pie.
And then how do you make this banana pudding?
They don't tell us any of that.
Wow.
Let me tell you, if we ran out of that banana pudding, they would riot against us.
They would burn this place down.
People come here every day to get the banana pudding.
I have a guy that comes in at lunch and eats two of those for lunch.
I'm like, how do you go back to work after that?
For lunch?
Wow.
Banana pudding first!
Have you ever had banana pudding anyway?
I've never even heard of it!
None of them is going to compare to this, so...
We set the standard high.
Oh, wow.
With the cookies and the pecans.
You have to have some of that to give it some texture.
Wow.
It's good, right?
It's really, really good.
Good!
Wow. That's another level.
I'm so glad.
I'll be right back.
- I'm going to get you some more tea, honey. - Thank you so much.
No wonder this is famous.
That's going to be hard to top.
Next up, sweet potato pie.
It's baked, there's a little bit of pastry here.
Then there's whipped cream on top that is made here from scratch.
So, presumably, that poor cream is whipped into oblivion.
Cheers.
I love that.
It's kind of just sweet potato in pastry.
Yeah, but it works.
It does work.
It works really well as a dessert.
It's very simple.
It feels very homely, you know?
Very good.
How are we feeling?
Excellent.
There's a secret ingredient in this, isn't there?
They don't tell us.
I don't believe you.
- I swear. - They really don't.
There's only one guy who makes all the desserts.
And does he have to shut the door when he's putting in the secret ingredient?
No, we're just not here when he does it.
He's here in the morning before we get here.
Are you ever tempted to come a little early?
No, because I don't care.
I don't care that much. I eat enough of it.
Okay, okay.
Last up, look at this.
You know, cappuccino ice cream pie is a great name for a dessert.
Is that what it's actually called?
Ice cream pie? I'm not a big fan of like coffee cake or coffee flavoured things.
Well, they can be hit and miss, can't they?
Wow. That looks dense AF.
Ohhh, look at that.
All right, let's do this. Santana's favourite.
That's frozen, that's ice cream.
We both have quite sensitive teeth.
We're from England.
Santana, Hannah, Savannah, Montana.
I prefer the banana pudding.
Oh, can't top that.
All of these puddings.
Santana, we didn't finish it.
Incredible.
I know, but it's okay. It's a lot.
It's a lot for our sensitive English mouths.
Yeah, it's okay.
The banana pudding.
It’s ridiculous.
I think everyone would like that.
If you don’t like that, there’s something wrong with you.
That’s exactly right, It’s a personal thing.
This has been a very, very pleasant experience.
I hope. You sound so surprised.
I just didn't know what to expect, I guess.
It's been amazing.
Thank you so much for looking after us.
You guys were a delight!
You really have looked after us.
You guys are my babes, that's what I'm supposed to do.
This is how I make my money. That's why I'm Big Mama.
That's why I make the money here.
You know, I got to take care of my people.
For anyone who's watching who's never been to the South, you recommend they come here?
You have to come to Sweet Potatoes.
You'll never find another place like this. It's an eclectic group.
It's home cooking, it's endearing and charming people, staff, environment, the setting.
Thank you so much.
You guys have been so awesome.
Thank you.
Y'all relax, take your time. I'm not kicking you out. Just hang out.
Thank you so much.
Finish the juice.
Thank you so much.