Meal: Lunch – Indian Buffet
Restaurant: Nawab, Norfolk VA
I had lunch the other day with one of my favorite lawyers in
the world, Draughn. She is always up for
Indian so we indulged in chicken saagwala,
tandoori chicken, paneer makhni,
chana masala, vegetable pakora and of course naan. I really didn’t need to eat the rice pudding
and orange slices for dessert, but I did anyway.
Nawab has several locations around Hampton Roads and I have
eaten at the ones in Virginia Beach and Newport News in addition to the Norfolk
location. All are wonderful and I always
enjoy the visit.
Sitting down with Draughn is always fun because we catch up
on people, discuss maritime law issues (I swear we do and we don’t even fall
asleep in our plates), and inevitably turn to discussions about Savannah,
Georgia. Like me, Draughn used to live
in that beautiful city until some jerk (I write from the heart and that’s why
it hurts) pulled her out to come work with him in Hampton Roads. There are
truly wonderful restaurants, bars and people in Savannah and I look forward to
visiting them all (not necessarily in that order) again soon and writing about
everything from oyster stew to crab-cakes; pork barbecue to low country boils,
travelers to vodka drinking clubs and everything else I miss about Savannah.
I probably could just keep going and finish this post up but
I think I should stop and explain vodka drinking clubs. A long time ago, a delightful and somewhat
eccentric Carolina Panthers fan named Larry decided to start hosting drinking
parties at his home. These parties were
mainly attended by professionals in the hotel and tourism business in Savannah
but others were welcome. The rules were
simple - all alcohol consumed must contain vodka. Very quickly these parties outgrow Larry's
house and he started convincing bars and restaurants to host the parties in
private rooms in their facilities. The
drink of choice was vodka and the brand of choice was Thor Hammer. Thus began the Thor's Hammer Club of Savannah.
It is hard to understand but please believe that these parties took on a life of their own - a young entrepreneurial owner of a coffee bar, found a viking helmet on Ebay, and the tradition of having every new Thor Hammer drinker wear the helmet was born. Then there was the claw hammer which served as the symbolic Thor's Hammer, awarded at every party to an individual who went above and beyond to helping the Club grow. There were annual Christmas parties where the buskers on River Street were invited up to perform for the party, and there were theme parties including Leif Garrett Day (held on Leif Ericsson's Day - ask your Scandinavian friends...) and the blow out Thor Hammer Down by the River, which was held at the Police Camp on Wilmington Island and featured live music by the Effing Hammers. The local liquor distributor even got the importer of Thor Hammer vodka to attend one of the parties and presented us with logo schwag - (I am still known to wear my Thor's Hammer golf shirt). Unfortunately Thor's Hammer departed on a Karve and was never heard from again so the "Club" went looking for replacement vodka and for a while there was competition including Tito's Handmade (a personal favorite) and even Grey Goose but the ultimate winner was Firefly. Now there is a Firefly Vodka Club of Savannah and if you make it down to Savannah - look for the annual Christmas Party or the toast at 2 or one of their other excuses to drink and make sure you find Larry and say hello but don't look for a beer.
