Meet the restaurant that celebrates the humble potato
Spudnik is a product of its surroundings. Sitting on the very edge of Broughton Street in Savannah, Georgia, it finds itself the popular hangout and eatery of the booming student population. Staying open until 3:30AM on weekdays, the small restaurant sees its share of locals, tourists, and drunk young adults who smell of sweat and joy. These groups all have something in common; they’re hungry after a long day, and need something filling to get them through. This is where the potato, which contains all vitamins needed to live except A and D, comes in.
The potato has long been a staple food within the United States. In the south, it is mashed into a comfort. In other parts of the US, it made a meal of its own, being nutritious, filling, and dirt cheap. Spudnik has decided to continue that time-honored tradition and shows us what really can be done with the brown vegetable. From savory to spicy to sweet potatoes, Spudnik has pulled out all the stops and stretched the potato to its limits.
My personal favorite of the potato varieties is the Potatole’. Topped with jalapenos, black beans, a mild salsa, and sour cream, this potato takes savory to a new height. Though it can be spicy if you order the ghost pepper sauce for $1 extra, it is perfect as is. The potato was the right kind of mushy and blended in with the soft jalapenos and sauce, while the sour cream kept the flesh of the potato from burning your mouth. The texture of the black beans kept it from being too soupy. And at a price that doesn’t flavor the potato with my tears.
One cannot have good food without good service, however. And the service at Spudnik, no matter how understaffed, has always been impeccable. Polite, friendly, and fast with potatoes that do not lend themselves to be speedy cookers. While there does tend to be a back up post-midnight, when the dance crowd comes in, it never seemed to interfere with the good times that were had. We were also sated by the assortment of alcoholic beverages on display at the front- beers, ciders, soda, and several other things to accompany the potatoes.
The venue itself, as stated earlier, is on Broughton Street. It’s a short walk to and from anywhere, though it can be hard to find amongst the abandoned buildings of stores who could not make the street’s rising rent costs. The floor is covered in pennies and the walls of traditional Savannah brick- and you can recognize it as the undercoating for many of Savannah’s older houses, so the brick insides don’t seem out of place. The inside is charming in a run down coffee shop sort of way, and the only downside is that the wooden booths are terribly uncomfortable if sat in for too long. Which, unfortunately, is the exact amount of time you will be sitting there eating your steaming fresh potato, whichever one you choose.
Other favorites include the pulled pork potato -- when they have it -- which is a rich, tender experience that melts on the tongue. My personal favorite of the dessert potatoes was “The Sugar Momma”: a sweet potato with soft innards coated with marshmallows, cinnamon sugar, and almonds that still makes the mouth water when I think of it. Finally, the fan favorite from what I overheard was the pizza-tato, a bizarre concept with a succulent execution. These are made special order, but often include pizza things such as pepperoni and cheese.
This year on Thanksgiving, they’ll be unveiling a new potato. A thanksgiving potato. Topped with turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and all the thanksgiving you could handle on a potato, this special treat will only be available for the holiday season. So if you’re looking for a nutritious dinner with a short walk, low price, and an escape from awkward family drama, I’d definitely recommend checking out Spudnik for all your potato needs.
