Southern cooking is the ultimate workaday fare-those fried-in-fat calories and bountiful carbos were originally designed to power up hard-working men and women for long days in field, mill, mine, and kitchen. Touches now considered unusual-okra, wild game-came about because they were handy and cheap, not because they were "exotic." What delicious irony, then, that chef Cindy Wolf has turned down-home cooking into a distinctly uptown bill of fare at Savannah, creating the city's most distinct night out in the process. Keep in mind, this is not a romantic little bolt-hole. Located in the basement of the Admiral Fell Inn on one of Fells Point's busiest corners, Savannah is rarely less than crowded and there's an almost family-style vibe to the various dining rooms. But the buttery lighting and fine service help keep you from feeling like you're dining at a railroad café, and the food helps too. Wolf creates a seasonal menu of extravagant, sumptuous nouvelle takes on basic, traditional Southern dishes-simple standards such as fried chicken, fall and winter venison, and cornbread will never be the same, that's for sure. In fact, it's the fuss and the richness of the cuisine that makes Savannah especially appropriate for a special occasion-this is not the kind of food that anyone who doesn't spend all day behind a mule could eat a lot of without putting on a few pounds, and while the prices are not outrageous, it's not like a cotton broker could afford to dine here every night.

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