On the road again… This time in South Savannah Georgia in a cluster of motels and fast-food restaurants off an exit of the Interstate. We check the web for a bar that has the World Cup on cable. Close by we find a place called Little Lucky’s.
—The navigation system Waze takes us in circles. We eventually ignore it and find a landmark sign next to it. On a hot early weekday night, the outdoor seating stands empty. We go inside and see a bar with an array of TV monitors showing major league baseball, stock car racing, and, yes, a few minutes into a World Cup Futbol game. Several customers sit at both ends of the bar, leaving us isolated in the middle. The bartender, a young woman in her twenties, approaches us warily, perhaps thinking that we had lost our way and wandered into her gin joint.
—We asked about a gin and tonic. Little Lucky’s had Hendrick’s Gin on the shelf but no cucumber slice. We ordered the Hendrick’s. The bartender served it with tonic in a pint beer glass. After paying $16 for a gin and tonic in Washington DC, we did not mind foregoing the cucumber slice for a drink costing half the price. The bar also serves the excellent Lagunitas IPA beer from California.
—Little Lucky’s advertises itself as a pub. The music playlist that dominates the room says otherwise. The throbbing rap and hip-hop rhythms amid a background of neon green and violet lights elevate the place into a contemporary version of a southern Juke joint. It has the pool tables, gambling, and dance music of a country roadhouse.
—Little Lucky sets the mood for the evening with a solo dance. He moves his 280 or so pounds with surprising grace on the small dance floor next to a pool table and what comes close to slot machines at the end of the bar. He then moves to a keyboard where he programs a playlist into the computer that controls the music system.
—A couple sitting at the bar notices us enjoying the music. The guy encourages his lady to give us dance lessons. We join her on the dance floor for a couple of numbers. She asks for brown-eyed girl and Little Lucky keys it in and dances up a storm.
—We have not heard the phrase “Juke Joint” for years. Little Lucky’s fits the bill perfectly. Glad to see the tradition continue in an updated version.
—S. W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
—Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.
