Written by Grace Baines
Photos by Grace Baines
“You have to do Spudnik!” I heard this time and time again whenever I asked for suggestions of Savannah restaurants to review, followed by murmurs of agreement from those within earshot. I put it off with the thought that it was better to review places people maybe hadn’t heard of. But, this week I entered the funky little restaurant and came back a firm Spudnik supporter.
The restaurant’s vibe is as much college bar as Alumni hangout, a place I 
would expect to see grads sitting in booths reminiscing about the old days. With exposed brick, a floor tiled in pennies and a neon Pabst Blue Ribbon sign in the window, it has the perfect interior for a college eatery.
When I sat down and looked over the menu I was shocked at the sheer number of food items that could be paired with a baked potato. I will never look at a baked potato the same way again after the BBQ Pulled-Pork-Tato. I admit, I have been boring with my baked potatoes and it is this dish that showed me the error of my ways. The dish consists of a baked potato topped with Pulled Pork, Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, and butter. The dish is like an entire home cooked meal in one bite, with the Pulled Pork and Cheddar Cheese creating the taste of a stellar BBQ sandwich and the butter and potato taking on their own unique taste, but at the same time being completely unified as a dish. It’s a prime example of tasting each ingredient separately and together at the same time, creating a new and flavorful kind of dish.
With huge portions and highly filling ingredients, don’t be shocked if you have to surrender to the potato and admit defeat (and leave with some killer leftovers).
As Jake Harding, a first-year industrial design major from Durham, North Carolina, said, “great food, and the floor tiles just make the Industrial Designer in me happy.”
The restaurant is a result of the creative energy of owner and founder, Andrew Wanamaker. A SCAD Alum from the Architecture department, Wanamaker had always been interested in the branding process. He was helping a friend, the owner of Planet Fun, prepare his store when he had the idea for Spudnik.
“[Planet Fun] was full of forty years of junk, and among all this junk we found this box from the 70’s with frozen, microwavable baked potatoes. And we’d been working all day and all we wanted was this humongous baked potato right now, but you can’t get that,” said Wanamaker. “And I was like, well why not?” The business sprang from there and developed as more ideas came into play. Wanamaker mentioned that when he realized that you can put “anything on a baked potato” the idea quickly developed into what is now Spudnik.
The restaurant has a huge following amongst the SCAD community, both for its stellar food and the SCAD affiliation. Every time I pass Spudnik it is filled with students enjoying a break in their busy day. Its late closing hours help its popularity. The restaurant is open Sunday through Wednesday 12p.m.to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 12p.m. to 3 a.m. The peak hours are fairly late according to Wanamaker, who admitted — with a laugh — that he works the quieter hours in order to avoid those late nights. The restaurant is a fun place with a great atmosphere and after my first experience, I expect to become a regular.
To check out Spudnik for yourself go to their website or head over to 416 West Broughton St, where Spudnik is located. Be prepared for some seriously good potatoes and show up with a hearty appetite.
