SAVANNAH — It's a good thing there are so many gorgeous green squares to amble through in Savannah, America's first planned city and one of its most historic.

It also happens to be a capital of soul-soothing Southern cooking, and if you're here to sample the stellar eats — from Low Country favorites to upscale takes on down-home classics — you're going to need a few long walks.

David Tulis (ENLARGE)

Mercer House in Savannah was made famous in the book 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.'

RELATED • Photos Georgia travel stories Westville: Pre-Civil War town is living museum  Allman Bros Band's 'Big House' to open as museum  Town is artisan-friendly  Five romantic spots for the newly wed  Art, music and scenery  Photos: Travel / Southeast Galleries Latest deals! Back to: Travel | Southeast destinations Travel Guide Powered by

Nobody seems to be countin' calories here. They'll fry everything from chicken to pickles — and you'll beg for second helpings, with sides of mac and cheese, butter-soaked grits, red rice smothered in oxtail gravy. And why not have another glass of sweet tea?

Which is where all those tree-lined squares come in. Unpack the comfy shoes, grab a map and head out to check a few off your list. You'll learn some history (the squares are filled with monuments, markers and memorials), explore some of the architectural gems surrounding them and walk off that peach cobbler you couldn't say no to.

The city is organized around a grid of 21 squares, from Johnson Square (Bull Street between Bryan and Congress), which was built in 1733 and features the grave of Gen. Nathaniel Green, to Monterey Square (Bull between Taylor and Gordon), which goes back to 1847, honors a Mexican War victory by Gen. Zachary Taylor and faces the Mercer House, made famous by "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Founded in 1733, the city boasts plenty of attractions, which is why more than 6 million tourists visit yearly: Pristinely preserved antebellum mansions. Those dramatic live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. Historic cemeteries where you might scare up a few chills, if you believe all the ghost stories.

But you could make a whole weekend out of sampling the city's culinary riches, or even learn how to cook some down-home dishes yourself.

PAULA DEEN

You might follow the hordes to Paula Deen's famous Lady & Sons at City Market downtown. But the restaurant only takes reservations for parties of 10 or more, and in high season — from March to August — the line of people waiting to get on the list for that day's lunch or dinner can wrap around the block by 8 a.m. A hostess starts jotting names at 9:30 a.m.

Locals tend to steer clear of the hullabaloo, but hardcore Deen fans make pilgrimages from around the country to load their plates at the buffet tables ($13.99 for lunch; $15.99 for Sunday brunch; $17.99 for dinner). Among the hits: Crispy fried chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, crab stew, sweet creamed corn, turnip greens, buttery mashed potatoes.

Suffering from agoraphobia, stuck in a bad marriage and so broke she could barely put food on the table for her two sons, Deen turned it all around in her 40s when she started a tiny catering business from her house.

She's not the only one with a moving personal story centered on the power of Southern cooking.

NIKKI BUSH

Nikki Bush, who runs the no-pretenses Mom & Nikki's on Martin Luther King Boulevard downtown, will tell you a plate of seafood gumbo saved her life.

Bush married young, had kids, moved to Jacksonville, Fla. The husband turned out to be a good-for-nothing, she says. He wouldn't let Bush work, wouldn't buy groceries, got abusive. "My grandmother knew what was going on. She drove down there. First thing she did is take us to the grocery store, because we had nothing to eat," Bush says. "Then she told me to lie down. I had been wanting her gumbo so bad. But I hadn't told her. When I woke up, there was gumbo and rice ready. As God is my witness, that is the best meal I ever had in my life. That gumbo was love.

"A month later, I moved back to Savannah with my kids, and a few months after that, we were opening Mom & Nikki's."

Hip-hopper Jay-Z, pro football player DeAngelo Hall and other celebs are fans of the restaurant's homemade Hood Juice ($7.50 for a gallon; $1.75 for a cup).

"Everybody wants to know what's in it," Bush says. "It has mango juice, pineapple juice, lemons — and other stuff that's a secret."

Nikki's grandmother (everybody calls her Mom) is 80 now but still driving an hour each way from Statesboro to hang out at the restaurant. She no longer does the cooking, but most of the recipes are hers, including the one for seafood gumbo.

Forget asking how they make the red velvet cake or the pound cake with lemon cream cheese icing, which may be the best in town.

"Our baker once gave the red velvet cake recipe to someone from another part of Georgia who begged for it on the phone, and soon enough, we heard other places were selling it," Bush says.

But if you place an order 24 hours early, you can buy a whole boxed cake for $30. It's moist enough to make the trek back home tasting perfectly fresh. (Trust us, we know.)

MRS. WILKES

Another can't-miss is Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, which is open only for lunch and offers a crash course in Southern hospitality. In 1943, Selma Wilkes took over a boarding house downtown. She served homey Southern food family-style in the downstairs dining room, where friends and strangers gathered at big tables and shared heaping bowls of fried chicken, sweet potato souffle, black-eyed peas, corn bread and biscuits.

Wilkes' grandkids run the place (no longer a boarding house) exactly as she used to. Lunch is $16. Because the place doesn't take reservations, folks start lining up outside in the morning. Make sure you take your plates back to the kitchen when you're finished. That's the way it's been done here since the beginning.

If you're into Low Country cuisine but you don't have roots in the South, you might want to learn how to cook a few dishes from Chef Darin Sehnert, who runs the 700 Kitchen Cooking School at the Mansion on Forsyth Park. A three-hour course costs $90 per person and you get to stay and eat the meal you cooked: black-eyed peas salad, cheddar and rosemary biscuits, shrimp in red-eye gravy over grits, fried green tomatoes, pecan-praline angel-food cake.

Afterward, you'll want to do a little more walking. Luckily, there is no better place for it than Savannah.

IF YOU GO:

Best for: History and architecture buffs, walking enthusiasts, foodies.

WHERE TO EAT:

• Breakfast Club, 1500 Butler Ave., Tybee Island; 912-786-5984; www.tybeeisland.com. A 15-minute drive from downtown Savannah to the beach. Expect to wait in line during the season. Try the shrimp-n-grits, served with two eggs and toast, or the "huevos con chorizo," scrambled eggs with homemade Mexican-style chorizo seared on the griddle with onions and minced jalapenos. Starters and specials, $3.45-$8.95.

• Elizabeth on 37th, 105 E. 37th St.; 912-236-5547; www.elizabethon37th.net. Fine southern coastal cuisine in an elegant 1900 mansion. Don't miss the spicy red rice with shrimp, sausage, grouper and okra. Dinner only. Seven-course chef's menu, $70 per person. Entrees from $26.95.

• Lady & Sons, 102 West Congress St.; 912-233-2600; www.ladyandsons.com. The Southern buffet is the big hit, but if you're ordering from the menu, try the fried green tomatoes or the Savannah crab cakes. Lunch entrees from $10.99, dinner entrees from $17.99, buffet, $13.99-$17.99.

• Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, 107 West Jones St.; 912-232-5997; www.mrswilkes.com. Doors open at 11 a.m., but expect a line to start forming early in the morning for the homey food served family-style at communal tables. Open for lunch only, through 2 p.m.; $16 per person, $8 for ages 12 and under.

• Masada Cafe, 2301 W. Bay St.; 912-236-9499. Classic Southern and soul food served cafeteria-style at an annex to the United House of Prayer. The church welcomes all, including foodies who find their way there for the fried chicken, oxtail stew and mac and cheese. Entree with sides, $7-$12.

• Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, 104 Bryan Woods Rd.; 912-897-6101; www.unclebubbas.com. Part of the Paula Deen empire, Uncle Bubba is her younger brother. Southern seafood in a casual setting. Try the char-grilled oysters smothered in garlic butter and parmesan cheese ($12.99 a dozen) and the crab stew ($6.49 for a cup). Entrees, $7.99-$27.99.

• Mom & Nikki's, 714 Martin Luther King Blvd.; 912-233-7636. One of Savannah's best-kept soul food secrets. Try the fried pork chops or the smothered shrimp. And make sure you save room for a slice of red velvet cake. Entrees with sides, $6.95-$13.

• Sweet Leaf Smokery & Eatery, 606 Abercorn St.; 912-447-5444. A hip little spot with stellar barbecue. Try the pulled pork sandwich with Granny Smith coleslaw or spare ribs with smoky baked beans. And don't pass up the celebrated corn pudding. Platters, $7-$15.

MORE FOR FOOD LOVERS TO DO:

• Foody Tour, 912-234-3440; www.savannahmovietours.net. A guided bus tour teaches you about Savannah's culinary history and takes you to seven eateries to sample local treats. Two and a half hours, $45.

• Low Country cooking class at 700 Kitchen Cooking School, at the Mansion on Forsyth Park, 912-238-5158; www.mansiononforsythpark.com. Three-hour class includes staying for the meal you cook, $90.

WHERE TO STAY:

• Thunderbird Inn, 611 West Oglethorpe Ave.; 866-324-2661; www.thethunderbirdinn.com. Clean, comfy, classic roadside motel, if you're into that sort of thing (at least the retro neon sign out front is cool). Walking distance to historic district. Rooms from $99.

• 17Hundred90, 307 East President St.; 912-236-7122; www.17hundred90.com. Savannah's oldest inn, featuring a restaurant and lounge, plus a resident "friendly" ghost who seems to prefer haunting Room 204. Rooms from $171.

• Mansion on Forsyth Park, 700 Drayton St.; 888-711-5114; www.mansiononforsythpark.com. Upscale accommodations in a restored Victorian mansion featuring spa, restaurant and art gallery. Rooms from $199.

INFORMATION:

• Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 877-SAVANNAH; www.savannahvisit.com.