Native American chef hosts 3 events in Savannah, plus more coastal food news

Kickapoo Tribe chef and cookbook author Crystal Wahpepah will appear at three interactive events in Savannah; Limestone Wines approaches a major wine tasting milestone; and the owner of The Sentient Bean in Savannah reflects on 25 years in business.

Chef and cookbook author Crystal Wahpepah will be appearing at three events this month at Coastal Table and Tales. (Courtesy of Anthony Two Moons)

Meet Native American chef, cookbook author Crystal Wahpepah

Chef Crystal Wahpepah, author of the cookbook “A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior” (Rodale Books, $35), is coming to Savannah in September for three events at the cookbook shop Coastal Table and Tales.

A registered member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, Wahpepah opened her restaurant, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, in Oakland, California, five years ago. She was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Emerging Chef of the Year Award in 2022 and has appeared on the Food Network’s “Chopped,” “Alex vs. America” and “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Wahpepah serves as a U.S. State Department culinary ambassador and has catered for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and for the American Indian Film Festival.

“Every chef we bring to Coastal Table and Tales adds a new voice to Savannah’s table,” said Dawn Anderson, founder of Savannah’s only cookbook shop and global recreational cooking space. “Crystal Wahpepah’s is one of the most vital voices in food right now. Her cooking is a living reminder that food sovereignty isn’t a trend; it’s a return to what’s always been true.”

In a Sept. 11 cooking demonstration, Wahpepah will make two dishes based on her tribal heritage: her signature Kickapoo chili and sweet blue cornbread. During the demo, Wahpepah will chat with Savannah-based journalist Amy Paige Condon, her collaborator on “A Feather and a Fork.” Guests are advised to come hungry.

For a class on Sept. 12, participants will cook alongside Wahpepah as she assembles a brunch that will include corn cakes with wild onions, bison-blueberry sausage, strawberry sumac salad and blackberry cornbread pudding. Later that day, Wahpepah will join the Stories on a Plate Cookbook Club, which meets regularly at the store.

Seating is limited at each event. Advance tickets can be purchased via the Coastal Table and Tales website.

Coastal Table and Tales, 408A Bull St., Savannah. 912-373-0166, coastaltableandtalessavannah.com

Limestone Wines is in a commercial plaza near the intersection of East Oglethorpe Avenue and Price Street in Savannah. The logo includes an image inspired by a dinosaur fossil found in a vineyard in the Jura region of France. (Bill Dawers for the AJC)

Limestone Wines approaches a milestone

Since opening in December 2024, Limestone Wines in Savannah has hosted dozens of wine tastings, putting a major milestone in its sights this fall: 200 tastings. According to the shop’s co-owner Hunter Jones, that milestone wasn’t on the team’s radar when Limestone opened.

“We didn’t originally plan to build this room out for tastings,” Jones said while sitting at the large table where the events are held. She said the idea to host so many tastings evolved through a constant dialogue with the shop’s customers.

Jones and co-owner Jamie Crotts met when they were both working at Husk in Savannah. Crotts was the wine director, and Jones was studying to be a sommelier.

When they decided to open a shop together, they found a location on East Oglethorpe Avenue in a commercial plaza with its own parking lot, a rarity in Savannah’s Downtown Historic District. The pair also liked that the store would be next door to E-TANG, a popular Chinese restaurant featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Savannah Dining Guide in 2024.

Some of the bottles in stock at Limestone Wines in Savannah. (Bill Dawers for the AJC)

“We always knew we wanted our tastings to be approachable in price but have the atmosphere of a wine dinner,” Jones said. The next logical step was to have the events catered by E-TANG.

“It’s not something you see every day,” Jones said about wine tastings with Chinese food. She said the dishes are carefully chosen for each event to complement the wines.

A typical tasting includes nine wines from a specific region or country. The events can accommodate 14 guests, generally cost $70 to $80 per person and sell out quickly.

Upcoming tastings are announced about a week in advance on the Limestone Wines website and via email. Jones said Limestone will sometimes schedule two separate events for “heavy hitter regions” that are especially popular with customers, like the recently featured wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France.

Jones said the offerings for each tasting cover a broad price range, giving guests a chance to sample wines that offer a great value or those that might represent a splurge.

Limestone Wines, 513 East Oglethorpe Ave., Suite G, Savannah. 912-777-5499, limestonewines.com

Author Jane Fishman and her friend Brad Baugh enjoy a cup at The Sentient Bean in 2016. (Photo by Imke Lass, courtesy of The Sentient Bean)

The Sentient Bean turns 25

The Sentient Bean in Savannah opened in early September 2001 and is now celebrating its 25th year in business.

“I didn’t think this was going to be half my life,” said owner Kristin Russell, 51, who co-founded the coffeehouse and cafe with her business partner, Kelli Pearson.

Russell said the main reason for The Sentient Bean’s longevity has been its location on Park Avenue at the south end of Forsyth Park. By 2001, the adjacent neighborhoods had a growing population of Savannah College of Art and Design students, artists and other newcomers, but those residents had few places to hang out.

The Bean, as it is commonly called, has experienced some major changes since 2001. The business expanded in 2003 into an adjacent space in the historic armory owned by American Legion Post 135 on Bull Street. In 2006, Russell became the sole owner, but later partnered with Claren Jamerson, who was co-owner for about six years.

The Sentient Bean opened in 2001 on East Park Avenue in Savannah. (Bill Dawers for the AJC)

Throughout the years, the Bean has continued its commitment to sustainable business practices and responsible sourcing of products, according to Russell. A page on the website details some of the business’s sustainability efforts — an estimated 75% of food and beverage products are organic, locally sourced and/or fair trade.

“That has built some serious loyalty,” Russell said.

Throughout its history, The Sentient Bean has helped to fill the niche for vegetarian restaurants in Savannah and has offered a range of gluten-free options, including baked goods.

The coffeehouse has also hosted many hundreds of events, including community meetings, art exhibitions, open mic nights and musical performances.

The Sentient Bean occupies part of a historic armory near the south end of Forsyth Park in Savannah. (Bill Dawers for the AJC)

In 2009, Russell was one of six women who founded the Forsyth Farmers Market, which takes place 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday in the south half of Forsyth Park. In 2020, Russell and her partner Brad Baugh bought the neighboring business, Brighter Day Natural Foods Market.