Do I have to eat at a Bobby Flay restaurant now?

As much as I am loathe to admit it, given Paula Deen's ubiquitousness, but her Savannah restaurant The Lady and Sons is really good.

I figured since I wanted to try the Southern buffet that it would be better to go to the restaurant for lunch (where the buffet costs $13.99) instead of dinner ($17.99). It's in an unassuming three-story building, but The Lady and Sons uses all three floors. I walked into the empty first floor and was sent to the third floor, which is where the lunch was being served. I overheard a construction worker tell one of the other seven guys in his party that the place regularly fills up all three floors at dinner.

At 11 a.m. it wasn't so busy yet, but by the time I left, the lunch crowd was beginning to come in. I went over pretty much as soon as I got in. I went from the airport to my hotel, dropped off my stuff, and walked right over. I noticed several people that I had seen at the airport (on my flight down, even) were looking over the menus too.

The buffet was stocked with a lot of standard Southern fare: fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collards. And a lot of it was excellent. The fried chicken, just right. The mashed potatoes with gravy, rich and delicious. Buttery, of course. The black-eyed peas, rich with a hint of spiciness as they went down my throat. The collards... well, I make better collards, but we all can't be me, right?

The highlight for me, though, were the sweet potatoes. I don't know how they're made, but they tasted like a sweet potato custard. Sweet, tangy, spicy, rich, creamy, terrific.

The buffet comes with dessert, but not the dessert I wanted to eat: pecan pie. I paid a little extra to get it, and in retrospect, I probably should have skipped a couple of items while I was eating.

I have eaten a lot of pecan pie. I love pecan pie. It is one of my favorite desserts. This was the best one I've had. Seriously. There were tons of pecans, which were roasted and sweetened. The gooey filling was rich and sweet, and while there was plenty of it, it didn't overpower the pecans at all. The crust was... wait for it... rich and buttery. It was really good. I couldn't finish it in one go, so the rest of it is sitting in my hotel room's fridge right now. I want to eat it right now, even though I'm still full.

So I went to say whatever, and came out impressed. Doesn't mean I'm going to start watching her shows or buying gifts at her gift shop, but I may look for that pecan pie recipe.