Pressure Washing in South Thompson, GA

ENTERTAINMENT

With its Roman, Mediterranean, and Spanish influences, Southern Italy is a place all its own.

It is where the intersection of fine wines, delicious foods, and ocean vistas create a lasting impression — one that continues to inspire. That sunbaked, cocktail-soaked contentment is a sentiment which the purveyors of the newly-opened Thompson Savannah Hotel have tried to capture with their new rooftop drinkery, Bar Julian.

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With panoramic views of the Savannah riverfront, Bar Julian offers a relaxing dining and drinking getaway perched upon one of the tallest rooftops in Savannah history.

Chef Robert Newton has curated a Mediterranean-inspired menu combining a menagerie of delectable bar snacks, salads, and pizzas served in concert with hand-crafted cocktails specially selected by Beverage Director Chelsea DeMark.

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"We wanted this rooftop bar to feel like you're on a beautiful vacation in southern Italy, enjoying aperitivi alongside fresh pizzas, arancini, dips and more finger food that is as fun to eat as it is delicious," DeMark shared.

As the Beverage Director at Thompson Savannah, Chelsea DeMark oversees the beverage program for all the food and beverage concepts at the newly opened hotel, including the seasonally-focused southern concept, Fleeting; the Mediterranean-influenced rooftop oasis, Bar Julian; and the hotel’s casual poolside café, The Sunroom.

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DeMark spearheads cocktail menu development at the hotel, where she works closely with Chef Newton to create handcrafted cocktails which she says celebrate seasonality and locality.

"When choosing ingredients, it really is all about what's seasonal, what's fresh and what's available locally. We like to utilize ingredients to the fullest, meaning if we can incorporate one ingredient into a cocktail as well as a dish or two, we will," DeMark noted.

Their combined passions and expertise meld into an enchanting experience, one that aims to deliver the feeling of the south of Italy to the south of Georgia.

Bringing Southern Italian favorites to Savannah's riverfront

Bar Julian incorporates fresh takes on old classics, maintaining a respect for known Southern libations, viewed through the lens of Southern Italian favorites.

"We like to mix it up and keep guests on their toes with exciting cocktails that highlight ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily think belong in a cocktail," she shared. "Balancing savory and sweet is something I love to do in our cocktails, and it seems to be a big hit among our guests."

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The "Georgia Julep" masterfully blends rye and peach whiskey, with apple brandy, golden falernum, with mint and lime. While "This Negroni is Bananas" brings tropical flavors to the Italian cocktail staple, combining Armagnac, Campari, banana, and cacao liqueurs.

"Given the southern Italian inspiration for our theme, I love using Amari and vermouths in playful ways to put out balanced and intriguing cocktails featuring ingredients that speak for themselves," DeMark added.

And echoing the Spanish empire influences found along the Mediterranean, the "Nice to Meat You" cocktail infuses tequila and St. Germain elderflower liqueur with cantaloupe, watermelon, lime, and country ham.

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These tasty concoctions pair nicely with Bar Julian’s barroom eats, including "Carolina Gold Rice Balls" which join mozzarella, parmesan, and country ham; or the "Country Ham Pizza" which brings together arugula, parmesan, TX olive oil, and lemon for a fresh pizza experience.

The combination of the many passions and cultural touchstones represented at Bar Julian are sure to create a unique experience for low country food and cocktail enthusiasts, one made all the more better by the stunning views from the plush rooftop lounge.

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"The view from the thirteenth-floor rooftop is unmatched. With majestic views of downtown Savannah and the nearby Savannah River, Bar Julian offers the perfect dining and drinking getaway," DeMark added.

Staff say they are excited to be open and ready to try innovative recipes to keep guests coming back for more of the Southern Italian feel offered in the Hostess City.

"It's comfortable and familiar enough to go every night but unique and special enough to host celebrations and big milestone moments," DeMark said.

"At the end of the day, we want our guests to come the first time for the view, but to come back time and time again because the cocktails and the service are just that good," she added.

Discover more about Bar Julian and Thompson Savannah by visiting barjulian.com.

Nebraska Quarterback Casey Thompson spoke with the media on Monday as the team prepares for their first home night game of the season. This Saturday, the Cornhuskers will welcome Georgia Southern to Memorial Stadium after a home opener victory over North Dakota last weekend, 38-17. Their opponent, Georgia Southern, won their season opener last Saturday, defeating Morgan State 59-7. It was also the Georgia Southern debut of new head coach Clay Helton after six seasons at USC and a 47-24 record.

During Monday's availability, the Husker quarterback spoke about this weekend's matchup, last week's game against North Dakota, and his relationship with offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. Find more comments from Thompson below.

On his play against North Dakota

“We had half the attempts to pass it, so we only had 42 pass attempts. Just the way the game went. This week we only had 21 pass attempts. I ended up being 14-21 which is 67 percent. Two drops, so could have been 16 and 21. Also had two throw aways. So we're looking at 18 out of 21 I could have had one interception, two touchdowns. I think I played good, but I mean, I don't think it was great. But I mean, played good enough to win the game. We had a lot of success running the ball. The first half only had four drives and 22 plays, so it was kind of a slow game for us on offense but I thought I played good enough to win the game but I think the player the game for sure it was Anthony Grant.

On his stats

“No. I really like to watch the clock. Just because clock management is important for a quarterback. And then sometimes if I have time I'll ask you know the offensive staff like how many pass attempts, if you know how many rushing attempts, and they usually tell me but right after the game. They usually tell us a stat line. I just used to have it memorized. Like I said we only had 62 plays of total offense in the first half when we ran 23, so I knew those for sure just coming off the field after the game, but I usually don't look at the stats. I think how you play is more important than stat lines.”

On Coach Mark Whipple

"During the game he is really good. He is good at communicating and asking me what I saw. If I come off and he saw something different he will say 'hey did you see this guy? Did you see this receiver? Did you see that defender?' Usually he does a good job at communicating in a very good tone and then after the game he will talk to me briefly. And then when I come in on Sundays we watch the film together one on one and then we also watch the film as an offense. I go into his office a lot and we talk. He is a really good communicator. I think it is good for the quarterback and play caller to have good communication. Frost has great communication as well. He will ask me during the game and after the game what I see. The day after the game Coach Whipple has been very positive. Nothing is personal so on Sundays we just try and watch the film and get better. If I miss a read or I miss a throw it is all in the film. We are all in the meeting room so the whole offense knows I missed that throw or I missed that read. Or if a guy misses a block or a guy drops a pass there is no hiding. There are no secrets. We are not trying to attack anyone or take it personal. Again the coaches do a good job. They are just making it known that it is not personal. We are just trying to get better."

On his receiving targets

“I’m usually just going through my reads and progressions. There is very few plays in a game where you have multiple guys open. Sometimes depending on what coverage they roll to there is multiple guys that can get the ball. I usually go to the first read and my first instinct. If it’s a man coverage or a one-on-one battle I may determine pre-snap. I usually just base it on the coverage. Trey (Palmer), Marcus (Washington), Isaiah (Garcia-Castaneda), Alante (Brown), Brody Belt have all done a good job. Omar (Manning) did a good job coming in this past week. Usually after the play I’ll come back and two or three guys will come to me and say they were wide-open but at the end of the day completions and moving the ball is all that matters. They don’t always understand the coverages and how to see five defenders.”

On starting fast

(AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

“That was a big emphasis for us in the off-season. The defense got the best of us sometimes in training camp. We wouldn’t always finish the drive with a touchdown or points. Northwestern and this last game had very positive notes with us being able to start the game with a touchdown drive and doing the same thing coming out of halftime. I think any offense wants to score to start the game. In this last game, the most positive thing was that we finished the game on offense.”

On practicing against the first-team defense

(AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

“That will help us a lot because it will give us some more game speed live reps. Going against the first-team defense good-on-good is the best that you are going to get. Best on offense versus best on defense and guys are playing full speed. It really helps me as a quarterback to see coverages and see receivers and DBs running full speed. They are running over 20 miles-per-hour usually so that is big for me and that will help our offensive line and running backs get live looks at the box and execute inside the box so I think it will be good for the whole team but it helps me as a quarterback be able to make throws and gain reps where the receivers and running backs and DBs are coming out of their brakes and stuff like that. Everything is just a little bit faster when it is good-on-good as opposed to going against scouts or maybe doing a seven-on-seven period where it is not as fast and you know you are not going to get hit.”

On Anthony Grant

“A lot of times we don't take a step back to look at the big picture. Anthony's just very blessed and thankful to be in this position that he's in. I heard he broke the record for the first Nebraska running back to have that many rushing yards in the first two games. A year ago, he was at a junior college. Right now we're just trying to focus on the game plan and focus on winning the game each week at a time, but there's probably a lot of players in our locker room including me that don't know how good we can be yet because you're not looking at the big picture.”

On Trey Palmer

“More catches and more effort. If we call 21 pathways we want to be open on 21 pathways. We’re trying to push everybody to just to try to be perfect on every rep at practice because we know in the game mistakes are gonna happen and the defense is gonna make some plays. Those guys want scholarships too across the ball and those guys also gonna make plays, but we're just trying to chase perfection at practice. Whether that's run by somebody on a go ball or if it's going up in the air and making the catch. We’re pushing Trey and all these guys to run perfect routes and get to the exact route depth and read the coverages and convert the routes the way they're supposed to be ran. Trey is doing a great job but we're trying to push everybody to be better including me. I appreciate Coach Whipple. He pushes me hard every day. No matter if it's a walkthrough or scout team period or whatever the case may be. We’re still pushing everybody across the board to try and have perfect practice and perfect reps.”

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