This past Friday’s excursion led us to Downtown Mobile, Alabama, or as some may say…. The Azalea City, The Port City, or The Gateway to the Gulf. On this particular day, it could have been called “The Windy City”, but I guess that name has already been taken!
I had done my research and had found two places that seemed to be worthy of our Sampling the South tour of restaurants. We put 203 Dauphin Street in our GPS, turned the music up, and we were off to the city! Fridays are Cavin’s day off, so it’s the one day of the week when we can de-stress and enjoy being together. Before I knew it, we were singing to the music, and then the next minute we were filling in our paperwork for our living wills. You know…. you have to find time to get things done! So much for de-stressing!
Anyway, it was a short drive and we found our way to the restaurant with no problems. The only problem we encountered was figuring out how to operate the parking meter. They are not as easy to operate as they used to be. And then again…. we’re not as young as we used to be!
The lunch choice for today was The Noble South. What a unique name! After a little Googling, I found that this restaurant is named for the owner’s young son whose middle name is Noble; and the menu selections are inspired by Southern influence. Can I say that we were intrigued and ready for today’s food adventure?
Even though we arrived before noon, the restaurant was already filling up with hungry customers. Since we did not have a reservation, we were offered seating options outside or at the bar. These Baptist teetotalers chose to sit at the bar so we could enjoy the atmosphere and lovely architecture of the building, but we stuck with sweet tea and diet coke!
Upon being seated, we were quickly and genuinely greeted with Southern hospitality. We were welcomed to the restaurant as menus were placed in front of each of us. The restaurant continued to fill up and overflow onto the sidewalk. The restaurant feels like a gathering of friends connecting over Southern favorites with a modern twist. The restaurant’s atmosphere lends itself well to the building of friendships – both old and new! Southern hospitality exudes from employees and guests alike.
We actually met a new friend who came in alone and was seated next to us. We are all in a similar stage in life with kids growing up and leaving home. Tears welled in our new friend’s eyes as she talked about her oldest daughter leaving for college next year. I may or may not have wiped away a tear myself as I remembered the time I left my own daughter in her college apartment and the time I got on an airplane and left for Bogotá, Colombia leaving my 18-year-old son behind. We may have just met our new friend, but we already knew her heart as we had experienced separations ourselves. The only words of encouragement I could muster were, “They do come back!”, but I wasn’t sure if these words were meant for me or for our new friend.
The lunch menu is short, with more options offered for dinner. Cavin chose a burger with mac and cheese as his side item; while I opted for the vegetable plate consisting of mac and cheese, kale salad, cornbread, and sweet potato fries. In our opinion, the food was good, but not awesome, as we had hoped. Their Southern hospitality, on the other hand, is worth coming back for.
After lunch, we took a short stroll down the sidewalk to Mo’ Bay Beignet Co. Ever since we lived in New Orleans, we have loved beignets and look for any chance to enjoy this French-inspired pastry. Due to the French influence, Mobile is a lot like New Orleans, but on a much smaller scale. The French architecture is obvious and you can still see Mardi Gras beads hanging from the traffic lights. Here’s a bit of trivia for you…. Mobile is known for having the oldest organized Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States.
Our short walk brought us to the modest building which houses the beignet shop. The seating is in the front room of the restaurant, so we made our way to the back to place our order. The menu is simple consisting of beignets and coffee so we ordered one of each! The coffee is self-serve with a variety of brew blends. After helping ourselves to coffee, our beignets were served hot and covered with powdered white sugar just like we’ve always loved! They met our expectations and by this point, we were as full as ticks as we slowly walked the few blocks to our vehicle with 15 minutes to spare on the parking meter.
All in all, I would say…. Sampling Mobile, Alabama was an enjoyable Southern experience – even on this windy day. Now it’s time to find another restaurant to sample! We’re Sampling the South… one restaurant at a time!