Suggestions for Mobile, AL area?

We are heading south for Spring Break and spending a couple of days in the Mobile/Fairhope/Daphne area. I'm looking for suggestions of restaurants we should check out in the area ( activities would be great too). We'll be travelling with our 5 year old, so not looking for fancy places- but really good food. Also, we'll have a condo and we'll be cooking, so if there are any local ingredients we should make sure to try- and places to buy them- that would be wonderful!

Thanks for your help,
Deb

Has no one been to Mobile? Or is the food just really bad, and you don't want to tell me?...

Deb

We went to Dauphin Island last summer, but didn't stop in Mobile. The food on Dauphin is . . . better to cook it yourself! There is a great little seafood market there, if you are going there, I'll try to remember the name. Shrimp just off the boat.

Deb -

I was looking to go to Mobile in Mid April and checked out events at http://www.mobile.org.

Hey Deb we went to Gulf Shores last year in June and also visited the Mobile area. We stayed mostly in the Gulf Shores area but I do have a few suggestions.

First suggestion is a great place to get produce, Durbin Farms Market, exit 205 off I-65 at Clanton, AL. They have wonderful produce and also a sandwich/ice cream shop that has homemade ice cream. My husband suggests the strawberry. Another good thing is they have really clean restrooms. When we were there they had the BEST yellow watermelon. We stopped on our way down & back. http://www.durbinfarms.com/

The only place we ate while in Mobile area was Cousin Vinny's. As it sounds it is Italian but has a really great Muffaletta, it has a black olive relish. Caeser salad was very good, too. (You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find some place that had a Muffaletta especially so close to New Orleans, but is was.) Just thinking about it makes me want to head there right now! My husband got the spaghetti & meatballs and he liked it (that is his speciality for Italian). Here is a link to info (address, phone #, and menu) I couldn't find a website specifically for them http://www.menuism.com/restaurants/d4NN ... -daphne-al
Ok so my memory is not the best this is not as close to Mobile as I thought, it actually is across the bay and south
on 98, but it is a beautiful drive. We will definately go back the next time we are in Gulf Shores.

I have more suggestions closer to Gulf Shores if you are interested just let me know.

Have a great time.....I love the area!

I lived in Mobile for about 5 years in college. A really great breakfast/brunch place is A Spot of Tea located downtown. Pretty much any of the seafood restaurants on the causeway are good...my favorite is Felix's Fish Camp. They have the best crab soup I've ever had. For a more upscale dinner you could try The Pillars. Another great place is Banana Docks which is over towards the University of South Alabama.

Deb, I haven't been to Mobile for eight years, but when my son was stationed in Pensacola, we usually drove over there to visit the USS Alabama. (My whole family has a thing about touring retired naval vessels. If you are into that sort of thing, the USS Alabama is as good as any to visit.) Most times we'd stop at Felix's Fish Camp. Like Kaitlin, it was our favorite of the seafood restaurants. http://felixsfishcamp.com/menu.html (Can't get the URL jigger to work!) We definitely liked it better than Ed's Seafood Shed, but the restaurant scene can change over the years. Once we visited the "Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center" when my oldest granddaughter was four or five. It was a big hit with her. There was a Thai restaurant that was quite good, but for the life of me I can't remember the name. Fort Morgan is pretty interesting too.

I'll second the Felix's Fish Camp. They are now owned by the folks @ Ruth's Chris I believe and the service and food are great. I will suggest to do call ahead seating! They are always slammed. If you go into Fairhope at all, the Fairhope Inn is lovely for a date night or brunch and the city is stellar for shopping!

It's fairly touristy, but Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile is a classic. Definitely one of the best meals I had on our road trip to New Orleans last summer.

Deb, my wife and I spent a couple of days at the Grand Hotel Marriott in Fairhope about two years ago. As I remember it we dined at a couple of places in Fairhope while staying there.

The nicest dinner we had was at The Colony Grill, http://www.colonygrill.com/menu/. The staff was friendly and we had a nice meal although I don't recall what we ate.

While walking through town and admiring the shops, etc. we happened upon a wine store which also served small plates of typical pairings of cheese, sausage, olives... We opted for a light lunch and bottle of wine and had a wonderful experience there. This place was called Red or White, http://www.redorwhitewine.com/. The owner was very friendly and helped us look for a couple of bottles for us to take with following lunch.

Although we did not dine there, I saw Panini Pete's - http://paninipetes.com/on a Food Network Show and would definetly give it a shot if we find ourselves in Southern Alabama again. We did not make it there because it was located in a small complex near Red or White which they named the "French Quarter". I'm not sure if it had any historical significance but I did not take it seriously as I assumed it was a lame homage to New Orleans.

If you have time and are interested in these sorts of things, there is a really neat Civil War Cemetary slightly south of Fairhope near the Grand Hotel Marriott.

Thanks so much for the suggestions folks- (I was getting a little worried about the kind of food town we'd booked ourselves into). Now I'm getting psyched...

So is seafood the big local food? If so, what the local specialty? I love cooking up some local specialies while on vacation ( or bringing them back). In Destin, we getting these special Royal Red shrimp as soon as we hit town- they are from very deep water, do not travel or freeze well ( so you'll never get them here) and wonderfully swett and tender. Any "can't miss foods" in this part of the world?

We are planning to play it by ear, but tenatitively we are planning a day around the docks/USS Alabama area , one day Fairhope and one day to the Bellingrath Gardens and Home. Keep those suggestions coming- I'm putting them all on my list.

Thanks!
Deb

Deb, my wife and I spent a couple of days at the Grand Hotel Marriott in Fairhope about two years ago. As I remember it we dined at a couple of places in Fairhope while staying there.

The nicest dinner we had was at The Colony Grill, http://www.colonygrill.com/menu/. The staff was friendly and we had a nice meal although I don't recall what we ate.

While walking through town and admiring the shops, etc. we happened upon a wine store which also served small plates of typical pairings of cheese, sausage, olives... We opted for a light lunch and bottle of wine and had a wonderful experience there. This place was called Red or White, http://www.redorwhitewine.com/. The owner was very friendly and helped us look for a couple of bottles for us to take with following lunch.

Although we did not dine there, I saw Panini Pete's - http://paninipetes.com/on a Food Network Show and would definetly give it a shot if we find ourselves in Southern Alabama again. We did not make it there because it was located in a small complex near Red or White which they named the "French Quarter". I'm not sure if it had any historical significance but I did not take it seriously as I assumed it was a lame homage to New Orleans.

If you have time and are interested in these sorts of things, there is a really neat Civil War Cemetary slightly south of Fairhope near the Grand Hotel Marriott.

Dan,

"Red or White" sounds like just our kind of place! Would it be the kind of place we could snack/lunch with our son ( he'd be very happy with good cheese and crackers). Or only a bar set-up?

Deb

Karen,

Thanks for the market suggestion: Durbin Farms sounds like a great place for us to stop on the way in. Too bad it'll be too early for Peaches; I'm hoping for some really early strawberries....

Thanks!
Deb

Deb, This goes waaaay back, but I can second the recommendation on Wintzell's. It may have changed over the years, but how can anyone resist any place that had the #1 stool at the bar reserved for the exclusive use of the reigning oyster eating champion?

http://www.wintzellsoysterhouse.com/

Dan,

"Red or White" sounds like just our kind of place! Would it be the kind of place we could snack/lunch with our son ( he'd be very happy with good cheese and crackers). Or only a bar set-up?

Deb

Deb, yes you can take your son there. There are only a few tables in the place since wine is more their focus than lunch. When we walked in there was one other table occupied and it was a father with two small children.

You should enjoy Bellingrath. When I was young we lived in Mobile and that was always the first place my mother would take houseguests and they always enjoyed it. My wife and I visited a few years back and it brought back many memories for me. They charge extra to tour the house but the grounds are the attraction. The boat ride was also fun. Depending on the age of your son he would probably like it also. Keep you eyes out for wildlife. An armadillo came waddling out of some shrubbery when we were walking past.

P.S. Watch your head if you tour the submarine at the U.S.S. Alabama.