I'll be there soon and I'll have a free day — maybe even a day and a half — and I'm wondering what to do. For all the talk about markets in everything, I can't find a good guide book on Alabama. This worries me only a little. There is Alabama Off the Beaten Path but first I would like to know the path. Your suggestions are very much welcome and since they are coming in an intellectual vacuum they will have even more influence than usual. (Imagine handing Road to Serfdom to a thirteen-year-old.) What and where does one eat? I'll also be driving on to a talk in Biloxi, in case you know of anything interesting, or any good food, on the Mobile-Biloxi route.
I am, in fact, very excited to be visiting Mobile for the first time.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Mobile
Looks like the Alabama equivalent of Bridgeport, CT.
I don’t know mobile at all but I’ll pass on some tips for finding good southern BBQ.
BBQ joints aren’t supposed to look good. It’ll be a little shack, but it’ll be busy.
Go to the one that all the construction guys go to for lunch. It’ll be the one with a parking lot packed with 4×4′s.
Don’t ever ask whats in the BBQ.
Go to Fairhope: http://www.cofairhope.com/pdf/FairhopeGuide2009.pdf
If you have even a passing interest in WWII I would suggest visiting the U.S.S. Alabama which is in Mobile. I’ve been there three times including an overnight stay with my Boy Scout troop when I was 13 (hide and go seek on an empty battleship cannot ever be topped). It is totally worth the stop.
For food I would recommend The Original Oyster House in Mobile. It’s fantastic.
I also second the comment about the rocket center in Huntsville. Very cool.
The USS Alabama (http://www.ussalabama.com) right on the water outside downtown Mobile is a main attraction in the city (Interesting side note: a group of people actually stayed IN the battleship during Hurricane Ivan, which took a near-direct hit on the city, and reported feeling almost no turbulence).
Then there’s Bellingrath Gardens (http://www.bellingrath.org) outside of Mobile, which is a 65-acre park and museum that’s always beautifully landscaped with tons of flowers.
If you have time for a side trip to the east, Pensacola and Navarre Beach (where I live) are definitely worth a visit. If you’re into airplanes, the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is the world’s largest aviation museum — an amazing collection of planes from the earliest days of aviation on. Downtown Pensacola on the bay is also beautiful and historic — outside of St. Augustine, Pensacola is the oldest settlement in the US (1559), and the downtown area, though small, bears some resemblance to New Orleans in terms of architecture.
Finally, I have to plug my hometown — Navarre Beach — for the beaches. Beautiful white sands, aqua waters and quite pristine compared to most Florida beach towns (very little commercial development, hotels or glitz — just lots of sand and surf). It’s just a little over an hour to the east of Mobile, so worth the trip if you have the time.
Avoid Memphis blues music while in Mobile.
Mobile will be inbelievably hot. Find some place with A/C and stay there.
go to the brick pit for good bbq.
go to wintzells for good oysters.
go to the original oyster house for good seafood.
good luck!
The is one of those rare occasions where I can make a useful comment. Coincidentally, I’m in Mobile right now.
If you don’t already have accommodations, the Battle House is supposed to be a real treat. I think it was originally built around the time of the Civil War.
I agree that a trip across the bay to Fairhope is worthwhile. There are some neat art galleries there and the Fairhope Inn is a nice restaurant. For a sandwich, try Panini Pete’s.
I also agree with the Daupin Island recommendation.
Food in Mobile:
Breakfast: A Spot of Tea. It is across the street from The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception (downtown) which is worth seeing.
Oysters: fried, stewed, or nude, try Wintzell’s downtown.
Seafood: Felix’s Fish Camp on the causeway. This place has an atmosphere representative of the area. I love their West Indies salad.
Cajun style: The French Market Cafe is casual dining with delicious food reminiscent of New Orleans. They serve Beignets.
Mardi Gras and the associated mytstic societies are very important to Mobilians. If this interests you, there is a Mardi Gras museum downtown on Government Street. I’ve never been, but it looks interesting.
Try Mary Mahoney’s in Biloxi, with special emphasis on the seafood gumbo:
http://www.marymahoneys.com/home.html
Sadly, the Frank Gehry designed Ohr-O’keefe museum isn’t completed but it’s worth a trip to their temporary home to see some of the Mad Potter of Biloxi’s work:
http://www.georgeohr.org/portal/LEARNMORE/GeneralInformation/tabid/116/Default.aspx
The two places on the coast of MS I would highly recommend are Lil’ Ray’s on Courthouse Rd. El Mexicano Inn on 30th Ave. in Gulfport (which is just past Biloxi coming from Mobile.) Lil Ray’s is New Orleans style seafood with the best shrimp po-boy you’ll ever have. El Mex is some of the best Mexican I’ve ever had anywhere and the margarita will make you want to plan a trip back before you’ve left. Be careful with the salsa, it’s in a tiny cup for a reason
Mobile is a fantastic city! I hope you enjoy your trip. A lot has changed since I left for school up in Boston, so a lot of the places I’d recommend have changed.
For food, they’re right about the Brick Pit for Barbecue and the Original Oyster House for seafood. Both are fantastic choices. For southern-style food, I’d recommend the Big Time Diner on Cottage Hill Road. The catfish is probably the best choice (I like the fried version, the grilled is also great), and make sure to get the turnip greens. They’re the best non-home-cooked greens I’ve ever eaten.
Mobile has a much larger Vietnamese influence than it had when I was growing up, so there are now Vietnamese restaurants in the area. I’ve tried a couple of them on trips back home. The best place is on Azalea road (though it definitely won’t blow you away); avoid the one near Hall’s Mill Road like the plague.
In Biloxi, it’s worth asking if the White Cap restaurant has returned. Their crabmeat Po Boys were a staple of beach trips when I was growing up. The restaurant washed away in Katrina, but I hear rumors that it reopened.
Dauphin Island (including Fort Gaines – a civil war fort) or Fairhope is probably your best bet for a day trip. Dauphin Island probably gets the edge because the beaches are so beautiful. Also, make sure you drive down Government Street through downtown. The ancient oak trees and the old houses are one of my favorite parts of Mobile. Have a great trip!
Let me add my voice to those suggesting a trip to Fairhope. My freshman year of college I had an argument with a friend (almost certainly the commenter “Selfreferencing” above) who was from Fairhope over which of us came from a weirder town. I won the argument that night, but after I took a few trips with him down there, I was no longer sure I should have. The place was founded by Georgists and most of downtown is still owned by the Fairhope Single-Tax Corporation. Also, the monolith to George near the center of town is pretty amusing. I have not eaten at Panini Pete’s (I blame this on Selfrefrencing), but I’ve never had a bad meal in that town, so I’m inclined to think it’s excellent. And if you’re there at night you might get lucky and catch a jubilee; I’ve never been that fortunate myself but still. Plus, you can stop by Foley to eat at Lambert’s on the way to or from Mobile–excellent fried okra. And yeah, the Grand Hotel at Point Clear does look ridiculously awesome.
Dauphin Island is also pretty neat, but the coolest stuff is in the sea lab, which when I was last there wasn’t open to the public. Still, Fort Gaines is moderately interesting, and there are some bizarre houses there even by beach standards.
I’m a proud yet self-critical Alabama native. Before going to Alabama, I recommend learning a bit about one BIG reason why our state is economically and socially behind every other state: our 700-amendment state constitution (which is larger than India’s constitution). Here’s a short (and humorous) documentary on the mess we’re in: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4332178818631634021
… and a 1-minute trailer if you want to test it out: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3049020570551690323
Oh, except that I was also very excited to be visiting for the first time.
You must try to visit the ‘Coon Dog Cemetery.
http://www.coondogcemetery.com/
Helen Keller’s childhood home is also nearby.
http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/
You can get the New Deal Writers Project guide to Alabama (and most, if not all other states) at the D.C. Public Library (main and some branches). Probably won’t be too useful for restaurants, though.
I grew up in Ocean Springs, a “quaint” town on the Mobile side of Biloxi. I can’t tell you much about Mobile, but I can give you some insight while you’re at Biloxi. These are all in Ocean Springs of course.
1. Tatonut is a must. http://tatonut.com/ I’m not a huge fan of donuts, but I love these made out of potato flour.
2. Aunt Jenny’s for all-you-can eat fried shrimp. http://www.coastseafood.com/jennys.html This isn’t some nasty seafood buffet at a casino. The shrimp are incredible and you’ll be glad if you chose the all-you-can eat option.
3. Fayard’s BP for Roast Beef or Shrimp Po-Boy. Ask for dressed and pressed with gravy on the roast beef. It’s up the road (Head North on Washington Ave. from Aunt Jenny’s towards I-10) on the left. Gas station food seems odd, but there are some incredible BBQ and sandwich joints at gas stations in MS. This is one of those places.
4. Walter Anderson Museum. http://www.walterandersonmuseum.org/ Walter Anderson is one of Mississippi’s favorite artists and it’s worth visiting his museum. It’s near Tatonut.
If you have time, extend your trip and come to Oxford, MS. I’ll show you around and introduce you to some more great food.
Try Mary Mahoney’s in Biloxi, with special emphasis on the seafood gumbo:
I knew someone would recommend MM’s. 20 years ago, it was a good restaurant. We regret every visit now. You can do better.
… If you’ve never been on board a capital ship, the U.S.S. Alabama is indeed worth a couple of hours. The same spot also has a WW2 submarine, the Drum IIRC, which is also worth a quick look — that’s all you need, as the tour is a reminder of just how miserably small and spooky our submersibles were; it will give you a new appreciation for the men who lived and died in them.
The following link collates many of the suggestions previously mentioned. I hope it helps you find what you are looking for.
http://www.nextstop.com/location/places/l6f1H9ioNno/mobile-al/
Bellingrath Gardens http://www.bellingrath.org/ is very much recommended.
Wintzell’s Original Oyster House is good, but not great. For a dinner, go to Fairhope and Point Clear. Lot’s of choices but I think I would pick the seafood at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear.
For a side trip I would select an eco-tour boat trip on the Tensaw River.
Skip Dreamland BBQ unless you go to the original in Tuscaloosa.
The ambience in Tuscaloosa is not to be missed, but the ribs in Mobile are just fine.
(Favorite ribs ever, though? Virgil’s BBQ, off Times Square, NYC. No lie. Don’t fill up on the biscuits w/ maple butter.)
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