Downtown Food Tour, Mobile, Alabama

With our Anniversary coming up and being the same weekend as Father’s Day, Rosita and I decided to spend a weekend in Mobile Alabama. We have been to Mobile for a weekend on a couple of previous occasions. It has a great downtown area that is perfect for a weekend getaway. For more things to do in Mobile, I posted an article last year, “Mobile, a Great Weekend Getaway”. Click on the title to link to the article. After I posted that article, Chris Andrews invited me to come back to Mobile sometime and go on one of his food tours. And we are so glad that we took him up on his offer. Although we were Chris’s guests on the food tour, it was not in exchange for writing this article and the opinions expressed by myself and Rosita are our own. Now to the good stuff!

We met Meghan, our experience guide, at The Royal Scam Restaurant on Royal Street. It is right across the street from The Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel.  We didn’t stay here on this trip, but have in the past. I highly recommend this hotel. This was my first food tour ever and I was not sure what to expect. We were the first to arrive and Meghan did a great job greeting and making us feel welcome. It takes a special talent to do this. Our first tasting was gumbo at The Royal Scam. It was very good. Now being from New Orleans we have eaten many different gumbos, and all have been a little different. This one was a little spicy but not too much. Rosita does not like spicy foods, even though she has a Cajun heritage. She says that a good gumbo should be well seasoned with delicious flavors, not spicy tastes.  If you are into spicy foods, you will think it is mild.

Next, we walked toward Von’s Bistro and Meghan shared a little downtown history along the way. On this trip we stayed at the The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel. Meghan had some interesting information on how the hotel was built.  She even pointed out what room Elvis stayed in once when he was visiting Mobile. You also might be seeing a pattern that I favor Marriott hotels.  

At Von’s Bistro we tasted a fantastic wonton and spring roll. The wonton was made with blue crab and was very tasty and lighter than wontons I have eaten in other Asian Restaurants. The spring roll was made with pork and vegetables and was also very tasty.  

Our next stop was the A&M Peanut Shop. This was a nice salty treat and if you are a peanut aficionado like me you will love this shop. Well, I don’t know if I’m really an aficionado, but I certainly like peanuts. It was established in 1947 and it looks like you are stepping back in time to the way these shops looked back then. For me many of these types of shops were around when I was young but you don’t see very many anymore. Oh, and they roast nuts here so be careful, the smell will drive you nuts and make you buy some before you leave! 

From here we went to Heroes’ Sports Bar and Grill, established in 1998 and is open 7 days a week. We had some delicious spinach and crawfish dip here. The dip was thick, rich and very flavorful. We sat on their front patio at the entrance to the Restaurant. It looked like a very good place to come watch some sports, have a cold one and have some good appetizers. 

The next stop was one of our favorite places in Mobile. Wintzell’s Oyster House. The specialty here is, you guessed it, Oysters. We sampled grilled oysters, raw oysters and some fried dill pickles. We sat at the bar and watched the oysters being shucked. One novelty of this place is the signs hanging on the walls everywhere. Each one has a different saying and they are hilarious. Rosita did not think all of them were funny but all that I read were. But a lot of things I think are funny, she doesn’t. It gets me in trouble some, okay many times! 

Moe’s Original BBQ was next. We sampled a St. Louis spare rib and a couple of wings. The ribs were tasty and very tender. The wings were very good, and both had a dry rub on them. We were given a regular tomato-based BBQ sauce and a Mayo based Alabama BBQ sauce. The Mayo sauce was new to me but very good. It reminded me of our trip to Belgium last year where we were served mayo for dipping when we ordered fries. We also tried their Bushwhacker and if you like milk shakes and adult beverages, you should give it a try. The restaurant is located in an old automobile dealership. The younger people will not recognize it as such, but people my age will. Automobile dealerships were much smaller in my youth than they are now. Also check out the bar, it is made out of old bowling alley lanes. 

The last stop on the tour was at Three Georges. This shop was started in 1917 by three guys, all named George. One wanted a sandwich shop; one wanted a candy store and the other wanted an ice cream parlor. They could not come to a decision and one of their wives said, “You have enough room, do all three”. And now over 100 years later they are still doing all 3. We sampled a praline that was delicious, and we bought some dark, Rosita’s favorite, and white, my favorite, chocolate for a treat at a later time.

Rosita and I really enjoyed the LoDa Stroll and want to think Chris for his hospitality and Meghan for her professionalism and warmth in hosting the tour.  Meghan did a fantastic job of making us feel at home and comfortable while on the tour. Downtown Mobile is a great place to visit for a few days. If you live anywhere near and are looking for ideas for a weekend or even longer getaway, this is a city to consider. 

 For more information on things to do in Mobile you can read my previous article on Mobile, “Mobile, a Great Weekend Getaway”. and check out Bienville Bites web page to book a tour and find out what else is going on in Mobile. I would also like to invite you to view our YouTube video about the tour.

Thank you for visiting Traveling On My Agenda and reading my blog post.  Your comments are welcomed! 

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