The Battle House

The Battle House is a hotel in beautiful downtown Mobile, Alabama. It sits on Royal St. It opened in 1852 and was rebuilt in 1900. In 1905 it burned and had to be rebuilt again. This edition of the hotel is the one standing today. In 1974 it was closed down and would have been torn down, just as every other building on that block of Royal St. had been, if not for the determination of a few folks who kept it standing until the the Retirement System of Alabama stepped up with funds for a full and glorious restoration. I remember being at the Battle House once as a little kid. It was Mardi Gras and we were visiting family. I remember the grand, marble double stair case. I want to remember sliding down the huge side rails which were like giant, marble sliding boards, but I know my folks would never have let that happen.

So this is the spot Stacey and had picked for lunch Thursday, the day after the Tom Waits show. The Battle House has only been re-opened for about two years now. We try to go every chance we get. Sometimes when we are in Mobile, we wake up and go for a long walk downtown, we walk to the Battle House, take a quick walk through the lobby and public spaces and turn around and walk back home. We have been for cocktails and breakfast a handful of times.

The Joe Cain Cafe has just opened in the Battle House and it has food and a full bar. It’s great room done up Mardi Gras style, with Ol’ Slac being the main theme. There are flat screen televisions everywhere, the food is good and the menu has lot’s of different offerings. If you find yourself having to spend the night in Mobile stay at the Battle House if possible, if not, go check it out.

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So little time…

My last post was Wednesday at 9:52:51. We were about to board an air plane for beautiful Mobile Alabama, going to see Tom Waits perform at the Saenger Theater. We had also planned to have dinner with the M and P unit. Well that was only the beginning.

We arrived in Mobile around lunch and hired a cab to take us to our humble abode on Montauk St. We got there, cranked up the a/c and walk up the street to the Bakery Restaurant for a light lunch. After a few Bloody Marys and a salad we headed to the M and P’s house. There we learned what was for dinner, tuna. Fresh caught tuna which had been delivered the day before. This was the largest piece of tuna I have ever held in my hands, it was about the size of Stacey’s head. My little brother had caught it off the
coast of Louisiana a day or so earlier. It was beautiful and My dad cooked it up just right. He “crusted” one side with cracked pepper and sesame seeds and seared the hell out of it. It was sweet, melt in your mouth tender and some of the best food I have ever put in my mouth. The food is always good on Roper Street, but this was special.

So then it was off to the Tom Waits show. I’m gonna write more about it tomorrow. I have a lot to write about as this was our schedule for the last few days.

Tom Waits show in Mobile Wednesday night, lunch at the Battle House Thursday, 4th of July parade at Serenbe Friday, dinner with at neighbors Friday night, fireworks Friday night, dinner at Holeman Finch Public House Saturday evening, Tom Waits show at the Fox Saturday, that’s right, 2 TW shows, Sunday ribs on the grill and too much tequila. So, please dear reader, stand by for more.

Tuna and Tom Waits

Well, like I said we were treated to some really good tuna Wednesday night. It was super fresh and cooked really well, as in not too well. Marion and I enjoyed a couple martinis before and during our meal. Ice cold vodka goes good with seared tuna, you should try it sometime. We then meet up with a couple of friends who were headed to the Saenger Theater as well. One more ice cold vodka and we’re off, ready to see Tom Waits strut his stuff.

And that’s exactly what he did. For about 2 hours he twisted and turned, flapped his arms as if trying to fly, stood on one foot doing weird ballet moves, all the while belting out tunes in his slackjaw, down to his kneebone, rusty old voice. It was great and it was just what the people wanted to see and hear. Every move, every comment, every jester received applause. He told jokes, played the guitar and the piano. The complete package.

The stage setting was beautiful. There were random lights of different colors all about the stage. Large square boxes with 15 or 20 lights, row after row. The middle back drop was a long curtain that took on what ever color light was spotted on it and it looked like heavy velvet, about 20 feet tall. Red and blue were the two colors used the most and the red light made it look like an old whore house. A nice antique whore house with a red glow. It was real nice.

The show in Mobile was about the same as the show in Atlanta three nights later. It was proceeded by a really good meal also, more on that soon. In Mobile we sat on the 11th row, but were as far to the right as you could get, not bad seats at all just couldn’t see the horn blower or the piano player much at all. In Atlanta we were smack in the middle, about 35 rows back. I think he played four songs in Atlanta he did not play in Mobile. The set up was the same as in Mobile, except Larry Taylor played lead guitar on two songs. Mr. Waits also played a very small keyboard that was old and he looked huge sitting behind it. It sounded as if it was metal striking metal.

These are some of the songs he played. Make it rain, chocolate jesus, lucinda, down in the hole, cemetery polka, lucky day and lot’s of others. The band was really tight. Waits had described them as having race car precision, but I thought it was more like, subway under your feet in NYC precision. They were like a train, sometimes they went fast and sometimes they went slow. His son plays the drums for him and the saxophone guy played two horns at one time, more then once. The guitarist was the best. He made an unreal range of sounds come from his guitar and he played the banjo and other string stuff as well. Sitting in the middle made a big difference as far as visuals went. Being way to the side you didn’t get the effect of a main character, in the middle of the stage playing to the room. You really got the feel it was a theatrical event from sitting up and looking down at the stage and being in the middle. It was almost vaudeville like, the complete package.

One of our friends videoed just about the whole show and she has put a lot of the songs on you tube at this address http://www.youtube.com/user/Imbamalee. Go there and scroll down a little, you can’t miss em.

Wait a minute

About 7 or 8 years ago Stacey went to NYC to see Tom Waits at the Beacon Theater. It was the perfect place to see him do his thing. The Beacon is not a real large room and the sound was great. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen and we felt quite fortunate to see Mr. Waits as he does not tour much and his tickets sell out in less then an hour for all his shows.

Well here we go again. No, not NYC, but beautiful downtown Mobile, Alabama. That’s right, tonight at the Saenger Theater we will again have the pleasure of see Mr. Waits do his thing. I say “do his thing” because he is such a unique character and has such a presence, only he could do what he does. His trashed out voice, antique instruments and found sounds all make for one of a kind act. On top of that some of the songs are just beautiful pieces of art.

Mobile has been real proud of itself lately. That city is in a place it has never been in before. People now actually want to live there. There are jobs, there’s a whole new scene downtown, with bars and restaurants and art gallery’s for people to enjoy. People are moving into all kinds of lofts and condos in the downtown district.

Now this, Tom Waits! I bet there’s gonna be an even bigger change when folks hear about this. People will flock to the city wanting to buy new homes and relocate there. Magazines will claim it the “Best new City in the South”, the best place to live, the best place to raise your kids. And you can all thank Tom Waits. Tom Waits plays Mobile Alabama! Who would have thunk it?

Lake Trippin’

We have friends, and it’s one of the best things in life. So many friends, all kinds of different people. We feel really blessed in this way.

There is this one couple we are friends with, a young lady that Stacey worked under at one point at Delta, and her husband, who loves the good things in life and sharing them with his friends. This lady helped save my life about ten years ago, we were friends then and still are today. These guys have a beautiful house on a lake in Tennessee and about 2 or 3 times a year have us up for the weekend. They always invite another couple that we know well and we have the best time, just hanging out, boating, sitting in the sun and eating and drinking.

Food is usually the main focus of these weekends. We all talk about it a few weeks ahead and make a plan. We either each do a meal or two or we work together on a few meals. These are some of the best meals I get to have and the fellowship is a big part of it. I think we all enjoy cooking and preparing food for each other. Wine is usually matched to the meal and special cocktails are always introduced on these weekends. These guys all like food and drink and we like using the best and freshest ingredients we can get our hands on.

These are some, just some not all, of the things we enjoyed this weekend.

Shrimp and Grits, a crab salad sandwich and lots of bar b que.

Friday night some que was picked up at the local que joint, along with sides of baked beans and tater salad. Good stuff, and our host had some little gherkin pickles he had picked up at Traders Joe, they were great with the bar b que and the tater salad. There were Dark and Stormy cocktails mixed up with a dark rum that was delicious. Also we enjoyed Salty Dogs, I think that was the name of the drink. Good grapefruit juice, vodka, salt and I think something else was mixed in. These are good drinks and all the better with the quality ingredients used.

The “store bought” bar b que was good, but nothing like the butt that cooked on the green egg all night and I do mean all night long. This is something that is usually done on these trips. One of our friends loves to cook meat on the grill and he is very good at it. It was also a Berkshire butt he was cooking. I know the farmers that raised the pig and I know what that pig ate and it was all natural. You just can’t do no better than that. Good meat cooked for 12-14 hours on really low heat. The pit master knows what he doing and I could taste the proof and the truth. Of course the blessing of the butt helps, here is a photo of the butt gettin blessed.

Then there’s Sunday morning when all the leftovers are pulled out, laid on the bar and you get to relive you favorite food moments of the weekend. God bless America.