I Reckon I Just Took a Trip to 'Bama

If you're heading to bayou region, along the Gulf of Mexico, your trip will not be complete without some real southern seafood. As recommended by numerous people in the area, the best place to go in the Mobile area is The Original Oyster House.

The original restaurant was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The current restaurant sits a few miles down the road, along Mobile Bay near the U.S.S. Alabama Museum. Like many structures in the area, the restaurant is elevated on stilts to keep it dry when the bay floods over.

Inside you'll find an open restaurant decorated with loads of maritime objects, with giant windows that face the bay. The wait staff is friendly and refills your drink promptly (though I was a little unsure where my drink refill came from when she poured what appeared to be someone's leftover drink into my cup).

There are plenty of seafood options at The Original Oyster House: dozens of kinds of shrimp, crab, crawfish, oysters, tuna, flounder, and even alligator. Most dinners cost around $13 and include two side dishes (such as french fries, cole slaw, cheese grits, corn, and potatoes). To prepare your stomach, appetizers costing between $6 and $11 include alligator bites, crab claws, oysters, fried cheese, chicken tenders, and more. If you manage your appetizers, entree, and side dishes, don't hesitate to try their peanut butter chocolate chip pie or key lime pie.

For drinks, wines cost around $5 per glass and soda with free refills are $1.75 each. There is also a large selection of beers on tap, domestic and imported.

On certain nights, there is live entertainment just outside the main entrance.

The Original Oyster House is a great place to watch the sun set over Mobile Bay while enjoying some of the best seafood in the area. They accept all major credit cards and are open late (10pm or 11pm on weekends).

If there's one thing about the South that I quickly learned, it is that the people there love to eat. The folks who dine at Lambert's Cafe are no exception. Everything about Lambert's Cafe is big, from the size of the lettering on the sign out front to the size of the line to get in (45 minutes) to the size of the parking lot to the size of the restaurant itself, and to the size of the waists of the people who dine there.

The first thing you will see when stepping into Lambert's is a small "museum" of sorts that displays the history of the restaurant and the founders. You will notice that a lot of the history mentions the "throwed rolls." Once you sit down, you'll realize that "throwed rolls" are exactly what it sounds like. The restaurant itself is divided into several main rooms, each packed with wooden tables, benches, and chairs. If you sit on the outside of each section, you will be under a barn-like roof. Those in the middle section are more in an open area.

On the table, don't expect to have silverware and napkins. You'll find a roll of paper towels and a metal bucket with plastic-wrapped silverware for you to use. This seems to be the norm in Alabama. Throughout the meal, expect servers to come by with free fried okra, tomato and macaroni soup (read: nasty), fried potatoes and onions, and apple butter for the infamous rolls. If you want one of their huge rolls, simply raise your hand when the roll thrower is in the area. He'll gladly throw you a roll from the other side of the restaurant. Just make sure you catch it.

The menu lists numerous burger, sandwich, seafood, and other fried options. Chicken, beef, pork, and fish are all on the menu. On my visit, I ordered the Hot Beef Sandwich, an open sandwich covered in gravy and served with two side dishes (in my case, french fries and cole slaw). Most dinners range between $9 and $14 and are very filling. The salads are perhaps the biggest things you will ever see, coming in a cowboy hat-sized bread bowl. And, like the salads, the drinks come in huge plastic mugs... with free refills on most drinks.

When leaving Lambert's, similar to when you get off a ride at an amusement park, you have to walk through a gift shop before exiting the building. If 52-ounce coffee mugs are your thing, be sure to grab one here.

Lambert's Cafe is just a few miles from Gulf Shores, AL, and is in a spot that is frequently hit by hurricanes. If you plan to dine at Lambert's during hurricane season, call ahead to see if it is open. If it is open, get ready to catch some flying rolls and unbuckle your belt after you eat an insane amount of food.

Please note: they only accept cash (though there is an ATM outside).

Along the main road through Citronelle, just south of "downtown," you can find Mac Lin's Bakery. The building is nothing special, but the food inside is probably the best you'll find in this tiny town north of Mobile.

As the name of the place says, it is a bakery. They do have a wide variety of cakes, muffins, and other goodies to choose from. I ordered a "blueberry square," which was quite delicious.

Aside from their desserts are a few sandwiches and other quick meals. On my visit I ordered the club sandwich, which I was expecting to come like a club sandwich that I've eaten everywhere else in the country. But their club sandwich is different. Instead of putting the meats on toasted bread, they are on a croissant roll.

Lunch specials cost about $5 or $6 and include a sandwich, drink, and fries. It's a good deal for the amount of food you get. There are also other options for lunches, though I did not have any of them. Single sandwiches (not part of a special) are around $3 or so.

The bakery is popular among local businesses for lunch, who call ahead with their big orders, so visiting at lunchtime might cause a bit of a wait. However, this is Citronelle, and so the wait is only a few minutes.

Mexican food can be quick and cheap (think Taco Bell) or delicious and relatively expensive (think Mexican Radio in Manhattan). In the middle of that range lies the Santa Fe Fajita Company, located in Spanish Fort, AL.

Located in part of a major shopping center, the restaurant is open and airy. Decorated with faux Mexican relics, the restaurant tries hard to feel unique and special, but I couldn't help but feel that it was just another chain restaurant, edging very close to being a Mexican version of Applebees. If anything helped, it was the Mexican waiters, who sort of made everything feel authentic.

Always stomach pleasers for me are free chips and salsa. This place had it. Don't expect the food to be anything too special, though. My chimichanga felt more like a burrito, though who can really tell what the differences are with Mexican food. The fajita wraps also felt rather thin (though that may just be because I've only had fajitas at one other place).

Prices are extremely reasonable, ranging from around $5 to $10 for most items. They accept all major credit cards.

Military and history buffs would love the U.S.S. Alabama Museum in Mobile. It's an inexpensive, easy way to get up close to some of our country's military history. Located along Battleship Parkway, east of downtown Mobile, the museum is open year-round and costs $10 ($5 for children 6-11, free for those under 6).

The museum centers around the battleship U.S.S. Alabama, a World War II battleship that spent much of her career in the Pacific. It is possible to board the battleship and take a tour. If you have a group of 10 or more, you may qualify for a special rate (only $3/person).

Not only does the museum have the battleship and a submarine (the U.S.S. Drum), but also a handful of military aircraft. Of interest to me was a SR-71 Blackbird, as well as a B-52 bomber (which was seen daily as a child growing up near Griffiss Air Force Base in upstate New York). All of the aircraft used to be housed inside the Aircraft Pavilion. But after Hurricane Katrina, extensive damage to the building and some of the aircraft forced the museum to move all their aircraft outside. Though many of the planes are deteriorating, they are still amazing to see up close.

When Hurricane Katrina swept through the area in 2005, it actually moved the battleship from its permanent place in the bay and tilted it 8 degrees. At the current time (spring 2006), I am not sure if it has been adjusted back to its original position.

After reading about Gulf Shores, AL, in the news after major hurricanes struck the area, I always had the impression that few people lived there and that everything in the area was blown away. So, when I drove into Gulf Shores and found shopping centers and condominium high-rises on the shore, as well as beautiful beaches for as far as the eyes can see, I was quite surprised.

Gulf Shores feels like any major beach area. There are loads of restaurants to choose from and plenty of places to stay. When the weather is warm, expect the shores to be packed with people sunbathing and swimming. On my visit in late March, though, the weather was a bit chilly and the wind was blowing somewhat hard. But, besides that, there were a few hardcore beach-goers laying in the sun and in the water.

If the weather is not warm enough for swimming, a visit to the shore will not be without anything happening. Parasailers, water skiers, and kite fliers can be seen all around the area. The newly rebuilt boardwalks on the shore provide easy access to the water and sand. Simply park your car in any of the free lots, take off your shoes, and stroll along the shore.