Eating at the Cawthon Hotel

Eating your history means knowing the location, not just the menu. In 1906, the Cawthon Hotel went up in Mobile, Alabama. It was designed to impress, and when guests entered the lobby they would be greeted with hand-painted frescos and furniture made of Spanish leather. After checking in, guests could relax in the parlor, the writing room, or the billiard room, all elaborately furnished. For convenience, there was also a barber shop and a Turkish Bath in the hotel. Most importantly, the restaurants in the hotel were decorated in the French Colonial style, and the meals were served on German china. 

On the top floor was the Vineyard Cafe, where patrons could eat an evening meal while listening to an orchestra between 8 and 12. Don't forget the gorgeous fountain on this rooftop garden restaurant! 

The Vineyard Cafe served an array of food befitting an elaborate hotel. In 1910, the breakfast was not to be outdone. The following breakfast options were recorded in The Menu Maker of that year:

THE CAWTHON'S EGG BILL.

Boiled Eggs (2)...20c 

Scrambled Eggs...25c

Boiled Eggs (3)...25c 

Poached Eggs....25c

Fried Eggs (2)...20c

Shirred Eggs...25c

Fried Eggs (3)...25c 

Plain Omelette...25c 

Scrambled Eggs.

Aux Fines Herbes - (mixed with parsley, pickles and onions, hashed very fine)...35c

Au Jambon - With finely shredded or minced ham...35c

A la Cawthon - On toast, covered with goose liver paste and scrambled with tomatoes...50c

Aux Pointes d'Asperges - With asparagus tips...40c

Au Cervelle de Veau - With calves brains....40c

Au Beurre d'Anchois - Anchovy paste mixed with butter, put on toast, covered with scrambled eggs..45c

Poached Eggs.

Seville - On toast with goose liver paste, fresh mushroom sauce...60c 

Grand Duc - Garnished with asparagus tips, fresh mushrooms and cream sauce....50c

Hervey - On fried ham with brown gravy and timbales of boiled hominy...50c

Mornay - On toast, covered with cream sauce, parmesan cheese and baked in oven....50c

Richelieu - On fois gras toast with rich tomato sauce...50c

Shirred Eggs.

Mobile - Garnished with shrimps, cooked in cream sauce and mushrooms...50c  

Meyerbeer - Garnished with kidney and port wine sauce around the edges...50c 

Au Beurre Noir - With nut brown butter...40c

A la Matelot - With a rich brown fines herbes and onion sauce, garnished with anchovies...50c

Rossini - Dressed in a border of chicken livers and mushrooms...50c 

Mornay - With rich cream sauce au gratin...40c

Waldimir - Covered with finely chopped mushrooms, asparagus tips, covered with parmesan cheese and baked in oven...50c

Mirabeau - Anchovy butter and anchovies...40c

Bercy - Jones sausage, flavor onions, tomato sauce...40c

A la Turque - Chicken livers, mushroom sauce...50c 

Omelettes.

The Hervey Special - A creation of our own (main part fresh shrimp)...50c

Allemande - Eggs mixed with rich pancake batter fried in butter...40c

Francaise - Eggs highly seasoned, cream and flavored with eschalots...40c

Hongroise - Seasoned with paprika, fried ham, onions, rich cream sauce poured around it...50c

Italienne - Chicken livers, ham and mushrooms hashed fine, tomato sauce...50c

Provencale - Tomatoes, garlic and cepes...40c

Creole - Green and red peppers, ham, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms...60c

Parmentier - With potatoes, brown sauce...40c

Jardiniere - Filled with mixed vegetables...40c

Maxine Elliott - Filled with fresh mushrooms cooked in cream...60c

One of the best menus from the Cawthon Hotel was printed in 1913, from a banquet held for the Alabama Hotel Men's Association. 

Dining in the Vineyard Cafe of the Cawthon Hotel must have been quite an experience. Today's Mobilians don't have this hotel anymore. It was demolished in the 1970s, but that does not mean we can't connect to the exquisite menu and history. Now excuse me while I go cook a Hervey Special...