It’s hard to believe our trip down to Mobile, Alabama to cover the Senior Bowl as credentialed press has already come and gone. I can distinctly remember getting the approval email, and immediately thinking “how the fuck are we going to pull this off?” And, now, I sit here with the trip a week ago in my rear view mirror. It was a fun one – there’s a ton of Senior Bowl coverage on SoBros Network dot com for you to check out. But, since part of what we do here is lifestyle writing, I had to keep tabs on all of our meals on the road and compile ’em into a nice little food journal here. Let’s get to it.
Our Mobile, Alabama Food Journal
Meal 1: Whataburger – Okay, so technically, this was a stop in Decatur, Alabama on our way down to Mobile, but I had to mention it here because it was my first time trying the fabled Whataburger. Honestly, I get both sides of the aisle on this one. It is constructed eerily similar to a Sonic burger. But, to me, the difference was in the size – Whataburger is bigger, and after having another burger at a different Whataburger on this trip, I’m willing to say it’s definitely a lot less greasy – not as wet as Sonic at all. I’ve been converted – I’m a huge Whataburger fan. I can’t wait for the one in Hermitage to die down a bit so it doesn’t take three hours to get through the drive-through.
Meal 2: The Ruby Slipper Cafe – Morning #1 in Mobile, and before we ventured out to Hancock Whitney Stadium to pick up our press credentials, we decided to give this one a shot. Steven informed me that this is a chain based out of New Orleans, and we happen to have a Ruby Slipper Cafe down in Franklin, TN. Who knew? Pictured below is my breakfast – a corned beef hash eggs benedict that was loaded with flavor. It was a tad salty, but if you’re into corned beef hash, this dish leans heavily on it. I loved the cajun hollondaise type of sauce on top, and you know I had to drizzle some hot sauce over top of it. This was my favorite meal of the trip.
Meal 3: Raising Cane’s – Any time I can get Raising Cane’s, I will. It is the superior fast food chicken joint out there, and I can’t wait for the one in Nashville to open up by the end of the year. We passed this one on the way from Hancock Whitney Stadium back to our AirBnB, and it looked like an oasis in the desert. For two big hungry dudes, it was a must-stop. If you’re out on the road and see one of these, you need to do yourself a favor and stop.
Meal 4: Papa John’s – Well….they can’t all be hits, right? After a day of working and getting acclimated to Mobile, we were exhausted and didn’t really feel much like getting out for dinner. We had a podcast to record, so we opted to order old faithful from Papa John’s. After an hour and a half, the pizza and wings arrived cold, and tasted like they’d been sitting out since that morning. Judging by the smell of the AirBnB after this meal, I’d say they’ll have to repaint the walls. It was the worst Papa John’s experience I’ve ever had.
Meal 5: Saucy Q Bar B Que – We passed Saucy Q several times driving about town, and since Steven and I are both big BBQ fans, decided we needed to get a little more local flavor and try it out while we were in town. We stopped in for lunch on Friday, and I loaded up specifically thinking of this review – I got the pork belly on a bun with a side of fried green tomatoes and red beans and rice, with a cup of their Brunswick stew.
The pork belly was damn near perfect – a crispy exterior with a soft fatty middle. It was piled on a bun topped with cole slaw and Alabama white sauce. I couldn’t pick the damn thing up and eat it with my hands, so I decided to just pour some hot BBQ sauce on top of the whole thing and fork-and-knife it. The red beans and rice were bland – hearty, but not a lot of flavor. The fried green tomatoes tasted good and tart, as you’d expect them to, but the texture was a tad dry for my liking. The Brunswick stew was the real star of the meal – incredibly savory and loaded with the goods.
Meal 6: Heroes Sports Bar and Grille – Friday afternoon, we decided we’d stroll around downtown Mobile and see what the Entertainment District was all about. We had heard rumblings about how good this Heroes sports bar was, and when we saw that there was a location right across the street from where the free Portugal The Man concert was going to take place that night, we decided to drop anchor there. We killed several rounds of drinks, and then ordered food. I had maybe the best patty melt I’ve ever had – beef cooked to perfection, with a buttery and ooey gooey cheesy texture. It was heavy on the cooked onions and accented well with a side of crinkle cut french fries and cole slaw. The perfect meal to keep me from being hung over for the Senior Bowl the next day.
Meal 7: Hooter’s – No shame in this one. Though we wanted to try more local flavor, after sitting out in the cold all day at Hancock Whitney Stadium, nothing sounded better than some beer and a plate of hot wings. So, when we drove past it on our way home after the Senior Bowl, it was a no-brainer.
Meal 8: Whataburger – Again, we had to. We had no choice. Except this time, it was for breakfast, and we stopped on our way out of town heading back towards Nashville. I got a sausage egg and cheese on a bun with hash browns. But, as I was eating it, I thought about how Steven went ahead and got a burger for breakfast, knowing it would probably be awhile before he got to try it again too. I finished my breakfast sandwich and thought “damn, I wish I had ordered a burger too.” Steven said it wasn’t too late to get one, and I said “challenge accepted.” That’s the story of how I had two meals in one sitting at a Whataburger just outside of Mobile.
MORE SENIOR BOWL 2022 CONTENT
- Brian Robinson Jr. Absolutely POPPED Channing Tindall At Senior Bowl Practice Today
- Players Of Local Interest In The Senior Bowl
- PODCAST: The SoBros Power Hour on our trip down to Mobile
- PODCAST: The Unofficial Titans Podcast’s report from the Senior Bowl
- Reese’s peanut butter cupcake review
- A Round 1 Quarterback Selection Isn’t Out Of The Question For The Titans
- Sam Howell, Malik Willis, And Bailey Zappe To Play For Lions Squad In The Senior Bowl
- Senior Bowl: American Team Practice Day 3 Notes
- Senior Bowl: National Team Practice Day 3 Notes
- Takeaways From The 2022 Senior Bowl
- Titans Fans Should Be Paying Attention To The Senior Bowl
- Trevor Penning Is Destined To Headline WrestleMania
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to The Unofficial Titans Podcast on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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