Mark Esterman – Memphis Flyer

When I think “Monday,” I get real hungry. Because Monday is “Prime Rib Night,” as people call it, at Mortimer’s.

Well, now I can get real hungry when I think “Tuesday” because Tuesday is now another Prime Rib Night at 590 North Perkins Road. That’s an extra evening for customers to enjoy the restaurant’s succulent prime rib special.

I was in Mortimer’s recently and ordered the prime rib medium rare because I wanted a certain shade of pink. To me, there are few things as delicious as prime rib paired with horseradish. So, I dipped just about every bite of meat into my little cup of horseradish.

I also ordered a baked potato — because I think you just have to order a baked potato slathered with butter when you order prime rib. Everything was delicious.

Prime rib dinner at Mortimer’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)

I think my first prime rib dinner was at the old Fred Gang’s Meat Market restaurant on Airways Boulevard. I remember being taken there for dinner on my 30th birthday as a ruse. My surprise party was at the old Bombay Bicycle Shop. My date wanted me to think she was just taking me to dinner and then we’d stop by Bombay afterwards for drinks. But we arrived late to Bombay. Like about an hour. I still remember the bored faces of the party guests when we walked in. I blame it on the prime rib lingered over it at Fred Gang’s.

For many years, you could get a prime rib sandwich as a special on Wednesdays at Mortimer’s. I took the meat off the bread and ate it just like I would on a Monday night.

I asked the extremely popular bartender Mark Esterman why Mortimer’s added another prime rib dinner night. “The reason was Mondays were so crazy busy,” he says, adding Tuesdays were kind of slow. “We were trying to figure out something else to make Tuesdays and other days busier.”

They added prime rib on Tuesday about seven weeks ago. “And the price doesn’t hurt,” Esterman adds. The prime rib comes with a side and salad for $27.99.

And, I was happy to hear, I can still get that prime rib sandwich again on Wednesday “…if we have anything left on Wednesday,” Esterman says. “Last week, there wasn’t anything left. The week before there was enough for six sandwiches.”

As for a new Wednesday night special, Esterman says, “We’re talking about possibly doing a lobster roll on Wednesdays. That’s just one idea we have for Wednesdays.”

I’ve had one lobster roll in my life. That was after a trip to Maine for a wedding. I ordered one at the airport so I could say I tried one. If they start selling those at Mortimer’s, that’s going to be a good reason for me to get real hungry when I think “Wednesday,” too.

Prime rib on Mondays and Tuesdays at Mortimer’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)

If I could only have one thing to eat in this world, it would be chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s restaurant. That sounds like two things, but it’s a combo.

My love affair with this Mortimer’s lunch item began when my sister and I began ordering it in the late 1960s or early ’70s at The Little Tea Shop, which was owned at the time by the late Vernon Bell, father of Sara Bell, who now owns Mortimer’s. Mortimer’s uses some recipes that were carried over from the old Little Tea Shop as well as the old Knickerbocker restaurant, which also was owned by Vernon.

Frozen fruit was taken off the menu at The Little Tea Shop a long time ago. I asked one of the restaurant’s veteran servers for the recipe, which she wrote out for me. I tried to make it, but I didn’t know enough about cooking to follow her directions at that time.

It looks like ice cream, but it’s actually made out of marshmallows, fruit cocktail, whipping cream, and topped with cream cheese and cherry juice, which makes the cream cheese pink. When I order it at the bar, I get questions from curious customers who want to know what it is. One person thought it was mashed potatoes.

Chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s restaurant (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Years ago, I had a newspaper assignment to write about chicken salads around town. I hadn’t been to Mortimer’s in years. I ordered it from Kris Robertson, who was a server at the time. Then I heard longtime bartender/manager, Mark Esterman, call from the bar, “Does he want frozen fruit?”

I was so excited I’m sure I looked and acted like an idiot. With my mouth twisted into a big gaping smile, I probably yelled, “You have frozen fruit???!!!” After that, I became a Mortimer’s regular. And now 95 percent of the time, I order chicken salad and frozen fruit. It’s a lunch item, but they usually have some left over at dinner time.

I love sweet and savory dishes, so that duo is perfect. I remember being told that my old Memphis Press-Scimitar colleague, the late George Lapides, was a fan of chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s.

I called Christopher Jamieson, Sarah’s son and also an owner of Mortimer’s, about the history of my favorite culinary combination.

“It’s popular among the people that know it, if that makes sense,” Jamieson says. “It’s a hard thing to describe. It really doesn’t make sense to most people until they put their eyes on it and try it. I have the same people that come in for it every week.”

Frozen fruit is particularly popular in the summertime, Jamieson says. “With it being cold and kind of refreshing, in a sense. So, anybody with a sweet tooth certainly enjoys it.”

Note: I wrote about the prime rib at Mortimer’s in the February issue of Memphis magazine. I think that’s why my name is now on the sign in front. It reads, “Michael Donahue Says Try Morts You Will Love It.” I’m honored, of course. I like to sit by the window closest to the sign in case somebody comes by my table. I can motion toward the sign with my eyes.

Mortimer’s is at 590 North Perkins Road, (901) 761-9321.