Vernon Bell – Memphis Flyer

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.

Oh, That Peanut Butter Shake

I felt like I’d been hit by a train — in a good way — after I finished lunch at Silver Caboose Restaurant & Soda Fountain in Collierville.

My table did look like a train wreck after I finished eating, what with all the dishes and glasses, which contained the delicious items I ordered while I was at the popular lunch spot.

I hadn’t been in the Silver Caboose since before the pandemic, so I had to have my fill of their salad plates.

I’m a sucker for tomato aspic and everything that usually goes with it. So, I ordered the “Mixed Salad Plate,” which included tomato aspic, chicken salad, peach and cottage cheese, asparagus spears, and an incredibly tasty Catalina dressing. It didn’t come with pimento cheese, so I ordered a bowl of that on the side.

Mixed Salad Plate at Silver Caboose Restaurant & Soda Fountain (Credit: Michael Donahue)

But then I realized I really wanted the salad plate with the little sandwiches, so I ordered the tomato aspic plate with pimento cheese, egg salad, cream cheese and olive finger sandwiches.

Then I wanted to try their frozen fruit, so I ordered a side of that.

But what I originally went in there to try was their peanut butter milkshake.

Someone wrote about how good the shake was on a Facebook post weeks ago. I’ve wanted to stop by and try one.

I love milkshakes, but I usually get malted milks, and I usually get vanilla. I don’t think I’ve ever had a butterscotch shake. And I hadn’t had a peanut butter milkshake until my visit to Silver Caboose. It was outstanding.

It’s not their most popular shake, says manager Julie Felton. I say it might be after I write it up. To which, she says, “I’d better stock up on more peanut butter, huh?”

I asked Felton about the history of the peanut butter shake.

“There’s no history,” she says. “Someone just, one day years ago, came in and said, ‘Can you make a peanut butter milkshake?’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah. Sure. We’ve got peanut butter.’ So, we made it for that person. And, I guess, the word just got out that we make them. So, more and more people request it.”

They have about a dozen flavors of milkshakes, Felton says. “Chocolate is the most popular one.”

People come up with different flavors like “strawberry banana,” she says. “My grandson will mix rainbow sherbet and Sprite and call that a milkshake.”

That, actually, sounds delicious.

Getting back those salad plates, recipes for some of the items, including the tomato aspic, came from the old Knickerbocker Restaurant, says Felton. Her mother, Silver Caboose owner Mary Jean Smith, worked for the late Vernon Bell, who owned the Knickerbocker.

As a summer special, Silver Caboose is offering “Cool Salads For a Hot Summer.” These include their “Summer Salad Sampler,” which, according to the menu, is, “A fresh fruit compote surrounded by petite scoops of our homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese, egg salad, and tuna salad on green leaf lettuce.”

The one they almost can’t make enough of, Felton says, is “A Robbie Salad,” which, according to the menu, is “Mixed greens with garden veggies, topped with grilled chicken, chopped with “craisins” (dried cranberries) and pecans. So crunchy. We recommend our own Catalina dressing with this one.”

I probably should have stuck with petite servings, but I’m already planning my next visit to the Silver Caboose, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It opened in February, 1996, Felton says. “I’ve been here everyday,” she says.

Silver Caboose Restaurant & Soda Fountain is at 132 Mulberry Street on the square in Collierville.