Mammy’s Cupboard

Mammy’s Cupboard is a classic piece of vernacular architecture and, as such, is well worth a visit for that reason alone. How often do you see a restaurant in the shape of a mammy? She’s been spruced up, and made ethnically vague: if you mixed all the different peoples of the world in a jar, and shook them up, you might get today’s Mammy. But here’s the kicker: this Esperanto mammy serves some superlative pies and cakes!

We arrived in a rain storm, and entered Mammy’s skirt, where the rain storm continued. This original part of the Cupboard is in need of some structural work. We continued on to the next room, where a distracting display of desserts is visible to tempt you throughout your lunch.

What to eat at Mammy’s Cupboard

There’s a hot entree each day, and a selection of sandwiches and salads. Our hot entree was pork loin, and it was served with some long cooked and delicious green beans, soft enough to be applied to the plate with an ice cream scoop. We also enjoyed the corn bread and rice. A specialty beverage of the house is blueberry lemonade, bracing and tart/sweet.

This nice lunch is only preamble to the meal’s highlight. They make a swoonfully delicious hummingbird cake, a Southern specialty chock full of bananas, pineapple, and pecans. Sure, it’s sweet. We ate every last crumb. And, my oh my, that caramel banana pie! Sliced bananas are piled in a crust with gobs of caramel sauce that, we think, may be the sauce that’s made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for hours. We don’t really know, though. However it’s made, it’s wonderful.