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.
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.
