On Mobile’s Cottage Hill corridor, an independent restaurant has built a loyal following by pairing Creole and Southern cooking with a hearty dose of local character. The Hungry Owl’s kitchen sends out dishes with their own twist: crab and alligator cakes, smoked gouda grits, gourmet burgers, flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, salads and a rotating lineup of seafood pulled from local suppliers. The dessert case’s favorite is the Banana Moonpie Pudding, a riff on a Mobile tradition that trades the banana for a fluffier finish.
“I actually made more as a working chef than I do as a restaurant owner,” owner Tony Nicholas concedes, but he keeps the place independent by investing locally. “The problem with large franchises is they often have generic food, which in turn can lead to a generic city.”
The dining room is decorated with owl artwork made by friends and artistically inclined regulars, and parking-lot space that used to be wasted is now a fenced dog park with compost and a water source where customers can bring their companions to dinner.
The restaurant’s stuffed burger even earned national recognition: the Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food” featured the Ultimate Stuffed Tony Burger, built with Creole BBQ glaze, candied jalapeños, Conecuh bacon, smoked gouda and a fried egg. Recent additions include the Owltini, Cajun Lemonade and Three Rum Punch specialty drinks, and the restaurant planned to debut a Sunday brunch and live music on weekdays.
Open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., The Hungry Owl is at 7899 Cottage Hill Road in Mobile.