Finding Alligators, Elvis, and Fine Dining at the Jefferson Hotel

The Jefferson has a rich and eclectic history. The Palm Court was originally an atrium, complete with a fountain full of alligators. Legend has it that travelers would buy souvenir alligators in Florida, and halfway home would have buyers remorse and leave them at the Jefferson. Back in the early 1900’s, the bellmen’s morning duties included finding alligators that had escaped the fountain and were lounging on the furniture.

There’s a mini-museum in the lower lobby with photographs of the many powerful and famous folks who have stayed at the hotel over the past century, including a great shot of Elvis. The hero of Jerry Jeff Walker’s famous song, Mr. Bojangles, was discovered here by a producer when he was waiting tables, and the Grand Staircase is widely believed to be the inspiration for the famous Rhett and Scarlett scene in the movie Gone with the Wind.

I love properties like this. It’s like time travel exploring all of the nooks and crannies filled with history, and it’s easy to imagine yourself living in that day and time. In addition to fun fact-finding, fine dining is de rigeur at a five-star hotel, so I had to try Le Maire.

Located off the Palm Court area, Chef Walter Bundy (formerly of French Laundry) is well on his way to turning Le Maire into a restaurant of similar reknown on the East Coast. I had a leisurely and gracious breakfast there and tried one of Bundy’s specialties, Eggs Jefferson. This is an Eastern Seaboard take on Eggs Benedict with two poached eggs, sautéed crabmeat, and fabulous hollandaise, and it was outrageously good. I didn’t have an opportunity to go back for dinner, but as they say on all the cooking shows, if you can cook breakfast well, you can cook!
www.jeffersonhotel.com