Courtesy Mory’s 1849
Until recently, you couldn’t enter Mory’s Green Door, the famous white clapboard bar, unless you were a Yalie. It was elite, intimidating even.
All that changed in 2010 when Mory’s was rejuvenated by some Yale alumni and reopened with a new bar, outdoor dining and a more welcoming approach.
“Although still a private club, Mory’s now has affiliate members [including the Omni and the Study hotels] whose guests can now come for dinner,” said Ken Adams, general manager.
Five small private dining rooms (for three to 32 people) are available on the second floor, once an apartment where Louis Linder, who named Mory’s after the founder and added the music, once lived.
But some things never change at Mory’s. The men’s room is still called the Harvard Room, after Yale’s rival. Heavy tables encrusted with carved initials hang on the walls, as do oars that hark back to a day in 1863 when a small group of thirsty students, returning from crew practice, stopped at a taproom. They quite liked what they found, and so began a tradition.
Although the menu has been updated to include calamari and quesadillas, Mory’s traditions like welsh rarebit, Baker Soup and Golden Buck (poached eggs on rarebit) remain.
And the cups? Mory’s ritualistic consumption of colorful libations from large two-fisted silver trophy cups passed from friend to friend around a table lives on as well. The cup is shared following elaborate rules that include singing the Cup Song, licking the rim and inverting it on the head of the final drinker.
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www.morys1849.org
