mwr0978's Profile
Moving to Bham: Food and living area recs.
V Richards has great produce and there are plenty of other options for wonderful local produce and proteins. Farmers markets are available year round now and there are a couple of options to Pickup a box of fresh produce weekly. Check out http://freshfully.com/ you can select your items for the week and pick up from several different locations. http://freshfully.com/AL/moore-farms/seasonal-fruit-and-vegetable-box. Welcome to Birmingham, the food scene is great!
Birmingham -- Anyone eating anything good these days?
Getting back on topic here, I had Slice for dinner last night. I really like Slice, consistently good food and service pouring good local beer. We had the new seasonal pie created for the Holiday next weekend, The St. Patty's Day pie, it was delicious! In house made corned beef, cabbage, potato and Irish cheddar topped with poached eggs. I was told the cabbage was braised in Avondale Brewery Saison. The corned beef was fantastic and runny egg yolks make everything better. If you miss this pizza you only have yourself to blame.
Birmingham -- Anyone eating anything good these days?
That burrata and house-made sausage and pesto sounds awesome.
I only had an appetizer last night but was it awesome! Went to highlands for a small bite last night and got the roasted marrow bones, served with grilled bread and a parsley, shallot and caper salad. Fantastic small plate!
Birmingham -- Anyone eating anything good these days?
If you have never tried the egg and fried oyster salad at Bottega you're missing out too. It's awesome. Also, its been on the menu for awhile, but I had it recently again, the gnocchi with pork belly and mushrooms at Bettola is great. For lunch shindigs grilled cheese with prosciutto and fontina finished with a little truffle oil and a cup of slightly spicy tomato soup was good.(i love their fries with the NTF sauce too)
Birmingham -- Anyone eating anything good these days?
Best things I've had in last couple of weeks... Best was pork, sausage and duck confit white bean cassoulet at Chez Fonfon last Saturday. Honorable mentions to soul pie at Slice, Biettola pizza at Bettola, homemade butternut squash ravioli with crab, corn, sage and Brown butter vinaigrette at Bottega and the Conecuh Pie at Bottega Cafe. Go to Fonfon and try that Cassoulet while it's still on the menu, Wow!
Alabama regional food - specialties
Boiled peanuts, peaches, pecans, grits, corn bread, collard greens, catfish and gulf shrimp come to mind when I think Alabama food.
Birmingham (and maybe Tuscaloosa) on Sunday
Pretty sure Little Savannah stopped doing brunch several months ago. You are right about a line at Trattoria, but I've always found it to be worth the wait!
Birmingham (and maybe Tuscaloosa) on Sunday
I would say http://trattoriacentrale.com/ is the best brunch. Veranda is the best atmosphere with a really good brunch. Also, I'm pretty sure FonFon is not open for lunch on Saturdays. However, Bottega Cafe is and then you could do FonFon for dinner. Seeing as how both use the same menu for lunch and dinner you wouldn't be missing anything at either place. Also, the chances of finding a bar stool are probably better at FonFon for dinner than the Cafe.
Great meal at Bettola last night
I also had dinner at Bettola this past weekend. I went on Saturday night. We had two people in our party. We had an exceptional meal. We started off with the Owls Howl heirloom tomato salad. The salad was small but excellent. For the second course we asked if they could/would do a half order of one of the pastas. They were happy to accommodate and served us a half order of the gnocchi. It was a pork belly, foraged mushrooms, mascarpone and truffle oil gnocchi and was absolutely incredible! I'm not sure if we saved the best for last b/c the gnocchi was so good, but for our final course we did the Bietola pizza that AUAtty mentioned above. Wow, what an awesome pizza. From the cheeses to the farm egg to the crust this pizza was the best I've ever had at Bettola. I think Bettola can suffer from some service issues occasionally but my food has been consistently good for 5 straight visits over the last 3 months. I wiill be back again very soon. It is quickly becoming a regular spot for us! I can't wait for the market to open next door!
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Bettola
2901 2nd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233
Birmingham: Any place similar to Hot and Hot Fish Club that is open for lunch?
http://www.cafedupont.net/community.php
From the Cafe Dupont website...
Our Farmers
Cafe Dupont is dedicated to showcasing and supporting local farmers and community gardeners in and around Birmingham. We hope you do the same...Click on the link above to see a list of their farmers.
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Cafe Dupont
113 20th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203
Lunch in Birmingham AL
Oh, and for a more upscale type lunch Cafe Dupont is a great option!
Lunch in Birmingham AL
Urban Cookhouse
Brick and Tin
Trattoria Centrale
Chez Fon Fon
Bottege Cafe
26
these are all located a matter of mins from the I-65 I-20 interchange and all have websites w/ menus.
Sorghum Syrup in Birmingham?
I had the 27 month ham and biscuit last week...Wow, it was awesome! Chef Stitt was using sorghum from this place http://muddypondsorghum.com/ they deliver.
Birmingham AL - help from hounds?
After reading this I must agree w/ most of what has been said...if you are planning on eating out as a group one night though then the Veranda on Highland is a place that could handle you. It is def. the largest of the restaurants listed here and has private rooms that hold up to 70-80? people. I only know this b/c I've been to a couple of rehearsal dinners there and they were in very large private rooms. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that. I love the food there too, a nice mix of Southern/Creole food, steaks, seafood, etc...I hope you all have a great time here. Birmingham has some wonderful local restaurants. Enjoy!
Birmingham...Highlands Bar and Grill....
"The restaurant in the hotel at Ross Bridge in the past has been spotty, but I have not been since they hired a new chef some months ago."
The new chef is excellent! He worked for years for Frank Stitt and Chris Hastings before that. I've been several times since he started out there and it has gotten progressively better each time! If your staying at Ross Bridge I would definitely consider eating there one night.
Birmingham - Corks and Chefs
I went...my 3rd year in a row going. I love this event. I like to get there early and walk around and look at the art while I build up an appetite and a thirst. Even though it is some of Birmingham's top restaurants the food isn't exactly a representation of what they normally do since it has to be something that can be transported and served from a tent for 4 hours. But, overall, it is pretty good. Yesterdays winners IMHO were the Veranda on Highland, Ocean, 26 and the Culinard. All did a very good job!
There were also a lot of good wines and some beers there also. I really enjoyed the Prosecco that Grassroots wine company was serving and the Valpolicella and Shiraz that International wines were pouring. Overall a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Birmingham.
English Pub-Birmingham?
I've never been to Blackwell's myself. Just actually heard about it last week. Sorry if it didn't meet the right criteria. Just heard it was a new pub. Good to know that it's just another bar though, so I don't waste time heading out there expecting something different.
English Pub-Birmingham?
http://www.blackwellspub.com/
Black Wells Pub in Cahaba heights.
Birmingham - Locally milled grits & local knife sharpener?
I just left a message w/ a good friend of mine who is a Sous chef here in town about the knife sharpening question. I will let you know what he says. I do think the other poster was correct about V. Richards having somebody come down 1 day a week to sharpen knives. Not sure if they still do that though. It might be worth calling there and asking. I will ask him about the locally milled grits also. He worked for Hastings and then Stitt for years b/f accepting his current position so he is familiar w/ local products.
Birmingham - Acoustic Soup?
I have not heard of this b/f. It looks like it might be worth it. I admit $30 seems steep for soup, but it is for a good cause! Unfortunately I already have plans for Thursday evening. Let us know how it goes!
Hyderabadi-style restaurant in Birmingham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabadi_cuisine
This should help out!
Hyderabadi-style restaurant in Birmingham
I ate there on Sunday evening. First off, I thought it was good. It was a different menu than I've ever seen although that may not be saying to much. I didn't recognize a single dish off of the dinner menu by name. The descriptions were very good though so it wasn't hard to order at all. They did have some kabobs and a couple of other dishes on the appetizer menu also. They didn't have a togo menu so I'll just have to describe what I had.
We started out w/ an appetizer that was awesome! It was fried spinach(onion was also an option) w/ a kind of sweet/spicy dipping sauce. Just fantastic!
For dinner I had a sort of beef chunk soup/stew. It had ginger, garlic, mint and cilantro along w/ a bunch of spices. The meat was a bit fatty, but very tender. The broth was sweet, but packed a pretty good punch. I really enjoyed it. My one real complaint was that the cilantro contained to many stems. I know cilantro stems are edible, but it was somewhat annoying b/c there were so many. Overall, a good dish that I would eat again.
We also had a sort of soup that was ground up lentils w/ tomato chunks, cilantro and spices. It was very good and very flavorful. Would recommend this to someone that wants to try the place, but isn't quite ready to jump in with mutton.
One of the things that made this meal so good was the naan bread! It was perfect. Soft, slightly chewy cooked to perfection! As I mentioned both meals were on the brothy side, so the bread was perfect for soaking up the sauces! Southern style sopping!
Overall, my experience was very good. I will be back to try other items very soon! The dishes appear to be highly seasoned and on the spicy side, but it all seemed to work very well together. I hope this helped!
Oh yeah, to answer your original question about what the difference is b/t this style restaurant and regular indian food...I have no idea. sorry! ;-)
Birmingham, Best Cheeseburger?
I agree w/ you Dax. Marty's is the best burger in town that you can get at 3am, but not even close to the above mentioned Fon Fon. I think you have to split it up into categories. It's kind of like the debate of who has the best pizza. You can't really compare the pizza at say Tortuga's, New York Pizza or Davenports to Bettola or Bottega. Two completely different animals. Gourmet burgers such as Fon Fon, 26, Bottega etc...will always be better than frozen patty burgers like Marty's. That's not to say that at 3am a Marty's burger doesn't taste like the best thing you ever put in your mouth or a greasy Five Guy's or Green Valley Drug burger doesn't taste good sometimes. But a freshly ground steak burger, cooked to order w/ fresh veggies and homemade fries is always better. Maybe that's my opinion, but I would be very upset if I was Frank Stitt and my burger was being compared to a frozen Marty's burger on toasted white bread.
Birmingham, Best Cheeseburger?
I love that J. Alex's uses Tillamook Cheddar Cheese. I love Tillamook cheeses. If you haven't had them, you should make sure and try one of their dairy products ie...cheese, milk, ice cream, etc...
Birmingham, Best Cheeseburger?
I 100% agree w/ Chez Fonfon. Also, pretty much the same burger, Bottega Cafe is excellent. As far as a "quick" burger, Five Guys Burger and Fries in Homewood is pretty hard to beat.
26 has a good burger also. Only had it once though so can't say it's the best yet. I've also heard very good things about Jinsei's Kobe beef baby burgers too. I haven't had them yet, but look forward to it.
Birmingham - Soups
The Garage Cafe does a daily soup and my experiences w/ it (which is probably 15 times or more) have always been good. Of course some are better than others, but I have never had a general dislike for any of them. Always fresh tasting. They are usually pretty good about matching the weather outside w/ the style of soup as well. Also, the Veranda on Highland always has very good soups. Turtle soup, a gumbo that changes regularly and then a du jour. I've seen duck gumbo, smoked chicken and sausage, seafood, etc...all very good. I've had some good soups at Iz Cafe too.
Birmingham bakeries
Also, I forgot Savages... http://www.birminghammenus.com/savages/index.php
I've had some really, really good things from savages, but I've also been disappointed. Some people swear by it though, so It might be worth a look. If your in Mountain Brook then definitely check out Continental Bakery.
Birmingham bakeries
Two of my favorites are Continental Bakery and The Open Door Cafe and bakery.
http://www.opendoorcafebirmingham.com/home.html
http://www.birminghammenus.com/chezlulu/bakeryabout.php
Birmingham, AL wedding rehearsal dinner
There are several very good places to have a wedding rehearsal dinner. The first one that comes to mind is the Veranda on Highland http://www.verandaonhighland.com/parties.html They have great private rooms and the menu for parties are priced VERY reasonably. My sister had her rehearsal dinner there and it was one of the best values that we found in the city after calling dozens of places. Also, John's City diner http://www.birminghammenus.com/johns/ was one she almost did. Great menu value and private rooms. They have a downtown location and one in Trussville. You didn't say what you think is reasonable per person, but the menus for either of these places are around $24-$30 per person for 3 or 4 courses. That is a pretty good value in the B'ham area for a "nice" dinner. If that is way off your idea of value let me know and I'll update my suggestions. Good Luck!
