Author: gatorgirl.outoftheswamp@gmail.com

Big Ed’s Pizza – Huntsville, AL

I was recently visiting Huntsville, Alabama with my sister. We were starting to get hungry but we were not sure what genre of food we wanted. I had actually made a wrong turn while driving around and that is when we stumbled across Big Ed’s Pizza.

The parking lot was packed so I knew this had to be a great local place. We were able to walk in and take a seat wherever we wanted. The aroma in the restaurant was amazing. The smell of pizza filled the air.

  

Reading about their history, Big Ed’s Pizza has been family owned and operated for over 50 years.

They make homemade sauce and dough from scratch every day. They also still use the ovens from the 1960’s when they first opened.

We started off with their hand breaded mozzarella sticks. These were the biggest cheese sticks I have ever had. They were not symmetric in size which is good because that meant they were fresh and not the frozen.

They were so cheesy; the sticks looked like they sliced big chunks of mozzarella cheese to make them. They were extremely hot when they came out. Once they cooled off enough I bit in and the ooey-gooey cheese poured out. They also came with a side of their homemade sauce which was perfect for dipping.

My sister and I decided to share the club salad. Good thing we did because the salad was huge. It was loaded with chopped up ham and turkey, shredded cheese, tons of bacon, and sliced tomatoes. We got it with a side of fresh blue cheese dressing. It was a hearty salad and very fresh. It could have easily been enough for our meal, and that is with us sharing it.

We knew we had to save room for pizza. They have several varieties and sizes. We went for the 10” cheese and pepperoni. A good classic pizza! The size was perfect for us. A 10” came with 6 slices.

The crust was thick but the bottom was super crunchy from the oven. The dough was light and had a slight sweetness. They used a ton of cheese and were very generous with the amount of pepperoni they used.

While we were sitting there many more customers came into the restaurant. The place was packed. I would recommend stopping by on a visit to Huntsville. There is a reason they have been around for so long. Visit their website at: http://www.bigedspizza.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Hot and Hot Fish Club – Birmingham, AL

I have written a lot about the food scene in Birmingham, Alabama. Many of the restaurants I have written about are fairly new to the area. There is one place that has called Birmingham home for over 20 years – Hot and Hot Fish Club. It is owned by world renowned chefs Chris and Idie Hastings.

They are one of the first chefs to bring the concept of farm to table to the area. Because of this concept, their menu will change based on what is available. I was very excited to get to have dinner here since I have heard nothing but good things.

You definitely need a reservation because the inside is surprisingly small. There is a bar area where you can enjoy a drink. In the main dining room there are regular tables and special “chefs” seats. These special seats allow the diner to watch the chefs prepare every meal. It’s like a live action Food Network show.

Each dish that is ordered is prepared from scratch. The chefs put a lot of care and respect into what they are serving, therefore it can take 40-45 minutes for a dish to come out. So just be prepared to enjoy wonderful dinner conversation while you wait.

To kick off the night, I ordered their version of an old fashioned. It is called Fudge Family Farms Bacon Old Fashioned. It is a mouthful to order. They use bacon bourbon, Applewood smoked maple, and bitters. The taste was sweet and extremely smooth. There was a hint of bacon flavor but it was not overpowering.

After ordering drinks, the waiter brought out a little palate cleanser. It was a little slice of toast topped with cream cheese and a pepper jam. It was sweet with a slight hint of spice from the pepper jam. It was good and I wish I could have had a few more. It was the perfect way to begin the meal.

The drink I ordered paired well with the Charcuterie and Cheese board that was ordered. This was great to share with the group.

The board came with several options. It starts with their house made pickles – which were both sweet and sour. The cheeses included blue cheese and several white cheeses. There was a list but I forgot to take notes on the options. For the meats, there was a pâté, homemade venison sausage, and homemade pepperoni. To balance out the salty meats and cheeses, they included candied pecans and almonds on the board. This was the perfect starter as you await for the chefs to prepare your main course.

For my meal, I ordered the pan seared Yellowfin Tuna. The tuna can be cooked to your preference level. I got it seared on the outside and pink inside. It came with a mix of vegetables that included sunchokes (a species of sunflower, also known as the Jerusalem artichoke), artichokes, and sunflower shoots. They were placed on a bed of Freekeh (a roasted whole grain), black garlic, and a Turmeric Why broth.

The tuna was cooked to perfection. The skin was crispy. It went wonderfully with the Turmeric broth, which was also superb. It was not too salty and it was full of flavor. The vegetables were slightly bitter but the broth help calm down that bitterness.

I saved a little room for dessert since they had several great options. What was calling to me was the banana pudding doughnuts. It was presented beautifully on the plate.

There were slices of sweet ripe bananas that were brûléed on top. I loved the sugary crunch when I took a bite. The doughnuts were little doughnut holes covered in sugar. Inside they were filled with a vanilla pudding that was sweet and creamy. Also on the plate was a banana ice cream. It too was sweet and creamy; it had the right amount of butter fat in it.

Technically there was enough of this dessert to share, which is normally what I do. However, tonight I was feeling a little greedy and ate the whole thing by myself.

This was a remarkable meal. I am so glad that I finally had an opportunity to check out Hot and Hot Fish Club. My waiter added to the experience. He was super attentive, always checking to make sure that the table had everything we needed.

Head to their website http://www.hotandhotfishclub.com/ and make a reservation. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

T

 

 

 

 

 

Happy National Donut Day!

Today is National Donut Day. So glad to see this box of goodness to start my morning off right.

Enjoy!

T

National Macaroon Day

Today is National Macaroon Day. It’s a day to celebrate and enjoy these little treats. But there might be some confusion out there about Macaroons verses Macarons. While they may sound like the same thing, they are both very different. I thought I would take a little time to explain the difference.

Today’s celebration is for the macaroon, which is a coconut cookie. It is an easy cookie to make because it only has a few ingredients – shredded coconut, condensed milk, and egg whites. Rather than rolling the cookie out, it is dropped onto a cookie tray. For this reason, not all the cookies will be the same size. If you want to get fancy with these cookies they can be dipped into chocolate. I would make these for my uncle at Christmas because they were his favorite.

The other Macaron is a French cookie. It is meringue based. The two halves are filled with either a ganache, jam, or even a buttercream icing. Any time I have seen macarons in pastry shops they are always bright, fun colors. I have never made these versions myself because they are said to be very difficult to make.

So now you understand the difference between each of these cookies. Head out to your local bakery and pick some up today.

Enjoy!

T

Happy Memorial Day!

I want to take this time to thank all of our men and women in the armed forces both past and present for everything that they do for our country. Because of your sacrifice we are able to enjoy our freedom!

Enjoy!

T

Café Du Monde – New Orleans, LA

I was very excited to get back to New Orleans. I had a list of new places I wanted to try plus a few repeat visits to places I loved. Café Du Monde was one of those must visits repeats. I could not leave New Orleans without enjoying a fresh made beignet.

Since I had been to the café before I did not need to eat the beignets there. Good thing too because there were absolutely no seats anywhere, There were lines just to get a seat.

   

I headed over to their take-out window. There was also a really long line but it moved pretty fast.

  

I got up to the window and ordered my beignets. Before I could even hand over my money the bag of piping hot goodness was in my hand.

I could not wait to dive in. I felt like a little kid.

I ended up finding a chair so I could sit down and eat the beignets while they were still hot. There is about a pound of powdered sugar in the bag. It is definitely more than what you get on the plate.

They tasted just like I remembered. The dough was soft and tender. I could taste a slight hint of yeast in the dough but it was over powered by the powdered sugar. It is ok because a beignet would not be a beignet without all the powdered sugar.

I tired really hard not to make a mess but I still ended up getting sugar all over myself.

I got to watch them make the beignets outside one of their windows. They do this all day, every day, 24/7. It is so fun to stand there watch.

  

  

I took a few videos to share with everyone that can be seen on my twitter account.

It may always be crowded but if you are visiting New Orleans please stop by Café Du Monde. It is a city tradition and must be experienced. Check out their history at http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Acme Oyster House – Metairie, LA

Acme Oyster House and New Orleans go hand in hand. I had visited and written about the Acme on Bourbon Street many years ago. This is where I discovered chargrilled oysters. I was going to visit that location again on my trip but every time I went by the line to get in was out the door and down the sidewalk. I decided to try one of their other location, thinking I would have more luck getting in. I went to their restaurant in Metairie, which was not far from the French Quarter. Sure enough I was able to get a seat as soon as I walked in.

As soon as the waitress came over, I put in my order. There was no need for me to look over the menu. I was there for their chargrilled oysters. I ordered a dozen plus a side of hush puppies.

The hush puppies came out first. They were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. These little bites were sweet. I thought they tasted like a dessert fritter.

I also ordered a cocktail to enjoy with my oysters. I went for the Acme Sunset. It was rum, crème de banana, grenadine, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cranberry juice. The sweet tropical drink reminded me of something I would have at a beach bar. I knew it would balance out the saltiness that the oysters would have.

Finally the star of the show came out. They were still sizzling on the tray. The smell of the garlic was so nice. I could not wait to get in there but they needed to cool down just a little. Those shells can be really hot to handle.

The oysters were just like I remembered. The tender meat were soaking in the garlic butter and topped with a ton of parmesan cheese that was extra crispy because of the grill. The bread was there to help soak up the left over garlic butter. There is no reason to waste any of it.

If you are in New Orleans you must have chargrilled oysters. It is a staple of the city. Visit their menu at http://www.acmeoyster.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

SoHo Social – Homewood, AL

The SoHo area of Homewood/Birmingham has been growing over the years. There is a rejuvenation of business and restaurants. I have already written about a few places in the area – Savage’s Bakery and Jacksons. A new restaurant recently opened that had starting getting great buzz called SoHo Social. I decided to check them out to see what they had to offer.

I started off with a unique cocktail called Rosé Dale. It was a blend of vodka, St. Germaine, rosé wine, lime, bubbles, and a sprig of rosemary. I was a pretty presentation. The drink was light and fizzy. It was also refreshing for a warm spring evening. The rosemary did not add a whole lot of extra flavor. It was more for decoration. After a few sips the rosemary sprig actually got in the way so I just took it out of the drink.

I ordered the charcuterie plate to munch on. It was the perfect size. It was a little different from other charcuterie plates I typically get. It came with white cheddar cheese and “Conecuh”, which is sausage from Alabama. It was sliced up and grilled. It also came with two hoe cakes. For a little background information, a hoe cake is basically a cornmeal pancake. They are usually cooked in a cast iron pan. If you are from the Northeast these are normally known as johnnycakes.

Their hoe cake was nice because it was firm and only slightly sweet. I ate it by itself rather than with the sausage and cheese. The sausage had a wonderful hickory smoked taste. It was grilled so that the edges were crispy. I wish it came with a little more on the plate.

I also ordered the avocado dos formas. There were two different fillings loaded into each half of an avocado.

The first one was called primero; it was tuna ceviche stuffed in the avocado. The ceviche had a great salty taste. If you like onions this will be perfect for you because there was a ton chopped up. The only thing that disappointed me was that there was barely any avocado in the dish. It’s like they scooped it all out and used it in some other dish. I was able to scrape a little left on the inside of the skin but it was very minimal.

The second half of the avocado was baked and stuffed with hot crab dip. They called it Segundo. The crab dip was amazing. It was so creamy. I ate it with some of the lettuce that came on the plate. I wish the dish came with crackers or even hoe cakes. But don’t get me wrong, it was perfect to eat on its own.

This new spot, SoHo Social, had some pretty good appetizers. I checked out their brunch menu and this is definitely a place I want to come back and try again. Check out what they have to offer at http://sohosocial.bar/

Enjoy!

T

 

Sucré – New Orleans, LA

I had just finished having lunch at Joey K’s on Magazine Street when I came across the dessert shop Sucré. They were bustling with customers, so I knew it must be good.

 

As soon as I walked in I could smell chocolate. They had every type of dessert you could want: chocolate candies, pastries, rainbow colored macarons, cupcakes, and several gelato choices.

 

 

I noticed a sign hanging proudly on their wall that says their éclairs have been voted “World’s Best” for the last 2 years. Naturally, I knew I was going to try one of those.

The éclair was very pretty to look at. It had this iridescent edible glitter on top. The decorative pearls were little crunchy candies.

The pastry dough was light and puffy, exactly what an éclair should be. It was filled with a sweet vanilla cream. They used a ton of filling which was great because this ensured that each bite got cream and not just pastry. The chocolate glaze they used on top was semi-sweet and they used a lot of that too. The dough was not sweet which was good since it balanced out the sweetness that came from the cream and glaze.

I wanted to try another dessert so I went for their Devil’s Food. It was layers of chocolate with those crunchy decorative pearls on top.

If I could re-name this dessert I would call it “Death by Chocolate”. There were 4 different forms of chocolate in this creation. It starts with the moist chocolate cake which was layered with a thick chocolate fudge, like a ganache. Then the cake was covered in a homemade chocolate shell. To decorate the top they used a chocolate buttercream icing.

This dessert was SWEET. If you love chocolate this is a must try. Every component was great but this dessert was overwhelmingly rich. I ended up having to share it because there was no way I could eat it by myself. My favorite part of this was the cake itself. It was light and not as sweet as the other chocolate parts. The sweetness all came from the fudge and icing.

Finding Sucré helped make my visit to New Orleans a little sweeter. They have a few locations around town so check out their website at http://www.shopsucre.com/

If you cannot make it to one of their stores you can buy some of their sweets on their website.

Enjoy!

T

 

Central Grocery – New Orleans, LA

Located in the heart of the French Quarter is a little old fashioned grocery store / deli. This 110 year old store is called Central Grocery. Here tourist and locals alike can buy Italian imported pastas and olive oils along with cheeses and Italian cured meats. However, the main reason people flock to Central Grocery is for their muffuletta.

      

Central Grocery is considered the home and creators of the muffuletta. A muffuletta is a sandwich that contains layers of salami, ham, provolone cheese and mozzarella cheese topped with olive tapenade on fresh Sicilian bread.

People line up all day to have one of these muffulettas. I too waited in line, but it moved fast. The folks behind the counter know how to prepare them quickly.

I got half a sandwich because I did not think I could have eaten a whole one.

The bread that they use for this sandwich is freshly made. It did not fall apart when I took a bite, even with all the layers of meat and cheese. The cheese was cut into nice thick slices. Its creaminess went perfectly with the salty meats. Those elements of the sandwich were great but what elevated the muffuletta to the next level was the olive tapenade. They make if from scratch there. It was the best olive tapenade I have ever had. The olives were cut up into chunky pieces. Now I understand why they sell it in jars. I could have eaten this by itself. This was the best sandwich I have ever had. I ended up regretting not ordering a whole one.

If you are in New Orleans, make time to stop by Central Grocery. Make sure to order their famous muffuletta and don’t worry about the wait, it is totally worth it. You can get it to go or enjoy it there.

Learn about their history at http://centralgrocery.com/

Enjoy!

T