Category: Alabama

I love Sunday brunch. Just when I thought I had been to all the brunch restaurants in Birmingham I found another one. Located in the historic Forest Park area, Little Savannah offers a limited menu for the few hours that they are open on Sundays.

I sat outside on their back patio since it was a nice day. It was great at first because I was sitting under a giant umbrella. However, by the end of brunch it was so hot I was regretting sitting outside. So a little tip, sit inside during the day. Leave the outside seating for after the sun go down – at least in the summer.

I did start brunch with a mimosa. It would not be brunch without one.

For food, I started off with the BLT salad. It was perfect for sharing. It was fresh Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, crunchy bacon, and a tarragon blue cheese dressing.

It looked beautiful when it came out. However, the Romaine lettuce needed to be chopped up in order to be eaten. The dressing was amazing. It had extra flavor compared to traditional blue cheese dressings. The salad was a refreshing start to the meal.

Another dish I ordered was the avocado and tomato caprese. This was a unique take on a traditional tomato and mozzarella caprese. The two avocado halves were baked and were extremely soft. The fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil were piled on top of the avocado. Then a garnacha vinegar was drizzled on top and around the plate.

I have never had avocado baked like this before. It was very creamy but it did not have a lot of flavor. It simply added extra creaminess to the mozzarella and tomatoes. The Garnacha vinegar was not very tart as I expected. It did add a subtle taste to the dish.

The final thing I ordered were the Brussels sprouts.

I love Brussels sprouts and I thought these were supposed to be somewhat crispy. Unfortunately these were not, they were just sautéed. There was no bacon cooked with these so they needed a little salt and pepper. Once I added some sea salt and crushed pepper they were pretty good. I still prefer Brussels sprouts to be crispier, I just think they taste better prepared this way.

If you are looking for some unique dishes then Little Savannah is a place to check out. If you are not into brunch you can visit them during the week for dinner. They serve everything from classic fried chicken to lamb shops and smoked duck. Plus they have some pretty good looking desserts. Visit their website at www.littlesavannah.com

Enjoy!

T

 

I love food trucks. They are a symbol of entrepreneurship and creativity. Each truck has to stand out and have a hook. Melt is one of those food trucks and they specialize in grilled cheese.

What I also love seeing is when a food truck gets so popular and grows into a traditional brick and mortar location. That is exactly what happened to Melt. They opened a restaurant in the Avondale area.

Grilled cheese is my ultimate comfort food. I was excited to head over to Melt and get one. I ordered the classic grilled cheese, something simple.

It was a blend of three cheeses: cheddar, Monterey jack, and American. The use Texas toast for theirs, which is my favorite because it makes the sandwich thick. The combination of cheeses was amazing. It was ooey-gooey goodness.

Instead of getting French fries with my grilled cheese I got their cucumber salad. This was a great idea. It was refreshing. It was a combination of cucumbers and some cherry tomatoes in Greek salad dressing.

I also learned from my waitress that I could have added bacon to the sandwich for a little extra. I am thinking that I will have to try that on my next visit.

While I was there I also ordered a Moscow Mule. It surprisingly went well with the grilled cheese. They make their own ginger beer. It was so fresh it had pieces of ginger floating in the bottle. Having the freshness made the overall drink taste refreshing.

If you want grilled cheese then head over to Melt. You can visit their website at http://www.meltbham.com/. You can also follow them on Twitter @Meltbham to locate where the food truck will be.

   

Enjoy!

T

Slice is one of my favorite restaurants to go to in Birmingham. I have written about them before in my blog but it has been a while. In honor of National Cheese Pizza Day, I figured that I should write about them again.

   

The restaurant smells wonderful when I walked in. The smell of pizza being cooked in the fire oven fills the air. I am greeted by the manager who always seems to be working when I visit. I took a seat at the bar because I think that is the best seat in the house.

If you like craft beer, Slice is perfect for you. They have a huge chalkboard filled with all the local beers they have on tap.

I love their sangrias so that is what I went for.

I chose the red because I think that goes best with pizza. This is one of my favorite sangrias because it is an equal blend of wine and fruit juices. It is neither too sweet not too dry.

What is also great about Slice is you can order pizza by the slice (except of Friday and Saturday nights). I got a classic slice of pepperoni.

They put it in the oven to warm up and get some crispy edges. The pepperoni they use is large in diameter but thin in thickness. Plus the pepperoni has a great flavor and it does not add a lot of extra grease to the pizza.

It was a great pairing and I enjoyed myself as usual. I am always recommending Slice to anyone visiting the area. Check them out at http://www.slicebirmingham.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

There is something satisfying about a hot dog. It is a comfort food that brings back fond memories of cookouts with my family. When I learned of a fairly new hot dog hot spot in Birmingham I knew I needed to check it out. Located in the Avondale area is Hot Diggity Dogs.

It is located in the same building as Fancy’s on 5^th. It is located on the second floor, looking at the building head on you may not notice the side door. I actually missed it the first time I walked by.

As I was walking up the stairs I could smell the hot dogs on the grill. I sat at the counter so I could watch everything being made.

  

I looked over their options. All the hot dogs are 100% Kosher beef. I wanted a simple, plain hot dog. Nothing on it. I wanted to be able to taste the beef flavor. I also got a side of tater tots.

The hot dog bun was not typical. It was more like big slices of bread. The hot dog did have great meaty flavor. It was satisfying. The tots also hit the spot.

While I was watching them cook, I noticed they were making homemade pork rinds. That was the coolest thing I have ever watched being made. They take slices of pig skin and just dump them in the hot frying oil. Then they puff up to be airy and crunchy.

The cook was super sweet and gave me a few to try. They were really good. The flavor was smoky tasting. Even though they were fried, they were not greasy. I would recommend ordering these because they taste great and it is not something you see on a menu very often.

There was another surprise in Hot Diggity Dogs that I was not expecting. In the corner of the restaurant was a blue phone booth (a Tardis for all those Doctor Who fans out there).

What I learned was this Tardis was the secret entrance to a speakeasy called The Marble Ring. You needed to call using the phone inside the booth to see if you would be allowed in.

If you are lucky enough another door will open to let you in. I was not lucky that night, so I could not go in. Looks like I have to try again.

If you are craving a hot dog, then head to Hot Diggity Dogs. Visit their website at http://hotdiggitydogsbham.com/

Enjoy!

T

The Avondale area of Birmingham is booming. It is one of the hot spots every weekend. Fancy’s on 5^th was the place to be on the evening I visited.

They have called Avondale home for a year and a half. It is an amazing old building with brick walls and reclaimed wood everywhere. They have a beautiful reclaimed wood sign that bares their name on the wall.

I noticed there were several octopus decorations around the restaurant, including the bathrooms. I asked my bartender Megan what that was all about. It turns out that the octopus is the mascot of the restaurant named “Octavius”. There us a neon purple one above the bar and one hanging from the ceiling above a big corner table.

  

It was a mad house inside the evening I was there because the Travel Channel was there filming for an upcoming show. My bartender was participating in the filming. She was not 100% sure which show it was going to be on but she thought it was Food Paradise.

It was so interesting watching them do the filming. They started out filming outside with a plate of food.

    

Then they moved inside by the bar with another plate of food.

  

Finally one of the crew members attached a Go-Pro camera to a plate and walked it around the restaurant filming everyone inside.

It was a wild experience and so much fun to get to see it all up close and personal.

Now I did not just go to Fancy’s to sit and watch the filming. I was there to enjoy some great food and cocktails. While I decided what food to order I got a cocktail called the Peachy Pig. This was a bourbon based drink with white peach puree, bacon syrup, Peychaud, and orange bitters. In order to get the orange bitters in the drink the bartender lite the orange rind with a lighter until there was a pop and then dropped it in the drink. Apparently by doing this technique it is supposed to enhance the flavor. I could taste mostly the bourbon in this cocktail. The peach puree added only a slight sweetness. I thought the bacon syrup would come through but I really did not taste any of it.

To start with food, the scallops were highly recommended to me by some other guests. They were large in size and were pan seared. They sat on top of a corn maque choux.

The sear was perfect on the scallops, which were tender and sweet. The corn mixture made it even sweeter. It was like a creamed corn.

By this point it was time for another cocktail. Megan was really great at creating unique elaborate drinks so I let her chose a drink for me. She prepared for me the Boulevardier. This is a whiskey based cocktail made with sweet vermouth, Campari, and orange bitters. The orange bitters were added the exact same way to this drink as the previous. I was actually able to capture this on camera this time.

  

She served it in that classic looking 1960s champagne glass. This was a strong drink. It was a good thing I had some food on my stomach, otherwise I would have been in trouble.

  

The next food item on my list was the Mexican street corn. It was a whole corn on the cob that was on a stick.

The corn had been grilled and was covered with red peppers and cheese. The cheese made it a little salty but the corn was extremely sweet. It was amazing.

Since it was served on a stick it was pretty easy to eat and not very messy.

The final drink of the evening that Megan made me was the Sazerac. This drink originated in New Orleans. It started off with the glass being sprayed with Absinthe. Then it was a mixture of whiskey and Peychauds bitters.

  

This drink was even stronger than the last. It was the Absinthe that gave the drink some bite after each sip. I am glad I tried the drink but I do not think I could handle it again.

I had a blast at Fancy’s. The food and drinks were great. The staff was extremely friendly. I am looking forward to seeing them on the Travel Channel. Check them out at http://www.fancyson5th.com/

Enjoy!

T

Craft breweries have been popping up in cities all over the United States. Birmingham, Alabama is no exception. This visit I headed to Cahaba Brewery. One of the main reasons I enjoy Cahaba is because they are always getting a variety of Birmingham food trucks. The night I was there Tropicaleo was there with Puerto Rican dishes. I have written about that experience in a previous post (check it out here).

My favorite beer at Cahaba is the Kiwi Kolsch. It is one of their lighter beers that is not super hoppy. It has a faint sweetness.

It paired perfectly with the sandwich I got from Tropicaleo.

Cahaba Brewery is a really fun place to just hang out with friends. It is also a great place parents can go with little kids. There is lots of space for them to run around and play.

I felt like a kid as soon as I saw the skee-ball machines. I played skee-ball every summer on the boardwalk as a kid in Ocean City, Maryland.

The great thing about these is I did not have to search my wallet for quarters, they were all free. It was so much fun, I could have played the machines all night.

   

    

In addition to skee-ball, they have tons of arcade games and board games. You can drink beer and have game night in one spot.

Cahaba also offers brewery tours. I have not done that yet but heard it is really interesting. If you are looking for a fun night out visit Cahaba Brewery. To find out what’s on tap or what food trucks are showing up visit the website at http://www.cahababrewing.com/or follow them on Twitter @cahababrewing

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Birmingham has a robust craft brewery scene. These breweries always attract great food trucks on site so that customers can enjoy some unique dishes along with their beer. I was visiting Cahaba Brewery one evening and they were hosting Tropicaleo. They are actually a pop up restaurant that specializes in Puerto Rican cuisine.

The smell from their grill was wonderful when I walked up. It was the first thing that greeted me as I walked up to the brewery. They had several dishes that they were serving up that were written on their chalkboard.

They were also sampling their Toastones (fried plantain chips). This was the best move on their part, as soon as I tasted them I knew I needed to order a side of them. They were nicely fried and kept the great flavor of the plantain. Sometimes plantain chips can be overwhelmed with the taste of the frying oil. These were perfect and still had their sweet taste. These were pretty addicting.

I also ordered the pulled pork sandwich. They used huge chunks of fresh pork that was cooked in a sweet guava bbq sauce. It was served on fresh Morovis bread. Morovis bread is extremely sweet. It felt like a dessert. If you like all things sweet then this sandwich is the right choice.

I enjoyed it and it surprisingly paired well with the beer I was drinking.

Even while writing about this sandwich I kept coming back to the bread. I love all kinds of bread and this is my favorite. It was awesome to eat on its own but I kept imaging this bread as French toast. The natural sweetness of the bread just makes it a natural choice. If the folks at Tropicaleo are reading this blog post – Morovis bread French toast PLEASE! I would line up for that.

Tropicaleo brings a little piece of Puerto Rico right to Birmingham. You can check out their website at http://www.tropicaleo.com/or follow them on Twitter @tropicaleobham to see where they will be popping up next.

Enjoy!

T

 

 

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