Category: Alabama

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

A few months ago I wrote about the Homewood Diner. I had visited for breakfast and really enjoyed it. I always get excited when I have another opportunity to get to go back somewhere and try something else. It was early morning on a Saturday and I was hungry for a good traditional breakfast. The kind of breakfast that fills me up for almost the whole day. The Homewood Diner popped into my mind.

Since I got there early for a Saturday I was able to get a booth without any problems. My waitress was extremely friendly and brought me fresh coffee right away.

After looking over the menu options I went for the ham and cheese omelette. I could get it with American cheese (my favorite to go with eggs) but if you wanted cheddar that was an option too.

The omelette also came with a choice of grits or hash browns and biscuits or toast. I went for the grits because I remembered how buttery they were. I also went for the biscuits because I could not go to a Southern diner without trying their homemade staple. They were very buttery on the outside that I did not need to add any butter on the inside. I got two so the second one I could try with strawberry jelly.

The omelette was pretty big. It was packed with ham. The ham was cut into chunky pieces. It was salty but also had a slight sweet taste too. This was a three egg omelette but it definitely felt like there was more ham than egg.

I am really glad I was able to get another great breakfast at Homewood Diner. If you are in the area make sure you stop by. Check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HomewoodDiner

Enjoy!

T

There is local Japanese restaurant called Okinawa that I have been to tons of times. I have eaten in and taken sushi to go. I finally decided to write about them because they are one of my favorite go to restaurants. Everything I have ever ordered is delicious.

On this most recent visit I went for lunch. They have a great lunch menu that includes sushi rolls, bento boxes, and hibachi plates. I went for the hibachi chicken. The lunch portion is the perfect size. It comes with teriyaki chicken, vegetables, and fried rice. The chicken is juicy white meat; the vegetables are sautéed perfectly with lots of broccoli that I love. Dipping the veggies in the ginger sauce is the best. Their fried rice is simple but flavorful and loaded with scrambled eggs.

The lunch portion of hibachi also comes with your choice of miso soup or a ginger salad. If you go for dinner you would get both, plus the grilled shrimp. I went for the salad. I love the dressing that they use and they give a very generous portion.

If you have a short lunch hour, Okinawa is the perfect place to get in and out quickly. However, if you have some time and want to enjoy some great food with wonderful company then they offer that too. Check out their menu at http://www.okinawasushiusa.com/

I am sure I will see you there!

Enjoy!

T

I love all kinds of food, but Chinese food is one of my favorites. I was excited to learn that there was an authentic Chinese restaurant called Red Pearl in Homewood, Alabama. What surprised me even more is that there is a full size Asian market attached to the restaurant. They had everything from candy and sauces to frozen dumplings that can be made at home.

The restaurant was beautiful inside. It had recently been remodeled. There are wonderful ornate wooden walls that separate different sections and an ornately painted focal wall.

I started off with the pork noodle soup. It was a huge bowl that was perfect for sharing with the table. It was a good thing that I brought my sister with me. The broth was flavorful and had a very faint spice in it. The noodles were like what are found in lo mein and it was a generous portion in this soup. They used a minced pork that was very tender and added additional flavor to the soup. The pieces of chopped up cabbage added texture. I could have easily made this my meal if I was alone.

I was told that I had to try their egg rolls, so I made sure to order a few. They were crispy on the outside. The filling on the inside was full of meat and vegetables. The nice part about these egg rolls was they had a lot of meat on the inside rather than just filling of excess cabbage. I was very pleased with how they tasted and would recommend them too.

My favorite aspect about a Chinese meal is the sharing. Several dishes can be ordered for the table and then shared family style. So my sister and I went for two dishes: chicken lo mein and pork fried rice.

The chicken in the lo mein were nice big pieces of breast meat. They were sautéed so the edges were slightly crispy. The sauce was salty but it was not overwhelming. The noodles had a smoky taste – which came from the hot flame that was used to cook it in the wok.

The plate of fried rice was huge. The pork in the fried rice added a ton of flavor. The Jasmine rice they used stuck together really well with the sauce that was used to season everything. This made it easy for me to eat the rice with chopsticks.

Now naturally we could not finish everything because it was a lot of food. However, Chinese leftovers make for a perfect lunch the next day. I enjoyed everything that we ordered but I only scratched the surface of what they have to offer. I can’t wait to go back and try some of the beef or tofu or perhaps one of my favorite dishes – Chow Fun.

If you are hungry for Chinese and don’t want typical take out, then you need to swing by Red Pearl. You will truly enjoy sitting down and sharing a meal. Visit their website at http://www.superorientalmkt.com/

Enjoy!

T

Bright and early on a cold morning is the perfect time to get a big, hearty breakfast. Diners are naturally the perfect place for these types of breakfasts. The Homewood Diner can be a little hard to find the first time but it is a wonderful place and well worth looking for.

The diner was crowded when I got there. I was able to get one of the last booths. They have many options and combinations to choose from. I wanted something with pancakes because I had not had them for a while.

I went for one of their special breakfast plates. The Patriot Breakfast offered up everything I wanted. Eggs, grits, bacon, and a pancake. Just in case there is interest in this plate, you can have hash browns instead of grits and sausage instead of bacon.

I got my eggs scrambled; these are my favorite way to have eggs. The grits were firm but still creamy. I added some butter to add a little salt. The bacon was amazing. The slices were thick and extra crispy. I love extra crispy bacon, plus they gave a very generous portion. You can never have too much bacon.

The pancake, which was why I ordered this breakfast plate, was huge. It was the actual size of the plate it came on. There is something about restaurant pancakes that I just cannot replicate at home. I love the taste of the batter which is a little sweet and the way it gets salty when cooked on the griddle. A great pancake to me is when it tastes just as good with a little melted butter as it does with a topping of maple syrup.

In addition to breakfast Homewood Diner also offers a great meat and 3 lunch option. Check out their breakfast menu at their Facebook page: Facebook.com/HomewoodDiner

Enjoy!

T