Tag: Birmingham

I have written about Avondale Common House before. When I was back in Birmingham I knew I wanted to make another visit.

As always I sat at the bar. The service there is top notch. It was great to see the same bar staff from my last visit.

     

I started off with a strawberry smash. This was a newer drink on the menu. They used gin with fresh strawberries and mint with a splash of sprite. The strawberries were the star of this cocktail. They were muddled so that the flavor was released. This helped hide the taste of the gin. Toward the bottom of the drink the hint of mint shined through.

What I remembered from my previous visit was that the Kung Pao cauliflower was fantastic. I ordered them again because it was good for sharing. The cauliflower was cut into small pieces which were breaded and deep fried. The have the perfect crispy texture. They were covered in the Kung Pao sauce which is where the heat came from. The sauce added a salty taste to the dish as well. There were chopped up cashews mixed in with the cauliflower that I forgot about; they added crunch and not a whole lot of extra flavor.

For my main course I ordered the shrimp and grits. My bartender said it was one of their most popular dishes. The grits were creamy, cheesy, and slightly salty. They piled on the shrimp and andouille sausage and then covered in a creamy sauce. What I was not expecting was the fried egg on top. I took the egg off and ate it separately.

The shrimp had a great grilled taste to them. The sausage had a wonderful savory taste. The shrimp and sausage tasted great on their own but paired extremely well when eaten with the creamy grits.

I am glad I got to make another visit to Avondale Common House. They were just as good as I remembered. Visit them at www.avondalecommonhouse.com

    

Enjoy!

T

Just down the street from Avondale Common House in Birmingham is a brewery by the name of Avondale Brewing Company.

They are located in a cool old building that had many uses over the last 100 years.

They are a full blown craft brewery that has a huge menu to choose from. They have everything from IPA’s to high gravity tripels.

     

I always enjoy visiting the brewery. It is a great place to hang out with friends. I enjoyed a glass of their Mill at White. It was light with a hoppy taste.

They do not serve food but on the weekends they sometimes have food trucks that park out back where they have seating and an amphitheater for live music.

Avondale Brewing Company has several of their beers in restaurants and other bars all over Birmingham. However, I find it the most enjoyable to have it at the source.

If you enjoy beer, you definitely should check out Avondale Brewery. www.avondalebrewing.com

Enjoy!

T

I am always raving about the food scene in Birmingham, Alabama. People just do not think about this small southern city being so dominant in the food scene. I have written about Chris Hastings other restaurant Hot & Hot Fish Club before. Now I had an opportunity to try his other restaurant Ovenbird.

As soon as I walked up to the restaurant’s front doors I could smell the smoker that was outside. It made me so hungry.

They have great outdoor seating, whether it’s at one of their tables or around a fire pit. It was too cold when I visited so I passed on being outside.

When I walked in I noticed they have two large wood fire ovens. It made the restaurant smell wonderful as well as warm it up.

  

I glanced over their menu while enjoying a Moscow mule. Everything on the menu is meant to be shared. This is my favorite way to eat. It allows me to try so many different dishes without getting too stuffed.

First out were the deviled eggs. These eggs were cut completely different from how I normally see them. Instead of long ways from top to bottom, these eggs were cut in half. The egg filing was made with Anchovy and had a nice green color rather than the traditional yellow. The filling was layered on top of Romesco, which is a nut and red pepper based sauce. On top of each was curtido, which is fermented cabbage relish. This reminded me of sauerkraut and added a tangy taste to the egg.

Up next was the tuna avocado toast. The fresh bread was spread with smashed avocado, chunks of tuna, pickled onion, jalapeño radish, and herbs. There was a slight spice to this dish. The tuna was very fresh and tender. It melted in my mouth.

Before I could even finish the tuna toast the shishitos came out. I had never had these before and was excited to try. Shishitos are a sweet pepper and their green color was very vibrant. These were roasted with toasted benne seed, espelette (a French pepper), and egg yolk. The shishitos were very tender and sweet. The roasted skins added extra flavor to each bite.

The roasted broccoli sounded wonderful. Because it would be cooked in one of their fire ovens I knew there would be great added flavor. The broccoli was cooked with brown butter, Marcona almonds, and avocado. The overall taste was both salty and tangy.

The shaved Brussels sprouts acted like a salad to me. The sprouts ere blended with Manchego cheese, buttermilk dressing, and jamon serrano. It was very similar to a coleslaw. The Brussels sprouts were not bitter at all, which is what I was expecting. On top it was accented with a few Mandarin oranges that added a nice citrus taste.

If you like Ceviche I would highly recommend their by-catch ceviche. It was fresh red-snapper, yucca, sweet drop pepper, and lime. The snapper was soft and moist. There was a slight spice to the overall dish which was extremely refreshing.

The last dish out was the beef shoulder. It came on top of roasted vegetables that included sweet potatoes. The beef was super tender. I was able to cut it with a butter knife. The meat was very buttery in flavor. It was a perfect ending to the meal.

They did offer a few desserts but after seven dishes there was no way I could eat another bite. I would definitely go back to try more of the other dishes. My waitress did say that the menu changes so I look forward to the new surprises.

Check out Ovenbird at http://www.ovenbirdrestaurant.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

 

Everyone has a favorite restaurant. In Birmingham, my favorite place is Slice. I have written about them multiple times before. I could not pass up another opportunity.

Like each of my previous visits, I started off with a sangria. I always enjoy them because the red is not super sweet and it pairs well with pizza and pasta.

  

Speaking of pasta, one of the reason I wanted to visit Slice was because I was craving their Brown Butter pasta. It is a simple dish that is on the appetizer portion of the menu. It is the perfect size to me.

This pasta is cooked with butter and is loaded with roasted garlic, tomatoes, and bacon. This pasts is not heavy because there really is no sauce. The bacon adds crunch. The roasted garlic, that are full cloves, are completely soft and full of powerful flavor.

Another reason I love this pasta dish is because it reminds me of being a kid. When I was young I loved eating pasta noodles with just melted butter. I enjoyed the salty taste.

There was something new on the menu this visit. They offered something called Redneck Poutine. Now I love poutine so I was very curious how they were going to do their version. They started with a base of great tasting French fries that were smothered in chili, cheese curd, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Though they used cheese curds, this dish was more like chili cheese fries. They were still really good. They would be perfect to munch on while watching football or basketball on TV. They would go better with a beer than a sangria.

I will continue to recommend Slice. Visit their website at http://www.slicebirmingham.com/ and see you there.

Enjoy!

T

I have written about several great restaurants in the Avondale area of Birmingham, Alabama. There is another new place I have added to the list – Avondale Common House. I had visited them before for cocktails but this was the first time I have eaten there.

The restaurant was booming. There were hardly any seats left. I lucked out and was able to get one of the last seats at the bar. I got a great view into the kitchen which was extremely busy. Those cooks were constantly creating different dishes. It all smelled so wonderful.

I started off with one of their specialty cocktails. I ordered the Raspberry Gin & Fizz. I am not a gin fan but the bartender said this was one of her favorite drinks so I decided to take a chance. The gin was mixed with raspberry syrup, fresh lime, and soda. This drink was surprisingly sweet, but not too sweet. I could not taste the gin at all. The raspberry is what stood out. The splash of soda they use added the right amount of bubbles to make the drink fun.

One of the menu items that stood out to me was the Loaded Totchos. These were loaded tater tots. They were covered with crispy pieces of bacon, green onions, queso, and sour cream. This was definitely something that needed to be eaten with a fork.

This dish had all the necessary ingredients for nachos and a loaded baked potato. It was the perfect blend of both dishes. The tater tots were crispy on the outside but then drenched in creamy queso. The bacon added even more salty taste and crunch. The sour cream added a slight tangy taste. It was a fun dish to start with.

My second cocktail was another one of their most popular – Spring Street Smash. It was a tongue-twister to order. It combined vodka with muddles basil, cucumber, lemonade, and topped with saison. The taste was slightly bitter, especially compared to my first drink. By the second sip I could taste the freshness of the cucumber.

The wonderful scents coming out of their kitchen continued to make me hungry. I glanced over their menu again and my eyes fell upon the Crispy Kung Pao Cauliflower.

They fried up bite size pieces of fresh cauliflower. It was tossed in a teriyaki sauce that was both sweet and salty. They also threw in red peppers and scallions. The peppers added the heat that gives the dish the “Kung Pao”. This dish also had chopped up cashews in it, so if you have a cashew allergy beware of this dish.

It had been a long time since I had fried cauliflower. It is also not something you see on many menus. I really enjoyed how the breading soaked up the sauce. It helped cut back some of the bitterness that cauliflower can sometimes have. The cashews added a hearty crunch. It was an interesting and creative take of Asian ingredients.

Avondale Common House was a fun place to visit. They were constantly busy while I was there. The bartenders are extremely friendly and make wonderful drink recommendations. I would highly suggest you check them out if you are ever in Birmingham. Visit their website at http://avondalecommonhouse.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

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