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  Bounty of Peaches
The best peaches in the world are found on Saturdays during spring and summer months at Pepper Place Market. Blount County’s Hazelrig Farms grows a variety of peaches. The whole family— Mike, Pam and their sons—are busy behind their pickup truck at Pepper Place selling peaches and other veggies. Playing favorites with their peaches is difficult. Bounty is their largest and juiciest variety. But the Georgia Bells are also so divine that I have Pam call me every August when the Georgia Bells crop is in, so I can buy the first basket of the season.

Champagne and Chopsticks
At Jinsei the bar wall is lined with Champagne. The tables are set with chopsticks, but flatware is available upon request. Given my technique with a champagne stem far exceeds my capabilities with chopsticks, I request a fork for their Rock Shrimp Tempura. I can’t let these golden nuggets get cold while fiddling with chopsticks!

Cheese Plate and Wine Flight
Satterfield’s Artisan Cheese Plate makes a great appetizer or dessert. Nibble on Wright Dairy Havarti, Wright Dairy Aged Cheddar, Whitetop, Humboldt Fog and Rosenborg Danish Blue. It is served with fresh fruit, fig cake, candied pecans and honey. Pair it with the nightly featured flight of three wines.

Cheese Tastings
Can’t get enough cheese and want to try new cheeses—for free? Visit the cheese counter at Tria Market. The full-service cheese counter offers a selection of Appellation d’Origine Controlee Cheeses, Denominazione di Origine Controllata Cheeses, American and European Artisan Cheeses with samples cut and ready for tasting. There is always a wellversed cheese clerk on hand to educate you on these or any cheese that you want to try.

Chef Partners
Chris and Idie Hastings are the yin-yang for each other. Wife and coowner Idie runs the business and is a trained and experienced chef herself. They share common goals but are quite opposite. “Idie is very conservative, and I am a little more of a risk taker. She makes her decisions methodically, and I am an instinctive, intuitive decision maker,” Chris describes. They have learned over the years how to listen and respect each other’s point of view and respectfully agree or disagree on different issues. The balance of the two results in one excellent restaurant. In 2008 Hot and Hot Fish Club’s Chef Chris Hastings added being a James Beard nominee for “Best Chef: South” to his long list of accolades.

Chef’s Table
The chef’s table at Veranda on Highland is not in the kitchen. It is centered in the wine cellar and is the place for an intimate, private dinner or power lunch. The mahogany chef’s table, with an antique pedestal of hammered iron, is surrounded by private cabinets with antique bronze screens, wine lockers and wine racks made of heart redwood. With the temperature adjusted for comfortable dining, tasting menus created by Executive Chef Thomas Robey, are served and paired with wines from the cellar.

Chèvre de Provence
From Fromagerie Belle Chèvre creamery in Elkmont are Chèvre de Provence—lovely goat cheese medallions in extra virgin olive oil with herbs. They make an easy and impressive appetizer for serving guests. Sprinkle the leftovers over a salad for lunch the following day.

Child Friendly
Are your children cramping your dining style? Take the kids to dinner with you at La Dama Pizzeria at Liberty Park. Tim Stevens has kids too, so he developed a restaurant for adults and children. La Dama offers a fine wine list, signature martinis, the best of Italian fare—and arcade games in the back for the kids. The kids also have their own menu. At press time Stevens was planning a La Dama Bistro at the Pinnacle in Trussville.

Chilled Seafood Tower
The Chilled Seafood Tower at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar arrives and is set atop a copper stand. This glass dish is filled with a bed of crushed ice that mounds over the top. The ice gives it height and that “Wow!” factor and keeps the seafood chilled from the first bite to the last. Lobster Tails and Alaskan King Crab Legs rise from the ice. Jumbo Shrimp and Snow Crab Claws encircle the sides of the dish, and small bowls of Super Lump Crabmeat and Seafood Ceviche of scallops and squid are nestled into the ice. Cocktail sauce, creamy mustard sauce with a hint of brandy and lemon halves accompany the meal. This appetizer is offered in two sizes.

Cookbook II
Sure to be a favorite, Frank Stitt’s new cookbook, Bottega Favorita debuts this month! The book will not be available nationally until Jan. 1 but is currently available for pre-sale at Books-A-Million at Brookwood Village and will be available in the store at a book signing event with Stitt on Nov. 22. Stitt will also have a book signing event with Alabama Booksmith on Nov. 30 at the Alys Stephens Center.

Corporate Chef
Mary Grace Viado is the corporate executive chef for the eight Village Taverns across the United States. As corporate executive chef for the company, it is Viado’s job to create and execute recipes. She could do this job in any of those kitchens and has been offered the opportunity to do so— including in New York and Atlanta. Yet Viado prefers Birmingham and is here to stay as executive chef of the Birmingham restaurant. Viado’s innovative recipes and feature dishes are artful, original-but most importantly, delicious.

Creative and Comforting
Soups satisfy my soul. And the Fresh Gulf Shrimp, Crabmeat and Corn Chowder at Highlands Bar and Grill is a delightful and delicious appetizer. The lightness of the crab, the scrumptious shrimp and the hearty corn make a pleasing pairing of land and sea.

Cup of Goodness
Higher Ground Roasters improve the quality of coffee and quality of life. Roasting 100 percent fair trade organic and shade grown coffees, Higher Ground Roasters provide customers with the world’s finest coffees while supporting small, independent farmers and protecting the environment. Higher Ground’s French Roast is one of the darkest roasts available and gets your day off to a good start. The cup is bold and nutty with a smooth and slightly smoky finish.

Diamonds and Denim
A memorable and special evening of food, wine, and entertainment was held at the Fort Payne home of Teddy Gentry, of the legendary band Alabama. Diamonds and Denim Dinner Party benefited the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Also hosting the event with Gentry were George and Harriet Reis of Ocean and 26 restaurants, Chef Clayton Sherrod of Chef Clayton’s Food Systems, Inc. and Giani Respinto of GianMarco’s. The chefs prepared an amazing menu using grass-fed chicken and beef straight from the Gentry’s Farm. The attendees, limited to the first 40 couples who bought tickets, were bussed to Fort Payne for a reception followed by dinner and special entertainment by Teddy Gentry and friends.
 
 

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