Feature
 
 


 
  Dinner to Go
Iz Too, in Vestavia Hills and Altadena, offers an online calendar of daily specials that can be picked up for dinner. You call in your order to be ready between 4 and 8 p.m. Options such as their Signature Chicken Pot Pie, Parmesan Chicken, Meat Loaf, Turkey Tetrazzini and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna are popular choices. Get it and go!

Disciple of Flavor
Standard Bistro’s Alan Martin does his due diligence searching for the freshest and highest quality products. His colorful and flavorful bowl of Dave’s Sweet Corn Soup arrives piping hot with tiny bits and larger kernels of this golden corn. Its sweet and tender crunch goes swimmingly with whole Gulf shrimp, quartered new potatoes, Vidalia onions, peppers and chives. “Dave Garfrerick picks his corn for us in the high heat of the day when the sweet flavors are at their peak. It is the best corn I have ever tasted,” Martin says—and I agree.

Dish Discovered
I discovered the Lobster and Shrimp BLT as a Wednesday special at Chez Fonfon. It is one of the most wonderful and memorable meals I have ever had. I planned Wednesday lunches around this dish from summer into the fall. Big bites of lobster and shrimp, apple smoked bacon, tiny bites of tomato, red onion and leaves of romaine synthesize into a marvelous medley of flavors accented by fresh chives, parsley and shallots. It makes Wednesdays feel like a weekend. Catch it if you can!

Do the ‘due
Fondue brings back fond memories of the 1970’s—nights spent swirling chunks of French bread in melted cheese, beef tips sizzling in hot oil and dipping fruit into pots of deep, dark chocolate for dessert. It was an experience, not just a meal. The Melting Pot is such an experience, not just a restaurant. The menu includes creamy cheese fondues, fresh salads, fine wines and mouthwatering chocolate fondue desserts.

Eat and Drive
I know. I know. I should not eat and drive or encourage it. But Edgar’s Bakery Turkey Roll Ups are small and manageable bite-sized sandwiches. Moist white bread is filled with turkey, mayo, lettuce and small pieces of tomato. Brown bag them to the office for days when you need to spend your lunch hour running errands.

Evening of Wines
This annual event is the oldest continuously running charitable wine event in Birmingham. Benefitting the local chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the evening includes a silent auction followed by a live auction held during dinner. And the highlight each year is when a renowned winemaker takes the stage to support this worthy cause.

Favorita Façade
Bottega Favorita building, built in 1925 on Highland Avenue, is the home of Frank and Pardis Stitt’s Bottega Restaurant and Bottega Café. Originally, the building was home to Gus Mayer with a dormitory for nurses upstairs. The walnut panels from the dressing rooms at Gus Mayer now line the walls of Bottega Restaurant. “I used to drive by the building on my way to Highlands and always admired it,” Frank Stitt says. Carved into the stone above the door are the words “Bottega Favorita,” which Stitt translates as “a favorite boutique or shop where an artisan makes and sells goods.” He opened Bottega Restaurant here in 1988, and the café in 1990. In 2008 the restaurant underwent a remodeling that retained the integrity of its architecture but updated its ambience.

Flash Fried
Tavern on the Summit’s Fried Chicken Tenders are the best. Thick, white tenderloins are hand breaded and lightly fried, leaving them moist inside and crunchy outside. Four different options are available: sliced atop a Tavern Salad of crisp greens, tomatoes, bacon and homemade croutons; a chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo, onion and blue cheese; a basket of three with a side; and as an entrée item with even more chicken and two sides.

Fondly Remembered
Lou’s Pub and Package Store’s owner and operator Lou Zaden passed away this year. Many good times were shared at Lou’s and with Lou. He is missed and fondly remembered.

For Cooks
The Cooks Store in Mountain Brook Village is a locally owned one-stop shop for cooks. Whether you want to whisk something up in a hurry, slow cook it all day, or buy a culinary gift, this is the place.

Fried Cheesecake
What could be more decadent? The name says it all. Recently opened Sweet Bones Alabama at The Summit servers the same crisp outside and creamy inside fired cheesecake that its owner John Cowan made famous at Bonedaddy’s.

Gas Lights
The Tavern on the Summit is a long time favorite with familiar fare that is consistent and excellent. Its gas lit sconces dot the walls above the booths, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for regulars and shoppers from the surrounding stores at The Summit.

Hashing It Out
The Waffle House chain, with its Southern roots, has served over 1 billion orders of hash browns since 1955. The color photograph on their laminated menus tempts. The crispy golden circle cooked before your eyes and served piping hot is as good as it looks time after time.

Hearth Baked Breads
At Carole Griffin’s Continental Bakery crusty pain ordinaires (peasant/ lean breads) are hearth baked daily. These breads are made of simple ingredients (flour, water, salt and a natural leaven) and baked without enhancements such as sugar, fat and milk. Yet the complexity and flavor profiles of such hand-baked breads are determined by the baker’s skills and techniques. Eat Griffin’s French bread the day it is made. The ciabatta may be kept a few days longer, and sourdough can be kept for up to a week, developing different characteristics each day.

Hearty Appetite
The Texas Special at The Bright Star includes a flavorful tenderloin of beef, fresh Greek snapper, and a rich, buttery and creamy lobster and crabmeat au gratin. It is served with Greek salad and choice of baked potato, French fries or vegetable of the day. The portions are hearty and the cuisine is fresh, hot and full of flavor.

Holiday Cookies
I tried baking gingerbread men because I could not find the old fashioned kind anywhere. But of my rather unfortunate batch, only a couple survived with limbs intact. Then I discovered Savage’s Gingerbread Men. They looked and tasted like the original ones with simple faces and bodies in one piece. These rich and tender cookies with notes of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are the real deal.

Italian Landmark
Just the name GianMarco’s makes me hungry. And I am in good company. Brothers Giani and Marco Respinto and their father Giovanni have a restaurant that is a small, “Italian” landmark for Birmingham area diners. The atmosphere is a welcoming synthesis of Italian charm and Southern hospitality. The Italian menu is paired with a chef driven, food friendly wine list that reflects the Respinto’s loyalties to both their home and their heritage—American and Italian. And with each passing year GianMarco’s improves with age.

Kobe Two Ways
I can’t get enough of Brock’s Kobe beef. Fortunately they serve it as an appetizer and as an entrée. The Beef Carpiccio is the finest I have ever tasted, flavorful and tender with a wellmarbled texture. It is served with boiled egg, horseradish cream, Parmesan, local arugula and fritto misto. And the Kobe Beef Filet served rare is just as tender, delicate and delicious. It arrives atop a plate of eggplant, red onions, tomatoes and peppers with sherry vinaigrette. Brock’s is located at Ross Bridge Renaissance Golf Resort and Spa.

Legend In His Time
It is only natural to look back at Frank Stitt’s accolades and influence on Birmingham’s culinary scene. But I have too difficult a time watching his present and upcoming accomplishments to do so. Stitt’s full plate includes four chef-driven restaurants: Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega Restaurant, Bottega Café and Chez Fonfon. And he found time this year to write a new cookbook, Bottega Favorita. In 2008 he also was awarded the national distinction of being one of five chefs to receive a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Chef. Stitt’s long legacy of excellence continues.

Light My Fire
The patio at Billy’s On Overton is a popular neighborhood gathering spot for residents of Liberty Park and surrounding Mountain Brook. With its own patio bar, plasma televisions, a roaring two-story stacked stone fireplace and Billy’s full menu, this patio has it all. Live music is also enjoyed here Wednesdays through Sundays beginning at 6 p.m.

Lobster Lover
If you are a lobster lover, head to Shula’s Steakhouse. Their Flash Fried Lobster Tail is a new discovery and is featured as “One Dish” this month. This huge, eight to 10 ounce South African Lobster Tail is golden and crunchy on the outside, tender, moist and succulent on the inside and perfection all over. You can’t miss this one-of-a-kind dish!
 
 
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November Birmingham, Alabama

  

 
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