Some highlights from the first week of Birmingham's Best Eats over at Wade on Birmingham:

How to host a whiskey tasting: "A few years ago, a New Orleans chef surprised me with an aged bourbon that had all the character and complexity of a refined single malt Scotch. I thought bourbon was the stuff you mixed with Coke before football games."

Chicago Mike's magic hot dog stand: "I almost caused an accident in downtown Homewood the first time I noticed the words “Chicago” and “kosher hot dog” on the white-and-red restaurant known as Chicago Mike’s."

Gilchrist and the old South rarity, tomato aspic: "Aspic, once a common side dish and main lunch item in the South, is now rare."

Follow the month-long series from Birmingham's food bloggers (I'll be there, too) here.