Bhamdining.com

Krispy Kreme gets more competition

2010-07-26T19:32:36Z

Krispy Kreme's "Hot Now" sign is hard to resist. There's an undeniable appeal to watching the donuts go through the rising, frying and glazing process, then biting into one still warm from the fryer.

But really, unless they're hot, I'm not that wild about Krispy Kreme donuts. To me, they taste too heavily of oil and sugar, with the more subtle flavors of yeast and other ingredients overwhelmed by the sweetness.

That's why I've been happy to see a flurry of new donut-shop openings in the past year in Birmingham. Of course, the opening earlier this year of the Birmingham area's first Dunkin' Donuts franchise in Pelham was widely publicized. The local franchise owners have said they are looking to open as many as 21 locations in the next eight years. Birmingham News columnist John Archibald even wrote about "dueling donuts."

But wait, there are other choices besides these two big chains! Shipley's donuts has been in Hoover for ages, not far from the big shiny Krispy Kreme factory. It's a chain, but not a giant one like KK or DD.

And there are new entrants to the market, too.

There's Donut Joe's in Pelham. I haven't been there, but Urbanspoon.com has rave reviews about it.

Pop Donuts is a new place in Hoover; not sure whether it's related to Pop's Donuts in Center Point.

But our favorite recent discovery is Dyar's Daylight Donuts in the Hoover/Inverness area. Daylight is a franchise chain that dates back to the '50s in Oklahoma, but the Birmingham location has been open less than a year. What really stood out were the chocolate cake donuts. These truly tasted like a cross between a good chocolate cake and a donut -- not too sweet, great chocolate flavor, moist but not greasy. Looking forward to trying the "old fashioned" and other flavors.

Toyota Farm to Table Tour at Pepper Place Saturday

2010-07-21T16:17:16Z

The Toyota Farm to Table Tour will be at Pepper Place Saturday Market this weekend, 8 a.m.-noon July 24. Nine area chefs will be paired with market farmers to highlight the best of the market’s fresh local produce and products. The chefs will prepare complementary tastings using their partner farm’s locally grown items for visitors to sample.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to receive complimentary potted culinary herbs and enter for a chance to win a culinary trip to Santa Barbara, and to test-drive Toyota hybrids.

The chefs:

Kimberly Brock of Bitty’s Back Porch
Jared Danks of Culinard Culinary Institute
Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club
Clif Holt of Little Savannah Restaurant and Bar
Clayton Sherrod of Chef Clayton’s Catering
Chris Zapalowski of The Homewood Gourmet
Haller Magee of Satterfield’s
Guillermo Castro of Cantina
Jean Evens Estinfort & Serge Pambo of Café de Paris

The farms:

Jones Valley Urban Farm
Lasseter Orchards
Frank McEwin
Durbin Farms
Snow's Bend Farm
Fertile Minds Gardens
Owl's Hollow Farm
Averiett Branch Farm

Sandwich boom

2010-07-19T15:27:49Z

Sandwiches seem to be the hot thing in Birmingham when it comes to new restaurants:

Brick & Tin gourmet sandwich shop, downtown Birmingham, emphasizing high-quality local ingredients.

Urban Cookhouse, featuring Alabama produce in sandwiches, salads and entrees in downtown Homewood.

Collage Catering & Cafe in Homewood, where Lag's Eatery used to be.

Forest Perk Coffee: Serving Higher Ground coffee, sandwiches and pastries in Forest Park area.

Spanish wine dinner at Satterfield's

2010-07-10T19:56:18Z

Satterfield's restaurant is hosting a Spanish Tempranillo wine dinner on Tuesday, July 13, featuring Bobby Flournoy and classic wines of Spain. The event starts with Cava and hor d'oeuvres in our bar at 6:30pm and dinner begins at 7:00pm. The cost is $75 excluding tax and gratuity.

The menu looks like a wonderful blend of Spanish inspiration and Southern produce, with dishes like Jamon Serrano wrapped Yellowfin Tuna with grilled leeks, white beans and Romesco sauce; Chicken Mar I Muntanya with shrimp, mussels, green beans, piquillo peppers and Chorizo. Check out the full menu here. Call (205) 969-9690 for reservations.

Valleydale Farmer's Market

2010-07-07T21:55:28Z

While I love Pepper Place Saturday Market, I don't want to trek all the way downtown every weekend from Hoover to get fresh fruits and veggies. So I recently checked out the Valleydale Farmer's Market, now in its second year. They're located at 4601 Valleydale Road, in a church parking lot near the intersection with Caldwell Mill, each Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

It's not as big as Pepper Place, but also refreshingly not as crowded. There were fewer than 20 booths, a few of them non-food-related crafts and the like, but overall there was a good variety of local produce. I brought home peaches, heirloom tomatoes, burgundy okra, Japanese eggplant, hot banana peppers and more. In addition to fruits and veggies, there also were stands selling goat cheese, Alabama honey, and meat.

There are some chef demonstrations scheduled, although not for every week. Upcoming ones include Hot & Hot's Chris Hastings, Cantina's Guillermo Castro, and Little Savannah's Clif and Maureen Holt.

For more info, visit www.valleydalefarmersmarket.com

Best Burgers?

2010-07-06T19:30:40Z

Birmingham Magazine's looking for "the best of Birmingham on a bun."

Go to http://bhammag.com/bhammag/food-jul10a.aspx to read about a baker's dozen of great burgers, from old-fashioned traditional at Billy's or Green Valley Drugs to ones with flavorful toppings like the Bloomin' Jalapeno burger at Rogue Tavern or the blue-cheese-stuffed version at Dram Whiskey Bar to the veggie burger at Bottletree. It says to vote on your favorite for the Best of Birmingham issue, but I can't see where you're supposed to do that....

I was kind of surprised that a couple of places that specialize in gourmet burgers, like the new Flip Burger Boutique at the Summit or Baja Burger, was on the list. But I haven't been to either one ...

What do you guys think? Favorite burgers? On this list, I'm personally partial to Chicago Mike's, and to the Kobe beef sliders at Jinsei. For a chain, Five Guys burgers are pretty good (although it's the fresh-made fries there that really stand out) -- and, of course there's always Milo's.

New brewery for Birmingham

2010-07-04T22:10:26Z

According to the Birmingham News, a historic 4,000-square-foot building at 201 41st St. South is being transformed into Avondale Brewing Co. and is scheduled to open in late December or early January.

It's the project of Coby Lake (a local real estate agent) and Craig Shaw, who has been brewing his own beers for 15 years and is a member of Free the Hops. Shaw is a member of Birmingham Brewmasters and recently completed an apprenticeship under brewmaster James Ray of Montgomery Brewing Co.

The building dates back to 1885 and has been a bank and a fire station. It most recently was Long Branch Saloon, a popular gathering place before closing in the late 1980s. For brewing, the company purchased a German-made 17-barrel system capable of producing 10,000 barrels per year at full production, according to Bham Wiki, which also reports they are planning the following beers:

Long Branch Lager, German-style lager
Avondale Pale Ale, a dark pale ale
Bottletree IPA, an India pale ale specially made for the nearby Bottletree Cafe

For more information, visit their Facebook page.

Looking for gazpacho and snails

2010-07-04T21:52:48Z

Got an e-mail from a reader looking for where they can get a couple of specific dishes, and could use some help answering:

This Hoover resident asks, "Can you tell me where (within a 30 mile radius) they have gazpacho soup on their summer menu and/or where we can purchase some to take home? Also are there any restaurant where we can order Snails in Black Bean Sauce?"

Can anyone help?

Some Summer food news

2010-07-03T20:54:21Z

Some restaurant and food news that's come across our desk recently:

This coming Friday, July 9, Little Savannah's chef/owner Clif Holt will be cooking up dinner in Monroeville, Alabama, for the "To Kill a Mockingbird" 50th Anniversary. The dinner will feature traditional Southern foods described in the book: collards, turnip greens, cornbread, sliced vine-ripe tomatoes, fried chicken and lane cake. Southern cocktail expert Denise Gee had created a signature drink for the weekend, the "Tequila Mockingbird." For more info, go to www.tokillamockingbird.com.

A new convenience grocery store has opened in the former Gypsy Market space in the 2300 block of 2nd Avenue North downtown. Mamanoes, according to Bham Wiki, is owned by Antonio Boyd, who named it after his mother, "Because if anyone knows, Mama knows." Located next to Baldone Tailors, it carries staples, beer, wine, freshly baked bread and fresh meats from Mr. P's Deli. A covered "pet valet" area out front will be available for shoppers to drop off their dogs to be leashed while they're in the store.

The new cafe at the Birmingham Museum of Art will open for lunch on July 7. Oscar's at the Museum will feature fresh, local food in a "casually elegant atmosphere," according to the museum. It's under the management of A Social Affair, the local company that also caters special events at the museum. Oscar’s also means the return of Sunday musical brunch at the Museum, where the jazz of the café’s previous incarnation will now share the stage with a variety of other genres of live music every month. The lovely veggie photos above are from their website: www.oscarsatthemuseum.com.

THe new summer menu at Chez Fonfon includes favorites such as steak tartare, country pate, croque monsieur, hamburger Fonfon and trout with brown butter, but also summer bounty such as tomato salad, fried green tomatoes with arugula and goat cheese, Lobster "BLTs" for the special of the day on Wednesdays, and pork with corn and peaches for the special on Tuesdays.

Fire boasts new owner, fresh decor, changes to menu

2010-06-23T02:24:53Z

Fire restaurant in Mountain Brook's Crestline Village is hosting a grand re-opening party this weekend, Friday June 25 and Saturday, June 26. The restaurant has been closed for some renovations; it was bought by executive chef and Alabama native Steve Luther in March.

Luther continues the original goal of fire, which is to serve fine food in a more casual atmosphere. Armed with the belief that fine foods don’t necessarily have to be “haute” or expensive to be enjoyed, Steve focuses on technique and quality, more so than exotic or whimsical.

The menu, which will change seasonally, features "good American food kicked up a notch." The new menu will feature some things they haven't had in the past like a larger "man" steak, white truffle fries, and the addition of an egg to the croque monseiur to create a croque madame. They are going to eventually add to the brunch menu several versions of eggs benedict, as well as some new dessert items.

The menu still boasts a lot of Southern and New Orleans influences, such as turtle soup, crispy crab claws, shrimp and grits and muffaletta. It also still includes a nice variety of casual and finer dining options; you can enjoy everything from a cheddar burger and fries to filet mignon or braised lamb shanks. Desserts are classics like creme brulee, apple fritters and bread pudding.

The decor is also becoming a little more fresh and urban. The paint color has been updated from a yellow faux finish to a creamy beige. The atmosphere has a little more flow to it. You'll find abstract artwork that resembles "fire" along with more actual "fire" in candles on the tables and on the wall.

We went to Fire once years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it -- incredible braised lamb shank and shrimp and grits, which I see are still on the menu. Our feeling was that this was a great neighborhood restaurant, one we would probably visit frequently if it were our neighborhood. But that doesn't mean it's not worth a visit from elsewhere if you're looking for a comfortable, casual place with some really good food.

This Friday and Saturday, enjoy a special happy hour from 5-7 with drink specials and hors d'oerves. Stay for diner and get a 10 percent discount plus drink discounts for Otey's next door so you can continue the party after you eat.

Check out the menu at www.firebirmingham.com.