Category Archives: food

Birmingham, Alabama

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Fish Market in Birmingham, AlabamaOne of my favorite restaurant restrooms in Birmingham, The Fish Market in Birmingham, AlabamaAlabama is in one of my favorite restaurants — the Greek-inspired Fish Market on 22nd Street South. I’ve never been to Greece but I have both been to The Fish Market and seen “Mama Mia” multiple times so I imagine Greece to be full of beautiful people Fish Market, Birmingham, Alabamasinging ABBA songs and eating fresh and wonderfully cooked seafood. And having gorgeous bathrooms like this one with copper sinks, blue mosaic-tiled walls and stone and pottery accents. It’s so calm and serene … and Greek. The Fish Market is usually crowded and always noisy and the line to order moves fast — a basic knowledge of the extensive menu and the day’s specials is essential. There’s no table service, so you have to fight your way to the bar for another beer or more Apalachicola oysters but if you want your seafood lovingly and authentically cooked, it’s worth it. And you can always head to the ladies’ room if you need some peace and quiet. Check out The Fish Market Web site at http://www.birminghammenus.com/thefishmarket/

Restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi

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City Grocery in Oxford, MississippiOh my goodness, y’all. Run, don’t walk, to City Grocery in Oxford, MississippiOxford, Mississippi and eat at City Grocery on the square. Or drive. However you can get there, just go.  I was in Oxford this past week with friends for a day of shopping and eating and sightseeing, although we all agreed that the eating part was the best. My husband John Pitts even took a long lunch break from newspaper-sports editing in nearby Tupelo City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippito join us  — nobody passes up a chance to go to City Grocery. Owned by New Orleans-native chef John Currence, City Grocery embodies the best of Oxford: Fun, funky, imaginative, leaning toward upscale but never ostentatious and always honoring fresh, local and authentic. Every dish our group ordered, from the roasted garlic and lentil soup to the smoked crawfish salad to the day’s special of pork tenderloin with roasted okra — my new favorite vegetable — was delicious. Plus, the wait staff was the perfect blend of friendly and professional and put up with our somewhat rowdy table. (Hey, we were just excited to have a day off.)  My husband even spotted a celebrity on the way out and shook his hand — TV journalist and author Bob Schieffer was in town to give the Ole Miss commencement speech and of course he went to City Grocery for lunch. You have to, too. Check it out at http://www.citygroceryonline.com and put it on your must-go-soon list.

Food

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Strawberries

With a day-long break in the rain that's been attacking north Alabama for the past two weeks, it was dry enough to get some strawberries today. This bowlful smelled so fresh and sweet it was as if summer came to my kitchen.

Giving

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French pressMy younger daughter, a college senior, recently realized she had a bunch of money on her dining card — minimum meal-plan fees she’s had to pay the school although she never ate on campus. And since she’s going from full-time status to part-time status this summer and moving off campus, she had to use the money or lose it. Fast. Before, when she’s wanted to get the balance down, she would load up on fruit and non-perishables in the campus cafe and then try to distribute the bounty to friends, random strangers and anybody she came across who was hungry. However, the balance this time was rather more substantial and would take a ton of bananas and little boxes of cereal to erase. But in an unbelievable stroke of luck, a Starbucks recently opened in the main campus library. And — students could use their meal cards there! Jackpot!!! Can you imagine going in to a Starbucks with practically an unlimited budget? Of course, if it were me, I’d zero in on one of those huge and expensive espresso machines and buy out all those adorably cute mugs. And I could see where someone with an entrepreneurial bent would try to parlay the windfall into bigger profits. But my daughter had a better idea: She said she’s had so much fun buying drinks for everybody in line (“A round of lattes for everybody!”) and French presses and other goodies for the baristas who work there. “It made me wish I were really rich so I could go around buying stuff for people all the time and making them feel good,” she said. “The definite highlight of my week.” If she’s learning the value of giving rather than receiving, then I think her college education is going to pay off.

Decor

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Women's restroomsAm I the only person who judges a restaurant in part on Women's roomsits women’s restroom? I mean, cleanliness is a must, of course, but I want to see some creativity and imagination, too. It doesn’t have to be luxurious or upscale elegant, but a spa-like feeling of pampering is a definite plus, as is some feminine whimsy. I mean, I’m sort of a captive audience here, so use this space to wow me and get your message across — that’s the way I look at women’s rooms,Women's rooms anyway. For example, Urban Standard, a coffee shop in Birmingham, Alabama, is in a cool and stylishly renovated downtown building. However, the bathrooms obviously had to be put in new and so lack the exposed brick and tin ceilings of the main rooms. Solution? Distinguish the women’s room with eye-catching art work such as this bigger-than-life piece painted directly on the wall. Definitely ups the cool factor in what’s really just a generic space. Check out more about Urban Standard at http://www.urbanstandard.net. Another of my favorite Birmingham bathrooms is in Chez Lulu, http://continentalbakeryandchezlulu.com/, a fun and funky bistro that features homemade desserts and breads from its next-door sibling, Continental Bakery. Chez Lulu’s women’s room is tiny but full of textures and colors and vintage finds that make you think of browsing Saturday-morning flea markets with your best friends and then stopping by for lattes and croissants. (My favorite is the almond croissant, because almonds are good for you, right???) I love the beaded lampshade and the plump and cozy fainting couch here, which I usually use for setting my purse on and then walking out empty-handed. But that just gives me an excuse for a return visit.

Beer and Food

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Beer coolerOne thing my husband and I are good at is Beer on tapgoing out and drinking beer. Now, I’m not talking about frat-party beer from our college days, which I believe my husband knows more about than I do. What I mean instead is the education about and appreciation of good beer. I was beer-ignorant until I learned from my husband that good beer should be considered exactly like good wine, with richness of flavors and variety of styles just as any other fine food. And that works for me, because really after half a bottle or glass, I’m done — I like beer’s fresh first-half taste best. I can handle about two or three first halves in an evening, which my husband doesn’t mind because, as he says, that leaves more for him. We especially like discovering those wonderfully small handcrafted local beers that are best enjoyed with great company in cool and cozy brewpubs. Sadly, we mainly have to do our beer tasting when we travel since Alabama is one of only three states in the country that limits alcohol by volume for beer to 6% and the only state that limits beer containers to no more than 16 ounces. Alabama also enforces antiquated restrictions that effectively stifle local microbreweries and limits brewpubs. This means that in my state you can’t buy most of the specialty/gourmet beer available almost everywhere else. Georgia and North and South Carolina all went through the same thing and successfully changed their laws to allow the sale of specialty beers. Free the Hops, a non-profit group, is trying to do that in Alabama. Learn more at http://www.freethehops.org/.

And speaking of beer, one of my favorite places in Birmingham to grab a sandwich and bottle of beer is gone. Tria Market in Homewood was a small upscale grocery here you could get a sandwich from the deli or a meat-and-three (or four) from the hot-food counter, add a bottle from the beer cooler and sit down at tables in the middle of the store and enjoy a great people-watching meal. A few weeks ago it closed for “remodeling” and the Web site says it will reopen in May.  However, a Tria manager I held hostage and demanded an answer from talked to said it would reopen in three months or so as a Middle Eastern-style restaurant with a few basic groceries for sale along the lines of a European market. A former chef from Bottega (one of food-celebrity Frank Stitt’s restaurants) will head up the kitchen and the space will be designed by the same person who did Ocean, another of Birmingham’s premier and stylish eateries. Can’t wait!

Summer Recipes

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You know how this past summer the new recipe that everybody was talking about was Southern Living’s Tomato and Avocado and Grapefruit SaladWatermelon Salad? Well, that was the big news here in Alabama, anyway. It sounded so weird but tasted so good and after all, what can be better for you than fresh and just-picked juicy watermelons and tomatoes? Here at our house we made up a batch twice a week and practically lived on it all summer — it was that good.  So, in the spirit of honoring instant classics, I’ve found the latest New Recipe that’s going to be the hit of the season. Are you ready? It’s Avocado and Grapefruit Salad! I’m serious. This is so incredibly yummy and simple to put together that I can already predict it’s going to be another must-have summer hit, along with bright yellow purses, khaki Bermuda shorts and adding a fresh lime slice to your New Age wine over ice. I first tasted this salad when my friend Sherry Campbell, the director of the Shoals Culinary Complex, an incubator for small culinary businesses, in Florence, Alabama (http://www.shoalsec.com/), included it in a cooking class she taught recently. As soon as she said “avocados and grapefruit,” everybody sort of went “Huh?” But I promise you, you will love this salad and your friends will call you a culinary trendsetter and eagerly await invitations to your summer cookouts.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Peel and trim the pith from four Ruby Red grapefruits. Working over a bowl, cut segments free of the membranes and let segments drop into bowl. Squeeze all juice from the membranes into the bowl. Refrigerate up to two hours. Immediately before serving, cut two Hass avocados in half. Slice each half lengthwise into six thin slices. Drain grapefruit and reserve juice. Add avocado to grapefruit segments along with 2/3 cup pitted oil-cured olives and juice of one lime. Toss gently to mix, adding about 1/4 cup olive oil just to coat the avocados. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again. Optionally, add some of the reserved grapefruit juice.

Need the Tomato and Watermelon Salad recipe that had everybody talking this past summer? Go here http://www.southernliving.com/food/healthy-light/summers-best-00400000009954/

And P.S. — I’ve got my laptop back! I’ve got my laptop back! I think, anyway. Maybe a couple minor problems, but we’re all optimistic, right? Right?????

Gall Bladders

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Bowl of get-well goodiesMy son-in-law, Jason, had his gall bladder out this past weekend and so for the past several days I’ve been helping my daughter take care of her two helpless men: the patient and my almost-13-months grandson, Capt. Adorable. Well, actually my “helping” consists of playing with and going to the playground with and having fun with Capt. Adorable, while my daughter whips up smoothies for the patient and tries to encourage him that he’ll feel better soon and it will all be worth it. I was amazed that major organ removal could be done in a couple hours as outpatient surgery, but Jason did have a bit of a problem at the hospital and had to have a catheter, which has caused him worse pain and discomfort than the actual surgery. Today the catheter comes out, though, and hopefully the healing process can continue. One of my other jobs as helper was to answer the phone and the doorbell as concerned friends and family checked in. And I hit the jackpot one afternoon when a friend of theirs brought over a combination belated Easter basket and bowl of get-well-after-gall-bladder-surgery goodies. The gift-giver had had gall-bladder surgery a couple years ago and also knew that my daughter and son-in-law try to eat healthy and organic, so the goodie bowl was full of good-for-you treats and easy-on-the-tummy mixes, although hidden in the bottom were a few almond and dark-chocolate Snickers — my daughter’s favorite guilty junk-food pleasure. Because if you can’t indulge a bit when your husband has a catheter in and four incisions on his abdomen, when can you???

Easter Leftovers

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Easter decorPost-Easter Monday always is filled with getting rid of Easter dinner decorleftovers: Eggs, eggshells, assorted mangled chocolate bunnies and those little foil-wrapped solid chocolate eggs that nobody eats. But I hope this spectacular egg centerpiece carved from a watermelon gets to hang around at least another day or so. It was featured at the Easter Sunday buffet at the Coffee and chocolateManchester-Coffee County (Tennessee) Conference Center, where we gratefully enjoyed ham, prime rib, lamb and all the trimmings after a morning full of rich and inspiring church services. And presents! My brother and sister-in-law, who live on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are some of the best present-givers I know. They gave my mom an Easter basket full of beautiful ready-to-be-transplanted greenery, and I got  Blue Smoke coffee beans (http://bluesmokecoffee.com/) and some of the best toffee ever — less like peanut brittle but still fresh and crunchalicious — from local candymakers Scenic City Toffee (http://www.sceniccitytoffee.com/). And the travel French press coffee mugs from Starbucks? An Easter present from me to … me. I’d been eyeing them for days and finally gave in. I always do French press on lazy mornings when all I have to do is sit and sip — which means I do French-press coffee perhaps about twice a month. Maybe being able to indulge on the run will transfer some of that rare peaceful relaxation to my normal daily routine. All I know is that it’ll take lots of experimentation to find out — the things I do for scientific exploration!

Easter

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Easter dessertsEaster is one of those easy family holidays that Easter treatsgives you lots of bang for your buck — if Christmas is the stress-inducing standard then Easter falls somewhere above Valentine’s Day but below birthdays. Well, that’s my opinion today anyway, when I’m a few years past midnight hours of frantically finishing Easter dresses for my two daughters and managing the Easter-morning chaos of baskets and eggs before church. At least the food is still easy, with Easter bake sales everywhere. I found these goodies at the Empty Bowl luncheon this past week sponsored by the Salvation Army Auxiliary in Florence, Alabama. From works-of-art cakes worthy of Easter dinner to peanut-butter fudge for munching as you did more shopping, there was something for everybody. Hope everyone has a stress-free and photo-op-filled Easter weekend, with chocolate bunnies for all!