One of my new favorite restaurants is Ketchup, in Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Alabama. Ketchup’s cheerful red-and-white decor is an updated take on the classic American diner, and so is the menu, which features a fun selection of casual starters and burgers. The star, of course, is the French fry appetizer: Three flavors of fries and five of catsup, with nice mixtures of sweet and savory. Genius! I’ll take two, please. Ketchup is part of the Dolce Group of restaurants based in Los Angeles that boasts celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher as investors. And it’s certainly different than any other north Alabama restaurant — in a good way. It’s chic and stylish enough for a date night or business lunch and casual and low key enough for family or friends to gather. Grandson Nolan Thomas Behel, 7 months old, loves it! Ketchup is a huge space, and while the staff does recommend making reservations, I’ve never seen the restaurant full. My daughter has taken a large group there and says service is just as attentive as when it’s just two or three at a table.

Check out Bridge Street at http://www.bridgestreethuntsville.com and Ketchup at http://www.dolcegroup.com/