http://www.slicebirmingham.com/

There are so many homegrown culinary gems in this city that it’s too many to count. Some of my favorites include Chez Fon Fon, Olexa’s, Billy’s Bar & Grill, Dales, Ted’s Restaurant, Cantina, 26, Michael’s Steak House, Tortuga’s Pizza, Jim N’ Nicks BBQ, Full Moon BBQ, Dreamcakes, and so many more. Each of these eateries capture a unique flavor of Birmingham that can’t be offered in any other city because it’s about more than just ingredients, it’s also about the heart, soul, and creativity put into the food.

This great city is home to many unrecognized chefs who create our favorite dishes,  it’s also home to world-renowned chefs, including Frank Stitt the owner of Bottega’s, Chez Fon Fon, and Highlands Bar & Grill. During my time here, I’ve eaten at two of his restaurants and I see why he has received so much attention.

Birmingham has been a “foodie haven” for me, and I’m sure that many others feel the same way. So that’s why it’s important for you to just click on “The South’s Tastiest Town Award” and cast your vote, so that Birmingham can get the recognition that it deserves. You will be able to vote as many times as you would like, until January 31, 2012. I’ve already cast my vote, now it’s your turn!

 “New Year’s Eve is the perfect opportunity for Guests to try out our specialty steaks and gourmet food,” says Brett MacDonald, owner of MetroPrime, “The quality of food at this price point, provides an exceptional value.”

All meats are cut and butchered in house by an artisan butcher, and all food items include fresh, local ingredients carefully prepared by Executive Chef Warren Weiss.

Friday

• ZuRoma (North Richland Hills)

This restaurant was located in an ice skating rink, but it wasn’t anything cheap. We didn’t really like our appetizer, the “Toasted Ravioli”, but we did enjoy our pizza. We ordered two pizzas, the “Supreme” and the “Hite’s Cabin Special”. My favorite was the “Supreme”.

http://www.zuroma.net/

Saturday

• Everything German (Bedford)

This was a quaint German restaurant that played live German music. My friend, Jaxson who is part German, says that it is true authentic German food and I must admit that it was one of the few times that I have actually enjoyed German food. We ordered a German sampler plate that consisted of sausages, pork chop, sauerkraut, cabbage, German noodles, and a few other items. The food and experience were both so awesome!

Sunday

• Mercado Juarez

Since I was in Texas, I figured that I had to get some “real” Mexican food. Upon our arrival, the waitress brought nachos and salsa to the table and it was my first time ever having warm salsa with nachos. I must admit that it was good. She also brought out soft flour tortillas with butter and we were supposed to eat that with the nachos; I’ve never had that at any Mexican restaurant in Birmingham. For my entree I ordered a “Steak Fajita” and honestly, it wasn’t all that.

http://www.mercadojuarez.com/

• Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

This is a popular seafood restaurant chain that I’ve always wanted to visit. I was told that it’s normally crowded, but the night we went there was no wait. We ordered the “Pappadeaux Platter” that consisted of  fried catfish, fried shrimp, fried crawfish, stuffed crab, and fried crab cakes. This was a lot of fresh seafood that had the usual fried food taste, but it was still good.

http://www.pappadeaux.com/home/

I also made reservations for dinner, and for my entree I ordered the Prime Ribeye Steak with brussel sprouts & butternut squash and skinny fries tossed in a hot sauce.

The two highlights for me were the Vino Apple Fritters and the skinny fries tossed in a hot sauce; the fries only had a hint of spice, not too much. I highly recommend this restaurant because you get tasty quality food and reasonable prices, considering the facade & location.

http://vinobirmingham.com/

The Birmingham Originals, an eclectic group of locally-owned restaurants in the Greater Birmingham area, is pleased to announce the 8th Annual Break ‘n Bread Food & Wine event taking place on Sunday October 9, 2011 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. The event previously held at the trendy open-air Pepper Place Market, has been moved to downtown’s Railroad Park, a new and bigger location to accommodate the festivals growth.

As Alabama’s premier food and wine event, Break ‘n Bread will feature signature dish tastings from nearly 40 Birmingham Originals restaurants, including Ocean, Ted’s Restaurant, and Satterfield’s. To round out the event, The J.Clyde’s Jerry Hartley has carefully paired a wide selection of wine and beer tastings, from Birmingham’s own Good People Brewery. Festival guests will also be treated to entertainment from American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, hometown hero and co-owner of Birmingham’s Ore Bar & Grill, as well as tunes from Memphis-based singer/songwriter Eliot Morris.

For the first time, the Birmingham Originals is expanding outside of Alabama, inviting four stellar Nashville-based chefs to helm the festival’s VIP tent. Chef/owner Pat Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que, Chef Will Ulhorn of Table 3, Chef Ashley Quick of Flyte, and Pastry Chef Rebekah Turshen of City House will hold cooking demonstrations and offer tastings to VIP ticket holders, in addition to hosting the post-event Music City Chefs in the Magic City Gala Dinner at Ocean on Monday, October 10, 2011.

Families can also enjoy a children’s area featuring face painting with clowns from the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, petting corner and entertainment from the Birmingham Zoo, healthy kids cooking demonstrations, Desert Island Supply Company writing workshop and a pumpkin decorating station. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

Tickets for Break ‘n Bread food and wine event and additional information are available at www.birminghamoriginals.org and on the Birmingham Originals Facebook page. Prices are $35 for regular, $75 for VIP and children under 12 years old get in free.

Pinkberry is a one-of-a-kind frozen yogurt experience.  The addition of Pinkberry will introduce Birmingham to the refreshing flavors and sophisticated style for which the international brand is known.  Russell Pate and Porter and Courtney Mason, Birmingham natives and local business owners, are the Pinkberry area developers for Alabama.

The new Birmingham location will serve six distinctive Pinkberry flavors: the signature Original flavor, a sweet and tangy yogurt with a refreshing finish; a rich, indulgent Chocolate; Mango, a fruity and light flavor made with authentic Alphonso mango puree; Pomegranate, a bold and tangy flavor made with 100% California-grown pure pomegranate juice; Pumpkin, a fall favorite with pumpkin and spice undertones; and a featured flavor that rotates seasonally.

Customers can personalize every yogurt experience with any combination of delicious toppings. At Pinkberry, uncompromising quality is paramount and the toppings bar is no exception.  Each topping is selected with the highest quality standards, such as Grade-A fresh fruit that is hand-cut daily in-store, organic gummy bears with no high fructose corn-syrup, all natural honey almond granola, 100% pure pomegranate juice, or rich, premium Belgian chocolate shavings.  Every item is thoughtfully selected as a unique and delicious complement to the various Pinkberry frozen yogurt flavors.

In addition to frozen yogurt and toppings for immediate consumption, Pinkberry also offers Pinkberry Take Home, 25 ounces of Pinkberry, swirled-to-order and packed on ice to ensure your Swirly Goodness will get home safely to your freezer.  Pinkberry also offers Fruit Parfaits, Smoothies, and Fresh Fruit Bowls as fresh, satisfying choices for any time of day.

Furthermore, I know that Pinkberry is an international chain, but I still wanted to write about it since it is making its debut in Alabama!

After ordering drinks, we ordered and ate our appetizers. One person got the Fried Sauerkraut Balls, unusual but good! Several people ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes, a staple this restaurant is known for. The green tomatoes were delicious but I feel that the batter needed just a tad more salt. Someone else got the Italian Style Stuffed Mushrooms, they enjoyed those and I did too. Also at this time other people started to get the house salad that came with their entree.

                                                                                                          Fried Sauerkraut Balls

                                                                                                         Fried Green Tomatoes

                                                                                                   Italian Style Stuffed Mushrooms

While waiting on our entrees, the waiter brought our drink refills, and while he was delivering the drinks he accidentally dropped the tray; drinks and glass went everywhere including on three of my friends. Just a little bit of liquid got on my pants. In all, no one was hurt, but they just got wet and had a little bit of chipped glass in their laps. Furthermore, I understand it was an accident and the waiter did apologize, but the manager didn’t seem to really take interest in the situation until we brought it to his attention. If we hadn’t told him about the spill, nothing would’ve happened in regards to a discount. In the end he did give the affected people a discount, but I feel that we had to almost beg for it.

Eventually, the entrees started to come out; I had the Chicken Cakes which were similar to crab cakes. I enjoyed the spicy seasoning in these delicious cakes and also the remoulade sauce. On the plate there were two medium sized chicken cakes along with a salad mixture.

Two people ordered the Fish & Chips, one person liked this dish and the other didn’t. The main complaint was that the fish batter was too bland and the fish was served greasy, cold and hard. But the other person enjoyed this particular dish. So you be the judge!

One girl had the Parchment Baked Tilapia and she said that it was yummy! The Bavarian Sausage was a hit along with the Asiago Pasta/Chicken.

                                                                              Parchment Baked Tilapia

                                                                              Bavarian Sausage

                                                                                 Asiago Pasta

Everyone had a mixed opinion about The J. Clyde but we all agreed that it is a fun place to order drinks and enjoy Fried Green Tomatoes, but it’s not a place to expect a quiet dinner and order a tasty gourmet meal. And I also think the prices for certain entrees are too expensive for it to be the kind of restaurant/bar that it is. You should also know that I liked what I ordered and would definitely order it again, however I was simply irked since we had to almost initiate an apology from the manager; due to the spill.

So now you know what this means, you gotta tell me what you think about The J. Clyde. I can’t wait to hear it!

In my opinion the pizza portion was very good, not too greasy and it had a tasty sauce, however, the crust was bland and needed more flavor; perhaps some butter or a special Italian seasoning on it. The chicken wings were a decent size and they came with a large cup of ranch dressing for dipping. We really enjoyed those wings because they had a delicious seasoning on them. There were about ten wings, and before we knew it they were all gone!

In all, the food was tasty. So if you are ever in the Warrior/Morris/Gardendale area give Buck’s Pizza a try! The food is fairly priced and the menu consists of pizzas, hoagies, strombolis, salads, chicken wings, and a few side items.

I ordered “The Standard” which was supposed to include three buttermilk pancakes, two eggs cooked to order, and a choice of meat. However, I modified it to include one pancake, one scrambled egg, and three pieces of bacon. I’m so glad that I reduced the size because I couldn’t even eat all of what I had. The pancake was fluffy and a little salty; the sweet flavor of the maple syrup kinda covered up the salty taste, it was good. The egg was kinda bland but ok, and the bacon was extra delicious, not greasy. To drink I had a small glass of apple juice. And in total my bill was $8.88, not bad huh!

My friend had “The One Egg Breakfast” which comes with one egg cooked to order, choice of meat, grits or hash browns, toast or biscuit. So she got hash browns, stone ground organic blue cheese grits (the mozzarella cheese was at the bottom of the bowl and sprinkled on top, not stirred in), a biscuit, and a scrambled egg. They forgot to bring the scrambled egg out, so it came a few minutes after the entree. As we ate, she told me that she would have preferred the cheese to be mixed in and melted with the grits. Her drink was a glass of milk and her bill was about $8.00 as well.

Basically the food was quick, delicious, filling, and cheap. However, please keep in mind that some days you might have to wait for a table, but most of the time there is no wait. We definitely enjoyed our visit, to Over Easy, and will return very soon!