Eric Velasco, Author at Soul Grown

6 fun food festivals to attend this fall in North Alabama

2022-09-25T20:59:35-05:00By Eric Velasco|Culture, Festivals|

A fun array of festivals built around food and drink are on the menu this fall across northern Alabama. Bacchus, barbecue, and butterbeans are the themes at September and October fêtes in Huntsville, Attalla, Jasper, Madison, and Cullman. Hit ’em all and you’ll be as busy as bees—especially at the fourth Alabama Honeybee Festival outside Huntsville the first Saturday in October. Here are six events where food shares a plate with musical acts, arts and crafts vendors, and runners.

6 food festivals to attend in the Birmingham area this fall

2022-09-19T18:11:37-05:00By Eric Velasco|Culture, Festivals|

Birmingham’s demographics go way beyond Black and White, including the Lebanese, Greek, Italian and other European and Middle Eastern immigrants who settled during the city’s early years as a steel boom town, to more recent arrivals with Asian and Latin-American roots. This colorful tapestry is reflected in several food and beverage festivals scheduled this fall in the greater Birmingham area.

6 new and upcoming spots in Trussville to check out

2022-09-12T15:19:22-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink, Travel|

Trussville is one of Alabama’s newest hotspots for restaurants, breweries, and bars. The city of roughly 26,000 that straddles the Jefferson-St. Clair county lines is building on the momentum from the two-year-old Trussville Entertainment District, a green space with a stage for outdoor performances surrounded by food and drink establishments, including Ferus Brewing’s flagship brewery and taproom. The growth radiates from there, including expansions from established restaurant brands based in nearby Birmingham and Homewood, as well places opened by hometown entrepreneurs. Here are a few new spots, and some coming attractions.

Popular fast food joint Milo’s introduces new line of burgers

2022-09-09T13:36:52-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink|

Change comes gradually at Milo’s Hamburgers. For years after Milo Carlton opened his Birmingham restaurant in 1946, he slung only his unique burgers, slathered in house-made sauce and featuring a bonus bit of beef under the bun. It took a half-century or so for Milo’s to add chicken. Now its modest menu is coming full circle with a line of what Milo’s calls Thick-Style burgers, including two that premiere this month.

11 Oktoberfest events to attend in Alabama this fall

2022-09-09T11:58:01-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink, Travel|

Oktoberfest has been many things over the years since the tradition began in Munich in the early 1800s. It started as a two-week celebration of the October 12, 1810, marriage of the Bavarian crown prince and a princess from a nearby state. People had so much fun, especially at the post-wedding horse race, folks decided to do it again in 1811. Oktoberfest officially became an annual festival in 1819, and has missed few years since. In many ways, it’s a super-charged version of typical modern fall festival, with more than 7 million visitors enjoying carnival-style rides, attractions, and signature foods like bratwurst and pork shanks.

The best waterfront restaurants in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach

2022-08-21T14:41:31-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink, Travel|

If you don’t have children in school, this may be the perfect time to hit Alabama’s beaches. The weather is still warm, but not too hot. The water is still warm, but not too cold. And the size of the crowds at beachside amenities is just right.

Where to get the best wings in Alabama

2022-09-02T10:20:47-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink|

Football and chicken wings connect like quarterbacks and receivers. Whether you’re watching the game in a sports bar, joining friends at a tailgate, or rooting with family at home, chomping down on a few chicken wings earns a No. 1 ranking in many fan polls.

New culinary science center opens in Auburn with luxury hotel, restaurant, and food hall

2022-08-21T14:19:12-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink|

Auburn University’s hospitality management program takes a great leap forward this month with the opening of the Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, where undergraduate and graduate students will combine hands-on experience with traditional classroom training.

New bakery and wine bar opens in downtown Birmingham

2022-08-13T12:38:36-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink|

August marks a big month in the ongoing and tasty collaboration between Kristen Hall and Victor King, as they reopen their retail baked-goods shop, Bandit Pâtisserie, and premiere their wine-centric Bar La Fête in downtown Birmingham. The new Bandit—a pandemic-delayed relocation from the original in suburban Homewood—opened its door on August 9. King and Hall hope to start pouring and serving small-plate dishes at Bar La Fête by the end of August.

Where to find Alabama’s best biscuits

2022-08-06T15:32:06-05:00By Eric Velasco|Food & Drink|

What is it about Alabama biscuits? The best—airy and light—are a quintessentially Southern food that is equally at home in a diner or inside a temple to haute cooking. We’re talking all-American biscuits, the bready cousin to the unleavened, hard, flat and often sweet English-style biscuit that we’re more likely to call a cookie. Leavened with baking powder and salt instead of yeast, a Southern biscuit is at home on the side of a breakfast plate, patiently waiting to be slathered in syrup or used to sop yolk released by a sunny-side up egg. When sliced, biscuits are the perfect holder for breakfast, lunch, or dinner sandwiches.

Eric Velasco

About Eric Velasco

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