Strike up the band and march on down to The Camp in Huntsville for the fourth Mardi Gras in MidCity, a three-week New Orleans-style party that runs through Fat Tuesday on February 21. Organized by Octo Hospitality and Huntsville developer RCP Companies, the pop-up draws inspiration from the Big Easy as it lets the good times roll in the Rocket City.
“It’s like a college class,” the website for the group Discourse BHAM says about its new and unusual lecture series. “But there’s drinking.” Run by three Birmingham residents—two college professors and a publishing agency executive—the goal is to provide a forum where, as co-founder Lawrence Cappello puts it, “smart people talk about smart things.” Only in this case the forum is in a decidedly non-academic setting: a bar.
Anthony Ricciardone charted his current entrepreneurial course as a gardener. Today, he’s a farmer. Oysters are his crop, boutique bivalves that he and partner Chris Head grow in water off Fort Morgan where the salty Gulf of Mexico meets more subtly brackish Bon Secour Bay.
As the Chinese New Year arrives on January 22, families are gathered to enjoy a homecoming, honor their ancestors, and— above all—eat. It’s the new year on the lunar calendar, which uses moon phases to segment the year. In China and other countries that traditionally follow it, the new year starts on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice‚between January 21 and February 20 on solar-based Western calendars.
You won’t need to ride a “White Limozeen” all the way to Nashville to celebrate Dolly Parton’s birthday this month. One is cruising to downtown Birmingham on January 19 to mark the big day with a pop-up at Adios Bar.
Auburn University’s new Rane Center is cooking up an exclusive, food-focused getaway called the Epicurean Experience, bringing in guest chefs and sommeliers, and capping the weekend with a special nine-course dinner at the center’s 1856 Restaurant.
Chefs across central Alabama will make sure no one is hungry when 2022 ends, with special New Year’s Eve menus at some of the region’s finest restaurants. There will be multi-course menus in Montgomery, at Lake Martin, and in Auburn. Nibble on mini lobster rolls and enjoy oysters on the half-shell at a jazz lounge. In Tuscaloosa, an evening of food drink and music culminates in a midnight toast. Here are some places to celebrate the great meals of 2022, and set the stage for more to come in 2023.
It’s not hard to find a good meal along Alabama’s coast. So, it should be no surprise that chefs in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores have extra-special plans for New Year’s Eve. Fish from the Gulf of Mexico covered in Gulf crab at Villagio Grille and Coast Restaurant. Lobster and dick prosciutto gnocchi at Cobalt the Restaurant. The eating is good for New Year’s Eve. Evergreen celebrates Alabama’s most famous sausage with its second Conecuh brand New Year’s Eve Sausage Drop, while Tacky Jack’s restaurant and tavern will toast the occasion with a beachy favorite, the Bushwacker. Here are some options to ring in the new year at the beach with a full and satisfied belly.
Yes, fireworks and countdowns are the stars of New Year’s Eve, but the party doesn’t have to begin there. A final great meal for 2022 sets the course for great food to come in 2023. At many Birmingham restaurants, New Year’s Eve isn’t just one more Saturday night. Chefs in one of the country’s best culinary mid-tier cities are creating special menus to celebrate with their food-loving fans. For some diners, it’s an opportunity to ring in the new year early and get home before things get too crazy. Or it can be the starter course for a long and memorable New Year’s Eve. Here are a few Birmingham restaurants hosting special New Year’s Eve events. This list is far from exhaustive, so check in with your favorite spot to see what they might have.
Restaurants across north Alabama will party all night on New Year’s Eve, with special menus and midnight toasts. Sip champagne and watch the fireworks from a tower high above Florence at the 360 Grille. Enjoy music with your meal in Mentone at the Wildflower Café. In Huntsville, celebrate birthdays for both 2023 and The Poppy and Parliament. Or if you’re staying at Lake Guntersville State Park for its big New Year’s Celebration, round out your experience by indulging in the multi-course special menu at the nearby Rock House Eatery. Here are five fun New Year's Eve food events to attend:
