In early spring, when the weather grows warmer and the rain picks up across southern Louisiana, the farmed and wild crawfish that grow there reach a perfect balance of size and flavor. Whether you call them crayfish, crawdads, crawdaddies, ecrevisse, mudbugs, or crawfish, these small lobster-looking freshwater crustaceans reach their peak around then in Louisiana, which produces up to 95 percent of the nation’s harvest. Crawfish season in bayou country generally runs from November into early summer, but spring time is prime time. By Easter, farmed and wild crawfish are abundant through the Southeast region, including restaurants and markets across Alabama. But while crawfish is a popular protein for those observing Lent, most Alabamians really don’t need much of an excuse to fill a plate, pop out some tail meat to eat, and then repeat. No surprise, then, that April is the month for crawfish-themed festivals across Alabama. Whether or not you opt to suck the crawfish heads is your choice.

It’s prime time for farmers markets to open across Alabama. A few may start earlier in the year, generally when the first strawberries grown nearby are ripe enough to pick. But April is the most popular month for market seasons to begin. At the beginning, you’ll see more arts and crafts, cut flowers, and prepared goods than fresh food. But in April farmers in Alabama are harvesting cauliflower, cabbages, lettuces, onions, spinach, and early squash. Hens are laying fresh eggs. And vendors that sell frozen meat or seafood are fully stocked. Alabama is blessed with so many places where people can connect with the people who produce their food—eating produce at its peak nutrition and flavor while also supporting family farms and local economies. Here are some of the Alabama markets opening in April, where locals can reap what nearby farmers sow.

Barbecue is so integral to the diet of average Alabamians it might as well be considered its own food group. Several festivals scheduled through May pay tribute to our favorite smoked meats, cooked low and slow. Some of the events double as competitions—for bragging rights as well as cash. Others serve their ’cue with a side of tunes (blues music seems to pair particularly well). All support worthy causes. Here are 6 barbecue festivals that will get you fired up for spring.

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and when it comes to breakfast, that certainly seems to be the case. Morning meals in the Lone Star State are all about supersized cinnamon rolls, hearty Southern classics like biscuits and gravy, and above all, the breakfast taco. The concept is simple, but delicious—and thanks to Ladybird Taco, it has finally made its way east to the Birmingham. 

Art and cocktails intertwine at The House of Found Objects, the latest creation from the bard of Birmingham bars, Feizal Valli (The Collins Bar, The Atomic Lounge). And the customers themselves are part of the performance. As you’re led through the bar to be seated, you might pass by the “Elvis Table,” where patrons have donned white “Vegas Elvis” jumpsuits. Artwork over the booth pays tribute to The King. That group sits next to a table of drinkers wearing Sesame Street costumes. Their friend, dressed as Cookie Monster, is working the room handing out coooo-keees.

Though it might have begun as Dry January, the trend of nonalcoholic cocktails has been getting more buzz (pun intended) throughout the last couple of years. Whether you’re looking to cut back on your regular alcohol intake, want to start a new habit, or just aren’t in the mood to drink, a mocktail can be a delicious alternative during a dinner out or night on the town. In recent years, craft cocktails bars across the state have caught onto the spirit-free movement and now offer several options—and sometimes entire menus—of nonalcoholic cocktails. So if you want to imbibe guilt-free and without the threat of feeling less than stellar the next day, here are six places to get a great mocktail in Alabama. 

When it comes to farm-to-table dining, there’s no better place to experience it than Hope Farm in Fairhope. At Hope Farm, much of the food served on your dinner plate was grown right outside the doors of the restaurant. And now, with Hope’s newest endeavor, The Barn, a breakfast and lunch bistro and event space, there’s even more farm-fresh flavor to be enjoyed. 

Fans of the hit show “Ted Lasso” have a new way to enjoy the hit streaming program when its third season begins on March 15. Jeni’s Ice Cream has rolled out a limited-edition flavor called Biscuits with the Boss, which pays tribute to a running theme in the show in which the main character delivers a daily tin of “biscuits” (we call them shortbread cookies) to share with his boss.

It’s no secret: Birmingham takes food very seriously. Fancy or simple, it must be great to pass muster in the Magic City. Several food festivals this spring reflect the metro area’s longstanding cultural and religious diversity. Two events in April are held by a local Maronite Catholic congregation that dates back more than a century, and the Levite Jewish Community center (Birmingham’s earliest synagogues date to 1889, 1903, and 1907). The Birmingham Taco Fest honors what is arguably one of Birmingham’s favorite casual foods. Mexican-style taquerias, Tex-Mex restaurants, and even suburban adaptations have proliferated with the growth of the Mexican-American population across Alabama in recent decades. Sample the best of Birmingham’s restaurants, or chow down on chili for a cause. Work your way down this list in March, April, and May and gain a greater appreciation for the melting pot that feeds metro Birmingham.

When spring is sprung, getting outside and enjoying a beer or some wine tops many weekend checklists. So, it’s no surprise a few wine and beer festivals are on tap across Alabama this spring. The season foams up with two ultimate signs of spring, beer and the blooming plants and trees at Bellengrath Gardens in the Theodore community in Mobile County. Here are the ABCs on Alabama’s spring wine and beer festivals, including events in Albertville, Birmingham, and Calera.

From collard greens to poke salat, several spring festivals in Alabama are showcases for an iconic food, often one that’s emblematic of its home. Sausages introduced by immigrants who founded Elberta in the early 1900s are celebrated there with the German Sausage Festival in late March. A 140-year-old mill in Childersburg builds its late-April fun around the corn grits it produces.  From chocolate in Mobile to chicken wings in Vestavia Hills, food has a prominent place in festivals across the state in March, April, and May. 

Ricky Albright is cooking up a career on Instagram, one grill at a time. He has amassed more than 65,000 followers, regularly sharing mouthwatering reels with recipes for dishes he cooks on a variety of grills. Albright also recently started a Facebook page and You Tube channel, all as Iron Fire Cooking.

Food lovers around the country know Alabama for its diverse types of barbecue, great Gulf seafood, and sweet Chilton County peaches. Now it’s time to add breakfast to that menu. In February, the Southern-focused national magazine, Garden and Gun, named Fife’s Restaurant in Birmingham to its list of “7 of the South’s Tastiest Breakfast Joints.”  “The homey restaurant shifts to cafeteria service for lunch, but scrambles eggs and flips pancakes to order,” Hanna Raskin writes about the 64-year-old institution. “Devotees are divided on sides: Some favor thick-skinned smoked sausage, while others are partial to sweet country ham.” But Fife’s is far from the only Alabama breakfast joint gaining attention from regional and national media.

With Black History Month drawing to a close, two Alabama bars are partnering to celebrate the contributions Black bartenders have made to the art of mixology throughout history. On Sunday, February 26 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., one of Birmingham’s newest cocktail bars, Continental Drift, will host a pop-up event in collaboration with Session Cocktails of Tuscaloosa. The event will feature a menu of five limited-edition cocktails, three inspired by Black mixologists from the past and another two created by mixologists Eric Bennett of Continental Drift and Qadeem Hassan of Session Cocktails. 

Head down University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa and you’ll find all the familiar Southern college town staples. There’s a brewpub, a barbecue joint, and a campus apparel shop selling just about any article of clothing you could want emblazoned with the University of Alabama’s elephant mascot. But as of August 2022, T-town’s also sporting a bit of West Coast flair. Yazmyn Rozier’s Veganish Market is a breath of fresh air for a stretch of downtown populated with dark bars and greasy late-night food joints. Let the window-hung pastel streamers and cheetah print table umbrellas beckon you inside a light and bright space that’s outfitted with palm print wallpaper, surfboard motifs, and rattan furniture. 

New Orleans may be considered the Mardi Gras capital of the world, but did you know that the first Mardi Gras celebration actually happened right here in Alabama? In 1703, French pioneers at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the first settlement of Mobile, threw the first official Carnival celebration. The Azalea City has been rocking and rolling with weeklong Mardi Gras celebrations ever since. If you can’t make it down for the parades and parties this year, don’t fret. Local businesses and restaurants all over the state let the good times roll all month long. Here are seven places in Alabama to visit when you’re ready for a little Cajun revelry. 

There’s something soul-satisfying about gumbo at this time of the year. Maybe it’s the nourishing warmth a steaming bowl provides in winter’s chill. Or an appreciation for the effort required to make great gumbo from scratch. Being Mardi Gras season doesn’t hurt. It’s all of those—and more. 

Valentine’s Day is one of my least-favorite evenings to dine out. Restaurants everywhere are overwhelmed. Often, we get stuck with like-it-or-lump-it fixed menus that lack courses for vegetarians—like my wife. Instead, we prefer to stay home. For Valentine’s, we’ve become quite fond of fondue.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start planning something special for the lucky guy or gal in your life. This year, skip the tired old dinner reservation and surprise your sweetie with a completely unique date idea. Here are 10 great Alabama date ideas guaranteed to sweep your partner off their feet. 

Coffee lovers know the best cup is made with recently roasted beans—the fresher the better. Buying from a local roastery, especially one in the neighborhood, guarantees that freshness.  Although Birmingham’s regional giants Royal Cup and Red Diamond are more than a century old, today’s modern coffee culture traces to 1993 when O’Henry’s Coffee opened in Homewood selling beans that were roasted in-house. Today, dozens of small-batch producers can be found throughout the metro area. Their coffee beans are available in groceries and upscale markets, served in restaurants, sold online, and stocked in the roasteries’ own cafes.

It’s an unusually cold night in downtown Birmingham, but the chilly temperatures haven’t deterred the small groups of people trickling into Hi-Wire Brewing. The city’s newest brewery has only been open for a couple months, but it’s already built a reputation for itself thanks to its excellent craft beer selection, expansive space, and fun selection of games. Tonight happens to be a biweekly puzzle night, and the turnout is impressive. Small groups huddle around 500-piece jigsaw puzzles. Dogs laze around on the floor, and folks mill up to the bar to grab a pint every couple of minutes.