Patrick Campbell is deeply into cocktails. The bar head at Key Circle Commons in Mountain Brook stocks spirits from distillers that share his passions for sustainability and craft. He goes to great lengths to make syrups, infusions, and other mixers using fruit, herbs and produce from local farmers. He finds fulfillment taking classic cocktails and giving them his own unique twist.

The Thanksgiving guest list is long and your free hours are few. How do you feed a crowd, and not even break a sweat? Let someone else do the cooking—or at least supplement some options. Meat-and-threes, barbecue restaurants, veggie specialists, and caterers throughout Alabama offer special holiday-themed menus for Thanksgiving and beyond. Sometimes, they even bring it to you. Whether you need complete meals, or just some sides to supplement your main meat, here are a few places around the state to try. And don’t forget the pie.

It’s been a momentous six years since Big Beach Brewing Company in Gulf Shores opened its retractable doors to the public and pulled the first beer from its distinctive hand-blown glass tap handles. Envisioned as a small neighborhood pub, Big Beach instead blossomed into a mid-sized, family-friendly 12-tap microbrewery and music venue where head brewer Rod Murray cooks up 310-gallon batches, mostly ales, for a growing mix of tourists and locals.

At lucky tables around the state this Thanksgiving, someone is carving up a fresh pasture-raised gobbler grown on an Alabama farm like Heritage Hills Farmstead in Cullman County, Goose Pond Farm in Morgan County, or Bates, the beloved turkey house in Lowndes County.

Check out some of the finest food trucks from south Alabama and the Gulf Coast and wash it all down with the best brews from Bama and surrounding states, all this weekend at Gulf Shores. The inaugural Coastal Alabama Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival is set for Saturday, November 12, and Sunday, November 13, at the Town Green. More than a dozen food trucks are in the lineup, along with a baker’s dozen breweries. Admission is free, and the festival is open to the general public from noon until 6 p.m. Food and drinks from the trucks must be purchased.

{You can always count on beans} When the weather cools down, Alabama cooking is all about the bean. A staple harvested during the long hot summer becomes winter’s go to […]

Huntsville’s Yellowhammer Brewing, one of Alabama’s oldest operating beer-makers, is celebrating its 12th anniversary with three ultra-special releases, including one that’s been more than two years in the making. That batch gains complexity from spending 24 months in recycled wooden barrels previously filled with premium bourbon. Another is flavor-infused with fresh raspberries. The official annual anniversary brew marks time in a barrel once used to finish maple syrup.

Nestled between the sound of the flowing Tennessee River waterway and wide-open green spaces fit with wrap-around porches and momma’s home cookin’ is Downtown Decatur.

With any old house, you can expect a skeleton or two in the closet. Some even are haunted by resident spirits. But the 195-year-old mansion that houses Gaines Ridge Dinner Club in Camden, Alabama is one of the few haunted houses where you can order a shrimp cocktail and 16-ounce ribeye to go with the ghost stories.

{Cherchez la femme} Cherchez la femme is an expression I first heard repeated in a law school class. Coined by French novelist and gourmand, Alexander Dumas in his novel “The […]

{Let’s get the Soup Season Series stirring} We’re sharing three soup recipes with you this fall and winter, all inspired by iconic Alabama food and restaurants. The first stop on […]

Baked goods taste better when there’s a slight chill in the air; it’s practically a scientific fact. When the leaves begin to turn, and the days get shorter, spooky season descends. And with it, pumpkin spice season begins. While there’s no denying the absolute magic of a warm pumpkin spice latte or fresh-baked piece of pumpkin bread, pumpkin treats are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our favorite fall-flavored fancies. From decadent apple donuts to ooey gooey pecan rolls, these are our favorite treats to indulge in throughout October and November. 

{If you miss the heat, get into the kitchen} Cold is not our thing in Alabama. When the blazing August sun recedes and football season kicks off, we look toward […]

Open since February in Mountain Brook’s English Village, Key Circle Commons is the latest venture by Mauricio Papapietro, diversifying a portfolio that includes Brick and Tin restaurants in downtown Birmingham and nearby Mountain Brook Village.

  Traditions, they inspire connections between families, friends, and even strangers. The wonder of meals shared, crafts created, service given, and community started by the generations before us is not […]

Alabama native Hunter Wiggins is working to change that. The young entrepreneur opened Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa in the fall of 2019 and is expanding with a second location in Auburn this November. From there, he hopes to spread his concept across the South and eventually open a location in every SEC college town.

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Like the start of many new businesses and pursuits, Pop Ramen’s origins began during the pandemic. And after two years of speed bumps and hard work, the new food truck is finally ready to hit the streets of Birmingham with its creative take on ramen. Pop Ramen is the brainchild of chefs Addison Porter and Cory Bolton, longtime friends and industry veterans who met working at Birmingham seafood restaurant Ocean several years ago. During COVID, they made the move from Tuscaloosa back to Birmingham to take jobs at the former Fancy’s on the Fifth in Avondale, and that’s when the idea for Pop Ramen sprung about. 

Florence, Alabama doesn’t lack for exciting breakfast dining options year-round, but during ShoalsFest music festival happening October 1st and 2nd, it’s not unusual to find yourself sharing the morning meal across from rock stars. Hazy ShoalsFest mornings bring local love and Nashville star power together at welcoming breakfast tables dotted around the sleepy college town.

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.

Revitalization of historic Montgomery is well underway through the addition of fine-dining restaurants, nationally recognized museum and memorials, modern housing developments, and so much more. As the capital city, Montgomery is truly the heart of “the soul of the south.” Here are three reasons why people are making the move to Montgomery and why you should consider making Montgomery home too.