For 3,000 years, Mesoamericans have celebrated the period when, tradition says, the barrier between the living and dead lowers enough for loved ones on either side to briefly reunite. People create shrines to their dearly departed, adorning the altars with marigolds and candles, and setting out the deceased’s favorite foods and drink for the visit.

The grog and grub at Pirates Cove Marina and Restaurant in coastal Baldwin County are considered essential to anyone’s Alabama culinary checklist. Both the Cove cheeseburger and its Bushwacker frozen drink are on the Alabama Tourism Department’s list of “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama.” Not bad for a ramshackle restaurant where regulars are affectionally known as “riff-raff” and dogs are just as welcome as their human companions.

Blueroot, a new plant-centric restaurant in Birmingham, is a testament to perseverance over pandemic. Owner Jennifer Ryan planned to open the farm-to-table, fast-casual restaurant in the spring of 2020. Blueroot had already built a following as a pop-up at the Market at Pepper Place, a Saturday farmers market that draws up to 10,000 people.

It’s PSL season. If you’re a stranger to the acronym, that’s code for Pumpkin Spice Latte, the fall treat responsible for the pumpkin spice craze. Ever since Starbucks rolled out the seasonal latte in 2003, it seems everyone has gotten in on the act. For many folks, the first sign of fall is pumpkin spice. 

Frothy, refreshing and the perfect combination of tart and sweet –  it’s not your average lemon drop cocktail but, as the name implies, ‘The Best Lemon Drop You’ve Ever Had.”

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It’s easy to spot Grandview Farm’s stand at the Market at Pepper Place on Saturday mornings. Just look for the tie-dyed shirts, logs sprouting with shiitakes, and cartons of other harvested fungi for sale including pink, white, blue, and yellow oyster mushrooms. Charles and Shiyrah Crowther started growing mushrooms while living in southwest Tennessee. But after moving to Shelby County 10 years ago, they found an especially receptive market among Birmingham-area chefs and home cooks. 

Milo’s Restaurant has stayed true to its roots over the 75 years since Milo and Bea Carlton opened the original on 31st Street North at 12th Avenue in Birmingham’s Norwood neighborhood. Yes, a few new items have appeared on the menu and the franchise has expanded outside the Magic City. But the basic burger is pretty much the same as Milo started making after returning home from World War II—slathered in a savory sauce he perfected and served with an additional piece of meat dubbed “a little something extra.”

Sure, bagels have ruled for more than a century in New York City and Montreal. But it wasn’t until the 1970s, when Lender’s started selling them nationwide in groceries, that the circular bread and accompanying spreads became universal at tables across the country.

As lead bartender at Automatic Seafood and Oysters in Birmingham, Jose Medina Camacho studies people—their moods, their likes and dislikes, and what they’re eating. That helps him recommend the perfect wine, cocktail, or beer to accompany raw and grilled oysters, fish crudo, duck-fat poached swordfish, or simply cooked fresh catch. 

Bois d’Arc Farm in Perry County will celebrate food, family, and fun with a fall festival on October 9, part of a larger effort to expose more people to the organic farm that applies old-school principles to modern agriculture. Better known as BDA, the organically-raised vegetables, pastured meats, and free-range eggs the farm produces have built a loyal following among customers at Birmingham’s Pepper Place farmers market and the city’s most-lauded chefs including Frank Stitt (Bottega, Chez Fonfon, Highlands), Chris Hastings (Hot and Hot, OvenBird), Rob McDaniel (Helen), and Chris Newsome (Ollie Irene.)

Writing about food and beverages is very fulfilling, but this story really hit the sweet spot. I was invited to try the new fall flavors from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at its “scoop shop” in Birmingham.

The Greek Festival, Birmingham’s longest-running cultural affair, highlights a busy month of culinary events across Alabama in October. Cooking started during the summer for the spanaokopitas, baklava, and other Hellenic treats that will be served at the 48th Greek Food Festival, held Oct. 14-16 at the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Some 30,000 are expected to attend over the three days.

“Drink, drink, brother drink. Leave your worries at home!” One of Germany’s favorite beer-drinking songs sets the mood for Oktoberfest, the annual celebration of beer, food, and frivolity that started in Munich and has spread throughout the world.

Criss Smiley is the kind of guy who will do anything to make his community happy—including bringing raw steaks out to customers’ cars so they could still choose their speciality cut when the restaurant’s interior was closed during the 2020 lockdown. His corner shop in Pelham, Smiley Brothers Specialty Foods, offers butcher-cut meat, an extensive cheese and wine selection, and other gourmet foods like crackers, jellies, and sauces. But these aren’t your run-of-the-mill condiments. The team makes several of the items in house, including tomato jam, pickles, salad dressings (they sell their ranch by the bottle), fermented hot sauce, and pimento cheese made with peppers grown just for Smiley Brothers.

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Alabama’s prosperous Black Belt has taken note of the wise words and utilized the regions’ local treasures to produce some of the state’s most delicious flavors from sweet confections to savory sausages. Named for its rich, dark, nutrient-rich soil, the 23 counties wrap the state’s midsection like a belt, tying together Alabama’s Civil Rights history and a celebration of southern tradition.

This could be a story for the ages: Girl meets boy. Girl dates boy. Girl bakes very yummy cookies. Those cookies help ease the blow when she breaks off the relationship. Actually, it’s the real story behind The Breakup Cookie, the confection with a cult following that’s the signature sweet at Church Street Coffee and Books in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village.

It’s not often that Nick Saban meets you at the door to a restaurant, even if it is just a full-sized cardboard cutout inside the entrance to The Historic Waysider Restaurant in downtown Tuscaloosa. The multiple national championship-winning coach is just one of the Alabama Crimson Tide legends honored at one of Tuscaloosa’s oldest restaurants, which also doubles as a shrine to Alabama football.

The sweets are sprinkled with smiles for visitors to Unless U Scoops, from the person who greets you at the door to the ice cream shop, to the fellow who serves your order, and the woman at the cash register. The employees are students at Unless U Academy, a non-profit that provides long-term education and training for adults with special needs including autism, Down syndrome, and traumatic brain injury.