When you’re looking for a place to unwind at the end of a long week, it’s hard to beat relaxing with good food, great friends, and maybe a strong cocktail. Or two.
If you’re in the mood to venture out a bit, but still want to stick with a staple, a smokey spin on a classic cocktail sounds like the perfect choice.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” […]

Last year was about as tough as it gets for restaurants, but some new Mobile eateries still managed to open. Others that had launched just before the pandemic held on and even cultivated new fans. This collection of “new” Mobile restaurants stretches the timeline a bit, going back to the beginning of 2020. Think of it as research for fresh places to go now that dining rooms have largely reopened.

When you fish for red snapper off the Alabama coast, the work is hard but the rewards are delicious. With a limited window for catching them, eating just-caught snapper at home or in a restaurant is a culinary celebration. 

Around these parts, ice cream is a year-round endeavor. However, the cold, creamy treat is especially satisfying when the weather warms and the humidity starts creeping in. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic scoop or an outrageous milkshake, our state has plenty of places to chill out.  

In the kitchen at Luna Latin Cuisine in Birmingham’s Avondale district, a cook stirs a pot of Venezuelan-style black beans and checks on the beef for pabellon, which has been simmering for hours in garlic, olive oil, and the tomato-onion-bell pepper flavoring base called sofrito.

Birmingham is rightfully proud of its breweries and brewpubs, the suds they make, and how their taprooms are family- and dog-friendly community gathering centers. So at first pour, reading the […]

It’s no Napa, but Alabama does have several wineries and vineyards dotting the state, from the northern mountains to our southern coast.

When David Bancroft cooks, people make a fuss. Bancroft quickly gained regional and national acclaim after he and his wife Christin opened Acre in 2013, their haute yet approachable farm-to-table restaurant in Auburn.

Walter Hall Jr. laughs when I probe for details about how catfish and other fresh seafood is fried at Ezell’s Fish Camp, his family’s decades-old restaurant by the Tombigbee River in Choctaw County’s Lavaca community. “Welllll,” says Hall, the third generation to run Ezell’s. “When I got those recipes passed down to me, it was like an act of Congress to get them. I was sworn to secrecy.”

Legend has it that God came in a dream to Tuscaloosa brick mason John “Big Daddy” Bishop, telling him his destiny was to make barbecue for the masses. A hulking man who favored smoking a pipe, Big Daddy built a pit in his front yard on Jug Factory Road and started selling spareribs anointed in his special sauce to neighbors and others in the community.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” […]

Taco trucks may be the most popular of all the food trucks that ply workplaces, community events, breweries, and busy byways. They dish the ultimate street food—delicious, portable, versatile, and easy to eat. While celebrating Cinco de Mayo this week, visit one of these Alabama taco trucks to get your fix.

Ferus Artisan Ales is expanding from its relatively remote Trussville base camp to open a taproom in Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood that will serve its distinct ales, sour brews, and pilsners in one of the Magic City’s hottest entertainment districts.

Sage Juice Bar & Speakeasy in downtown Tuscaloosa is a lot of things to a lot of people. That’s because the offerings and the ambiance change from hour to hour – […]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” […]

After a long hard climb, Oak Mountain Brewing Co. finally will live up to its name. Clay Baldwin, the head brewer, will soon make the first batches of the Pelham […]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” […]

Plenty of people (myself included!) got pandemic pups in 2020, and now they’re attached to us just as much as we are to them. For those who like to take their dog everywhere (guilty), it isn’t always easy to find places that are dog-friendly. But luckily, some places and some cities are more furry-friend friendly, and Huntsville is one of those. Here’s how to spend a dog-friendly day in Huntsville (as shown by Louie G. the Frenchie).

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” […]

Bread and cheese have been paired since, well bread and cheese first met. But the grilled cheese sandwiches we enjoy today — two slices of buttered bread griddled or pan-fried […]