‘Ham Sandwich Rotating Header Image

Posts under ‘Dining’

First Bite: Kool Korner Sandwiches (Vestavia Hills)

Recently, I have wondered how one could possibly go wrong eating a hot pressed sandwich with melty cheese, roast pork, ham, pickles, and a few other choice toppings. I am sure it’s possible, just not at Kool Korner, located in the Publix shopping center in Vestavia Hills.
IIldefonso Ramirez, the shop’s Cuban-born owner, arrives each morning [...]

The Taco Truck

I’m not quite sure what it is about food from a truck that makes it so completely irresistible. This truck, the Taqueria Guzman, parks in a run-down Texaco parking lot on West Valley and turns out some of the best tacos in town.
Check out my article in this month’s Birmingham magazine (or, while I’m shamelessly [...]

Fall Favorite: Spooning Persimmons

I picked up these pretty persimmons at the Oak Street Market a few days ago. When they’re red and soft (probably overripe) I like to cut the top off and eat them with a spoon.  After a very brief wikipedia read, I learned that underripe persimmons could cause goo buildup in your stomach and result [...]

First Bite: Za Za Trattoria

I have been silent about Za Za Trattoria for too long. It was selfish, really, to have sat on such a fabulous new restaurant, but you’ve got to understand how I might want to keep those bready bits of pizza and fabulous BYO brunches to myself for a little while? Yes? No? Well, here [...]

Bar-b-Coma ‘09 – A Contest

Practically everyone I’ve met in Birmingham has a barbecue story, and I’d like to hear yours. Comment below or send a tweet to @skipinbhm with your favorite Alabama barbecue spot (and why) or your earliest ‘cue memory to win lunch with me at your favorite Birmingham barbecue restaurant. Fancy, huh? You’ve got until 11:59 July [...]

First Bite: Saw’s BBQ, Homewood

It was a stroke of luck that there weren’t any Saw’s BBQ ribs left in my fridge this morning because I certainly would have eaten them. Cold. What I am about to write cannot be overstated: Saw’s BBQ ribs are the best I have had in Birmingham.
Available at retail for some time, Mike Wilson’s [...]

UPDATE: Another Broken Egg Cafe to open in Mountain Brook Village

Dram Whiskey Bar and Avo (previous posts) won’t be the only new kids on the block in Mountain Brook Village for long. This morning I noticed a bit of plywood (as the guys at Eater would say) on a walk through Mountain Brook Village: King’s House Antiques’ former residence will be taken by Florida-based franchise [...]

A real backyard crawfish boil

Having grown up in the North, my only experience with crawfish was in fourth grade science, watching  helplessly as Jimmy Beihl’s crawfish dismantled and ate mine. Traumatic? Yes. Do I have a deep-seated score to settle with the little buggers? Perhaps. Revenge was sweet. And on that sun-drenched Sunday two weeks ago, I got [...]

More photos from Dram and Avo

It is becoming more clear all the time that I am a glutton for punishment (and good cocktails). Last night, a few of us went back to Dram and Avo and worked our way through more of their respective menus. By the end of the evening, i believe we tried all of the available Avo [...]

First Bite: Dram Whiskey Bar, Mountain Brook

After what seems to have been a quick construction, the restaurant Avo and the Dram Whiskey Bar are now open. I arrived late Friday evening (the bar closes at midnight) and whet my palate with a sip of their bacon-infused bourbon. Last night Kim and I stopped back to check it out. Dram has [...]