Birmingham, AL recs

In before "use the search function"...

Birmingham food scene is exploding* and I'd like to see a refreshed master list.

*Don't take my word: ask Zagat

Pretty good thread about BHM from back in Feb.

LINK

From the thread that was linked, this guy nails it:

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Drink at Collins on Friday and Saturday. My boy Angel is a cocktail beast and if you're lucky Steva will be behind the bar as well. Follow angel to drink at lous pub on Sunday, dive bar cocktails FTW. Octane in homewood also has a great cocktail program.

Carrigans is legit as well. The food is solid as well as the cocktail program. Late night go to Marty's.

Food, high end go to Hot and Hot or Bottega. You could also just eat at carrigans and booze with your food. El barrio is very good as well. Sunday brunch you HAVE TO go to trattoria centrale. Best in the city hands down. Get there early, the line can be a beast.

If you want a cool diveish bar I would go to Parkside over the Garage eleven times out of ten. They also have a fantastic team of chefs kicking arse out of a teardrop airstream, "the hot box". Always have good bands playing. My favorite bar in the city outside of church nights at Lous. Right down the street from Parkside is post office pies(best pizza in the city). Saws soul kitchen(overrated but good) is right next to it as is Avondale brewery( I like good people over Avondale but the atmosphere in Avondale is legit)

Between Avondale and five points you have trim tab brewery, a james beard nominated restaurant in pepper place (Bettola), and one of the best music venues in the south(Bottletree cafe, pretty good bar also).

Five points kinda sucks outside of Highlands and Chez Fonfon. Although, the plaza at 3 am is a good time but Marty's is right down the road and the better late night option IMO other than that steer clear of five points.

The only thing worth a shite downtown is Bottle & Bone near the BJCC. Todd English PUB is also in the same retail rev but isnt anything to write home about.

I promise you, my recs are the best you will get in this thread. Most of these retards will make you think Bham is a mediocre city.

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Bottletree cafe, pretty good bar also).

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Been closed for a while.

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Saws soul kitchen(overrated but good) is right next to it as is Avondale brewery

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If you want great BBQ, go to Saws in Homewood. Different menu and better food than the one in Avondale. But get there early or late, as it is small and fills up fast.

Black Market moved into the old Prime in 5 points and is a cool bar. Rogue tavern is cool on the weekends and has good bar food. $1 well drinks on either Wed or Thurs nights.

If you want to bar hop, go to Lakeview. There are at least a dozen bar/restaurants all within a few blocks.

IMO, Southside has your best options. Highlands Grill is very highly rated. Botega is popular as well. Fish Market has decent seafood, but nothing impressive.

Saws Soul Food has the best wings in the world, but they do not have ribs. Saw's Bbq has really good ribs, but not the wings. You might as well go to both.

Some other joints that I like are Slice, Melt, Carrigans, & Babalu.

Saws in Homewood for BBQ
Saws Soul Kitchen in Avondale for BBQ and/or soul food

Bottega for the best Italian in town (bring a dinner jacket)
Highlands for the best French/Southern in town (also bring a dinner jacket)
Hot & Hot Fish Club for food cooked by an Iron Chef winner

Chez LuLu is good for froufrou French food. My wife loves it, but I'm not that big of a fan. More of a lunch-cafe spot.

If you're in the business district, try El Barrio or Babalu's for good and innovative Mexican (not Tex Mex).

If Bottega and Highlands are too expensive, they have sister restaurants in Bottega Cafe and Chez Fon Fon. EXCELLENT food and even better atmosphere.

There's a Jack Brown's in Lakeview district. It has great burgers and a huge beer selection.

There's also Melt in Avondale, which is some kind of upscale grilled cheese thing. I haven't eaten there, but it has great reviews.

GianMarco's may not be as innovative as Bottega, but it's excellent Italian. They have a wine storage shed behind the restaurant that doesn't take reservations. It's really laid back with the same menu as the main restaurant.

Trattoria Centrale is a great pizza spot in the business district. Only open during the day during the week though. It has two or three pizza choices daily and a few entree choices. They are very simple but do it very well.

Finally, my favorite restaurant in the city is Mr. Chen's in Hoover. EXCELLENT Chinese, and it's not your typical American Chinese bullshite you get from the mall. You know it's a good Asian restaurant when there are mostly Asians dining every night.

If you've got the time and money, I truly believe you can make a run through Birmingham's food scene and be just about as happy as you would in any major city in the country. Only thing missing is some kind of molecular gastronomy and a few other ethnicities. But there's enough to fill your week up.