Tag Archives: food

A place to Mix it up downtown

Mix Restaurant sign. acnatta/FlickrFolks in Birmingham’s central business district will soon have a new place to visit for sandwiches, sweets and drinks before they spend the evening enjoying a show. It appears that Mix will be joining the mix in the very near future.

The ground floor space at the corner of 19th Street and 4th Avenue North has been vacant since August 2006 when Restaurant G decided to move into The Tutwiler Hotel and become Icon. This is the latest venture by Chris DuPont, owner of Café DuPont (located just a few blocks over on 20th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues North.

Well, folks that have driven by the space in One Federal Place in recent weeks have noticed new furniture and equipment recently moved in to the space. Today, while passing by, people would have seen a new sign (pictured above)  just days after new dark red awnings replaced the black ones that shaded its windows. The sign tells us all that we currently know about the new space – that it will serve sweets, sandwiches and drinks – though we’ve also heard that you shouldn’t be surprised to see some interesting stuff on the walls once it opens…

Photo: Mix Restaurant sign. acnatta/Flickr

Area restaurants to participate in Night Out for Gulf Seafood

Dine America Louisiana logoThis Wednesday, December 1, Bottega, Highlands Bar & Grill and Little Savannah will join 272+ restaurants participating in a “Night Out for Gulf Seafood.”

The culinary event was organized as “a chef/restaurant statement supporting the Gulf Coast fishing families and their Gulf Seafood catch,” one that organizers hope will result in increased demand from around the world. An Associated Press piece published in the Times Picayune back in October points out just how much of a hit the seafood industry is still taking as a result of the Gulf Coast oil spill in April.

A website and Facebook fan page directs supporters to an online auction that will include cookbooks donated by some of the participating restaurants as well as additional information about the event, its supporters and information to help restaurants take part. The coolest option for those of you visiting the site from outside the Southeastern United States is the map that allows you to see which restaurants are participating near you.

Image: Dine America Louisiana logo. Courtesy official website.

Franklin Biggs sells Homewood Gourmet

Franklin BiggsFranklin Biggs has sold the Homewood Gourmet to Chris and Laura Zapalowski. The popular chef announced the decision via Facebook and the front page of the Homewood Gourmet’s website on May 14, with The Birmingham News doing a story the next day.

Biggs has been undergoing treatment for throat cancer since January and as a result of treatment, he has lost his sense of taste. He is scheduled to complete radiation treatment on June 25.

According to Biggs’ note, fans of the Homewood Gourmet will be in good hands. Both Zapalowskis have experience in the kitchen; Laura once worked for Biggs while attending Samford University. The couple relocated to Birmingham after Hurricane Katrina and have both been working for Chris Hastings at Hot and Hot Fish Club (Chris as Chef de Cuisine and Laura doing editing and recipe testing on Hastings’ cookbook).

We’re just wondering about the next time he decides to make Baby Blue Salad in the back of a pickup truck.

Highlands, Hot and Hot outstanding to us regardless

Frank StittThe James Beard Foundation announced earlier this evening that Daniel in New York City has been awarded the 2010 James Beard Awards for Outstanding Restaurant.

Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham’s Five Points South neighborhood had been named a finalist for the prestigious award presented during the awards ceremony at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

It is the second time in three years that Frank Stitt‘s restaurant had been honored with a finalist nomination. The other time was in 2008.

Stitt himself was named Best Chef, Southeast by the Beard Foundation in 2001. Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club was nominated for the same honor in the Southern region this evening but also wasn’t victorious. He has also been nominated twice in the last three years (2008, 2010).

This year’s finalist selection had probably received even more attention than normal locally due to his ongoing objection to a project that would place a Chick Fil A restaurant – with a drive-through window – around the corner from the award-winning destination.

The Bright Star in Bessemer was honored as an American Classic (as reported by several media outlets earlier this year) during the ceremony.

Photo: Courtesy Southern Foodways Alliance.

Dunkin is running in Pelham

Pelham's running on DunkinThis morning the line went out the door while another line was going around the building.

The photo shows both of those lines as they looked at 6 a.m. this morning.

Yes, metro Birmingham’s first Dunkin’ Donuts in some time opened at 5 a.m. this morning to a crowd of transplants and other fans. The Boston, MA based donut chain had first announced plans to open as many as 72 locations back in 2007 with a final plan for 21 announced last March.

According to The Birmingham News, Pelham’s finest had to stop by to let them know that motorists were upset by the traffic backup along Highway 119. Don’t worry, it’ll be open until 10 p.m. today. You may even get a chance to run into someone you already know over there around lunchtime…

Photo: Pelham’s running on Dunkin. acnatta/Flickr.

I want a Tequilabot

We think that several people who’ve already seen Cantina‘s newest commercial (created by Vacant Manifesto) are probably thinking the same thing right now. We’re a little late to the party, especially considering that Heavy.com wrote their post about it on January 2, with it hitting BuzzFeed sometime last week as well.

For those of you that don’t frequent those sites (or the website that the commercial was created for – Birmingham’s newest online magazine, Pavo – we just couldn’t pass this opportunity up…