In today’s chapter, Marie writes about rain and about flat tires, but more importantly, she writes about this European bakery and deli just outside the Birmingham city limits, where they’ve been serving up a dessert so rich and decadent that the state of Alabama insists that you must eat it before you die. Continue reading »
Northeast Alabama is home to several decades-old fast food restaurants with soft serve ice cream that predate the national interstate fast food chains and retain the old name “dairy bars.” We found one that’s still hanging in there, and one that is evolving in a surprising way. Continue reading »
As the road west out of Scottsboro makes its way past shuttered factories and abandoned plants, travelers will find a very small shack-and-smoker where some of the very best smoked pork in all of Alabama is quietly being served up without attention from big-name barbecue writers. Continue reading »
Our final stop on our most recent road tour was this ramshackle old place in the middle of nowhere. I was not even sure it was still in business when we left, but the cherry milkshake made the detour worth it. Continue reading »
After finishing our quick visit to Huntsville, I had hoped to visit a couple more barbecue places in northeast Alabama, and so I used Google Maps to chart our way home. Then, unlike our “whatever happens” drive to Nashville the previous afternoon, I looked around Urbanspoon and hammered down two more places to try. This … Continue reading »
It’s well documented that Gibson claimed the origination of white barbecue sauce for smoked chicken. I’ve not heard a particularly strong challenge to that story. But would you believe that he also seems to want to be the fellow who came up with Brunswick stew? Continue reading »
At last, my trip had brought me to Montgomery, and it was time to start heading home. I had decided to go north via US-231, which connects Alabama’s capital with the towns of Oxford and Anniston at I-20, and from there it would be just an hour and a bit home. Now, it’s with this … Continue reading »
I heard a story once. Seems there were some pledges at an Alabama fraternity. Two were from Birmingham and two were from Montgomery. The two from Birmingham were waxing eloquent about Pete’s Hot Dogs. This legendary place, which closed last year after the very sad death of its owner Gus Koutroulakis, is part of the … Continue reading »
Frankly, this was so good that I’m amazed I am able to construct sentences about it. But I had an awful lot of road to cover. A lot of awful, awful road. I had hoped that detouring and taking US-31 would save me from much of the stultifying boredom of I-65… Continue reading »
So, the situation as I was leaving Tuscaloosa was this: the sun had gone down, I was completely full, albeit well under budget, I’d met some great people and enjoyed some terrific scenery, but I was on a time crunch, with another 130-plus miles to go before my destination motel, and three more restaurants to … Continue reading »
But you know what’s completely ridiculous? My second time in Tuscaloosa stopping to get something to eat, and Taco Casa still overwhelmed the competition! Continue reading »
Shortly after Marie and I started the blog, we took a trip to Tallulah Falls and found our way to a joint called Hawg Wild in Clarkesville. There, I found the first example of white barbecue sauce that I’ve ever seen, went gaga for it and we made tracks for Birmingham as soon as feasible … Continue reading »
Back before Christmas, Marie mentioned that she’d be taking the baby for a trip to visit her family in early February, just the two of them. I realized that we could each have road trips. Sadly, the interference of the real world meant that we did this on different weekends, but she got her trip … Continue reading »
