Kelsey Barnard Clark is a small-town girl at heart, but she’s also a big-city chef who has made a national name for herself. After winning Top Chef in 2019 and a subsequent splashy feature in Food & Wine magazine, people now come from all over the country to eat at her KBC restaurant in historic downtown Dothan. I recently … Continue reading Small Town, National Audience
From mission to menu, Taproot Café in Hoover intends to make a difference in its community. That’s because everything here – from the wholesome foods to the friendly staff to the bright, comfortable setting to the people supplying local, fresh ingredients – is part of a larger intention. I wrote a story on Taproot for http://www.alabamanewscenter.comAlabama NewsCenter. … Continue reading A Mindset and a Menu for a Healthy Community
Alabama has had plenty of connections to Olympics competition over the years but perhaps none as sweet as what Susan Notter does. This pastry chef, who has worked all over the world but lives here in Birmingham, is a coach for the U.S. Culinary Olympics Team, and she’s a gold medal-winner, too. Chef Susan Notter … Continue reading The Sweet Side of Olympic Competition
My trips to New Orleans always follow a few familiar patterns—habits we’ve formed over decades of visiting this beloved city. On the way there, we stop in East New Orleans for banh mi sandwiches at Dong Phuong Bakery, a James Beard Award-winning Vietnamese restaurant and bakery. This NOLA East institution has been around since 1982 and … Continue reading A quick but meaningful and memorable trip to The Big Easy
Let’s enter Black History Month with these important reads—we have a thoughtful short story, a work of nonfiction with a personal approach and two meaningful educational books for young readers. I shared these with Good Day Alabama on WBRC Fox 6. Recitatif by Toni Morrison This 1983 short story, the only one Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison … Continue reading Fox 6 Books: Black History Month
For more than half a century, Jefferson Country Store has offered grocery staples and a place to gather for the tiny community of Jefferson in Marengo County. Today, the store serves a much larger population – with people coming from miles away, and even other states, to enjoy a burger or some homemade pimento cheese or to … Continue reading Country Store 2.0
It's a new year, so I thought I'd start it right by cooking something new. Maybe get outside my comfort zone but with comfort food. I am not a baker; I'm a pretty good cook, though. And Melissa Clark's recipe in New York Times Cooking for a Dutch Baby with Bacon and Runny Camembert sounded … Continue reading Delicious Dutch Baby
This fresh, new year of great books, which I first shared on Good Day Alabama on WBRC Fox 6, begins with some gifts from my reading friends. Menus: A Book for your Meals and Memories written and illustrated by Jacques Pepin Remember dinner parties? I do, and I wish I’d had this book when we were … Continue reading Fox 6 Books and Friends Who Read
The Duchess, Birmingham’s most whimsical and charmingly over-the-top food truck, was a vehicle (literally) for bigger things. The perfect ambassador for lots of tasty British dishes, the popularity of The Duchess and Little London Kitchen led directly to the creation of a neighborhood pub—unlike any other in town—that aims to be a catalyst for meaningful … Continue reading British Pub Food Finds a Permanent Home in Birmingham
The tamarind-glazed duck tacos, alone, might be enough to make S•À Cantina a destination restaurant. But there’s more to love at this new eatery in the middle of Gadsden’s beautifully revitalized downtown. Enough to already draw diners from Huntsville, Birmingham and Atlanta, from North and South Carolina, too. Owner Aaron Disouryavong opened S•À Cantina on September 24, and … Continue reading Destination Dining in Downtown Gadsden
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