Category: food
Ricatoni’s Italian Grill is About More Than Just the Food
Every college town has a go-to pizza place. Some might have two or even three. But only one town has Ricatoni’s Italian Grill. This Italian restaurant in historic downtown Florence has been around for decades serving tasty, homemade food; supporting its community; and employing lots of local students, but the passion of owner Rick Elliott [...]
Delicious Cross-Cultural Exploration at El ZunZún
The greatest inspiration for El ZunZún came from the tiniest of things: the hummingbird. The cultures and foods along the hummingbird’s migratory route are evident everywhere you look—and in everything you taste—at El ZunZún in Cahaba Heights (which will open Monday, August 27). Restaurant owner and pastry chef Becky Satterfield and executive chef Angela Schmidt, [...]
Summer Edit Part 2: More Food and Drink and Life
St. George Island never disappoints. Even on a cloudy day, and those have been few, it's my favorite place to be. Life is here simple: hours and hours of reading books on the beach under a huge umbrella. We listen to Oyster Radio (100.5 WOYS) and don't turn on the television. I've had oyster dates with [...]
Odette is Destination Dining in Florence
For nearly five years, Odette owner Celeste Pillow and executive chef Josh Quick and their team have helped downtown Florence, Alabama flourish--one delicious dish at a time. The casual, upscale restaurant is one of a growing number of locally owned, small businesses drawing people back to this exciting town’s downtown. Read more about Odette here [...]
44 Hours (approximately) in Asheville, NC
I love sharing Birmingham with friends. I love just as much when friends share their own special places with me--opening my eyes to something I don't see every day. My husband, Rick, and I recently spent about 44 hours in Asheville, North Carolina, with our friends April and Sid and Bob and Tondee. April was [...]
Come to the Table
When women help other women succeed, good things happen. Tasty things do, too. This year, $10,000 in scholarships and awards from a group of women leaders in our food community will help four college students pursue their food-science studies, three high schools better serve their culinary-arts students, Jones Valley Teaching Farm connect with more kids, [...]
Local Flavor at brick & tin
I sat down with brick & tin chef-owner Mauricio Papapietro to talk about his food philosophy, his background in the kitchens of Chris Hastings and Frank Stitt, his relationships with local and regional farmers and the power of the heirloom tomato. You can read the entire store here on Alabama NewsCenter. One thing you should know [...]
Edible Art: Geode and Agate Cookies
Sugar cookies + artists = some delicious awesomeness. On a recent rainy afternoon, my daughters and I made geode and agate cookies, and we had an absolute blast. We used a simple sugar cookie recipe from PureWow (I'll include it below), Alton Brown's royal icing (recipe below), some clear rock candy (which I bought at [...]
The Summer Edit: Books, Food, Drinks and Fun
Summer's here. And I couldn't be happier. Well, maybe I could. I most definitely could if I were at St. George Island. With a good book in one hand, a fun drink in the other and my family nearby. To celebrate the season, I'm going to put together my own summer edit with books, drinks, [...]
Food with Soul
It seems especially appropriate that Rodney and Stephanie Wilson serve soul food at their downtown Anniston restaurant. Just getting to the point of owning their own place took a lot of faith. Several years ago, Rodney began experiencing kidney failure. He ended up having a transplant and then needed to find another job. He had [...]