Category: life
Opa, y’all! It’s time for Birmingham’s Greek Festival
It takes a village to put on Birmingham’s beloved Greek Festival. For months before the event, now in its 47th year at Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in downtown Birmingham, hundreds of people from this city’s thriving Greek community work together to prepare. They cook, they bake and they practice centuries-old dances. They are [...]
Fresh, Bright Flavors at the Wildflower Cafe
Over the years, Wildflower Café has become a dining destination in Mentone, which is, of course, its own awesome destination atop Lookout Mountain. I traveled to Mentone recently for Alabama NewsCenter to spotlight this unique restaurant. You can read the entire story here. Café owner Laura Catherine Moon (just “Moon” to everyone she knows and [...]
Soul Food Saturdays and Tasty Thursdays
I went to Soul Food Saturday at Arlington House this past Saturday and loved every delicious minute of it. Pork wings and braised collards and perfect mac and cheese. Sweet tea and some chocolate cake made the visit complete. Here's some info from the home's website: Arlington is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture [...]
Art Alive!
AIDS Alabama brings together local artists to create art and opportunities through an art auction with a real-time twist. AIDS Alabama does serious work, but the fundraisers this organization puts on tend to be lots of fun. On the heels of April’s successful Dining Out for Life, when AIDS Alabama teamed up with local restaurants [...]
Prost! Brät Brot is Back!
The biergarten has become a gartenbar, but those awesome pretzels remain. was popular from the start. The Magic City’s first German biergarten opened about a year ago to rave reviews and consistent crowds but then took a cold-weather hiatus to make a few changes. It reopened on April 23 and very quickly became popular again. I [...]
More Than Just Sweet Treats at Big Spoon Creamery
The small-batch, artisanal ice cream at Big Spoon Creamery is every bit as awesome as people say. It’s deliciously inventive with quality ingredients: goat cheese with strawberry-hibiscus jam, fresh mint chip with Valrhona chocolate chips. Many of these ingredients are locally sourced, supporting area makers and farmers like Stone Hollow Farmstead (where they get the [...]
Dine Out and Make a Difference
On Thursday, April 25, your dining dollars will make a big difference to a lot of people—if you’re eating at the right places. Dining Out For Life will involve more than 30 local restaurants that are committed to making our community better, including Bottega Café, Crestwood Coffee Co., El Barrio Restaurante Y Bar, 5 Point [...]
All Kinds of Goodness at Ashley Mac’s
Lots of people want to make a living doing what they love. Ashley McMakin made that dream a reality with her Ashley Mac’s cafés, catering and gourmet-to-go business. It all started with her hobby of cooking for those she loves. McMakin grew up in a large, food-loving family, and she learned to cook alongside her [...]
Charleston Charm
I took a quick trip to Charleston, South Carolina a few weeks ago—so quick, in fact, that I was very limited in what I could do. So it was two days of food and drinks and then some solitude in my very favorite place. I usually spend some time shopping on King Street. I also [...]
Celebrating an Unsung Hero of Birmingham’s Food Scene
I had the absolute honor of helping out with Alabama NewsCenter's awesome coverage of food-related stories to celebrate Black History Month and the contributions of African-American cooks and chefs to our state's rich food scene (current and past). One of my favorite pieces was about Juliette Flenoury, a name we all should know. My editor [...]