ALABAMA DINING

Latest news and restaurant listings for Alabama

View a list of taco meats found in the metro area

If authentic Mexican street food rings your bell, make a run for the taqueria. One benefit of the growing number of Mexican immigrants in the Birmingham-Hoover metro area is the explosion of restaurants like taquerias that serve authentic Mexican fare. Where the people settle, the real food follows. Continue reading "Where to find a good taco in the Birmingham area" »

Wesley True, Chef/Owner
True, 9 Du Rhu Drive, Mobile, 251-344-3334

Restaurant's Specialty:
We use French techniques to present a constantly evolving menu with global influences and local flavors.

What Sets This Restaurant Apart From Others?
Our award-winning wine list has been recognized by both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. Also, working with a local coffee roaster, we designed our own house coffee.

How Long Has The Restaurant Been Open?
One year.

Honors:
Lagniappe Mobile named True the Best New Fine Dining Restaurant, and I received Best Chef in Mobile honor. We also received the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator and the Award of Unique Distinction from Wine Enthusiast.

Continue reading "Dishing with Mobile's Wesley True, owner of True restaurant" »

[Kairos Kafe, 515 University Blvd.; 251-3101; www.kairoskatering.com]

If you've resolved to avoid sweets this year, you may not want to read further.

Or, perhaps you should, in case you want a recipe for a crowd-pleaser that's quick to prepare.

Continue reading "Kairos Kafe's recipe for Chocolate Krackle dessert" »

[La Dama Italian Bistro, 5084 Pinnacle Square, Suite 112, Trussville; 661-0717.]

Take a quick look back at recent reviews in Second Helpings
A recent holiday shopping trip to some of Trussville's electronics stores (three different ones!) did not produce the present we were looking to buy for our youngest child's Christmas, but the enticing aroma of roasting garlic yielded a great gift of another sort that we all later enjoyed -- a family-friendly, authentically delicious Italian eatery. We left Best Buy that day empty handed, but then we followed our noses to La Dama Italian Bistro just a few doors down. Impressed and intrigued, we grabbed a menu, promising ourselves we'd come back soon. Continue reading "Four-star food at Trussville's La Dama Italian Bistro" »

Four businessmen at a window table are having an impromptu wine tasting. They summon the sommelier for a different bottle.

The owner is leaning on the bar laughing and chatting with guests. New faces keep showing up at the hostess stand without reservations. After all, this is Tuesday night.

Sixty minutes earlier, Cotton Row Restaurant in downtown Huntsville was practically empty. What a difference an hour makes.

This is the new chic restaurant for Huntsville. It's loud, it's pricey, and it has quickly captured a loyal clientele. And this should be the off season for Cotton Row Restaurant.

Continue reading "Cotton Row's upscale downtown dining is anything but ordinary" »

Pizza parlors were delivering. A new steak delivery service was only a few years old. Why not Mexican?

That was the question Reza Maleknia and his brother, Abbas, pondered in the mid-1980s, when they were looking to pay their way through college. The answer was another question: Why not?

Continue reading "Mexican Express still delivers the goods" »

For those who'd like another opportunity to taste sparkling wines before New Year's, The Pleasure Is All Wine will have a Bubblicious Champagne Tasting from noon until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27.

Champagne and sparkling wines at all price points will be tasted. There is no charge. Call 205-985-4760 for more information.

FOOD DETECTIVE:
Getting recipes from area restaurants for your favorite dishes

For those reviewing their portfolios, 2008 most likely looks dour.

Yet, as the Dow and dollar dropped, our cakes and biscuits rose.

Solace, somehow, reigned in countless kitchens. It's there that many found comfort, whether in something as simple as mashed potatoes or as memorable as a cake made from a mother's recipe.

As generous as ever, restaurateurs continued sharing their secrets and revealing their recipes for everything from sweet potatoes to chocolate cake, from spaghetti sauce to white sauce, from shrimp to slaw.

The Food Detective has managed to unearth a number of recipes, several of which are recalled here:

Continue reading "A dozen 2008 recipes to remember" »