The corned beef is in the pot and the cabbage is quartered and ready to finish off your fine Americanized St. Patrick’s Day feast. All that’s left to do (short of icing down the beverages) is to whip up a sauce to go with your corned beef. Don’t overlook this detail, it’s important. Corned beef, by itself, is... Full story »

   WHEN: Cook-off starts at 11 a.m. Saturday  WHERE: Bienville Square, downtown Mobile  WHY: Teams will cook in two categories — Irish stew and corned beef and cabbage — and all teams offerings are available for sampling from the public. Traditional concessions are also available.  COST: $10 in advance; $15 at the gate  INFO: 251-479-5700 or www.luckoirish.org SPONSOR: Exchange... Full story »

MOBILE, Ala. -- Allow me to confess something to you. Whenever I eat out (which I do a lot), I tend to follow two schools of thought: I either order the most common thing on most menus, which most often is a cheeseburger, or I order the most unusual thing. Not all the time, but it’s a routine enough... Full story »

  If you follow the calendar, spring is still 17 days away. But if you follow your nose, spring starts next weekend, and ground zero for the seasonal change will be the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds. Break out the Bermuda shorts and drinks with umbrellas, it’s time for the Ninth annual BBQ Championship and Hog Wild Festival. If this... Full story »

  Sometimes I forget that people don’t think like I do. Most times that is a good thing. It frightens me a bit to think that somebody else thinks that you need an 8-pound beef roast for two people. Occasionally, though, my own thought process catches me off guard. Like last week in this space, for instance, I offered... Full story »

Proceeds from the second annual Gumbo Chili Showdown will benefit the Regan Robinson Young Scholarship Fund at USA’s College of Medicine. Full story »

MOBILE, Ala. -- If you name a restaurant after yourself, you better make sure the food is good and lives up to the family name. This is especially the case when your family name happens to be True. Chef/owner Wesley True did just that with True Restaurant. He was fresh back from New York when he opened his namesake... Full story »

  Nobody wants to die, at least not right away. The state of Alabama has given us one more reason to want to extend our time on this mortal coil. Folks at the Alabama Department of Tourism has just released their updated list of the “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die.” The new list, which debuted... Full story »

Native Mobilian Jennifer Polvere now lives in North Carolina, but each year she celebrates Mardi Gras at her Matthews restaurant, Skinnyz Bar & Grille. Full story »

When you volunteer to sample tastings of food cooked by folks who are waiting on a football game to start, you come to expect a few things. You expect, for example, to get a fair smattering of buffalo chicken wings, smoked ribs, gumbo and otherwise traditional tailgating fare. What you don’t expect is a serving of slow-braised lamb shanks,... Full story »

  If you find yourself motoring about in west Mobile on Saturday and you suddenly get a huge craving for something sweet, don’t panic. It’s only the unmistakable pull of chocolate coming from the Second annual Mobile Chocolate Festival that will be held Saturday at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds. Admission is $3 for adults and is free for... Full story »

Organizers of the ninth annual BBQ Championship and Hog Wild Festival are seeking musicians willing to volunteer their services. The Hog Wild Festival takes place March 12-13 at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds. It features professional, semi-pro and amateur cooking competitions, plus children’s activities, barrel racing, arts & crafts vendors and other attractions. Proceeds from the festival benefit United... Full story »

    Registration is under way for the seventh annual Baumhower’s Wings Restaurant Senior Bowl Tailgate Challenge. The challenge pits the region’s top pitmasters, backyard chefs and gameday grillers in a fun competition prior to the kick off of the Senior Bowl. Prizes will be awarded in six categories — barbecue, seafood, gumbo, appetizers, most interesting dish and the best... Full story »

 Malcolm Steiner didn’t set out to write a history of restaurants in Mobile, it just sort of happened.  He admits in the introduction to “Old Mobile Restaurants” that it wasn’t his intention to catalog EVERY eatery in the city’s 309-year history. But the resulting book, “Old Mobile Restaurants,” may be as close to a definitive scrapbook on the history... Full story »

In our part of the world, about the only thing we take more seriously than our football is our food. So when the two favorite pastimes collide, as they will tomorrow night when the University of Alabama meets the University of Texas for the national championship of college football, it’s the perfect excuse for a party. Granted, there is... Full story »