Barbecue/southern food in Birmingham?

[bebevonbernstein]

Hi, ya'll (I can say that because I grew up in Texas) -- am coming down for work next week (like everyone else on this board, it seems) and would love some hole-in-the-wall, really good Southern food. I live in Brooklyn, so don't need pasta or fish or fussy preps, but would rather have ribs, friend chicken, cornbread, grits . . .

Suggestions, please?

Thanks heaps!

[bebevonbernstein]

thanks so much for the suggestions -- am not averse to driving, as I LOVEEEE driving when I am fortunate enough to be outside of Brooklyn. Can't remember where we're staying, and we won't have a ton of time (coming down for a doc shoot), but still, it's always an issue as to where to eat since I never find the off-the-beaten path places and then you're stuck eating at whatever's around the hotel because you're tired and you don't even know who to ask.

Again, many thanks -- I'll let you all know where we end up!

[Dax]

You might want to review this thread, on which the Birmingham hounds have done an excellent job of outlining some of Birmingham's better eateries, from a whole-in-the-wall (I guess, I need to find some more of those) to the nicer, more expensive restaurants.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/397560

[bebevonbernstein]

Thanks, Dax, I'll check it out. When I had done a search of the Birmingham boards, all I had come across was seemingly higher-end places, when in fact what I would love to find are the exact opposite, so this thread has been a help.

Just checked the link out, and for some reason it never came up in my initial search, as it's exactly what I was looking for (and one of my pet peeves is that people come to CH and ask for the 50,000th time where to get brunch in Brooklyn, instead of searching the Bklyn board for "brunch"). Thanks so much for posting it!!

[Dax]

So far a number of the less expensive and ethnic places have surprised me in a good way. Good luck on your visit and please report back.

[bebevonbernstein]

Will do, though I'm guessing, realistically, we'll be able to hit only a couple at best. Still, I always kick myself when I do a shoot and don't scope out the food beforehand, as when dinner comes, we're always in such a quandary and are too tired to do anything other than that which is most expedient. This time, however, I come prepared.

[bebevonbernstein]

Well, Dax, as predicted, with our shooting schedule, we only had time to grab a couple of meals -- but we were fortunate that, given the neighborhood we were staying in, the place on the corner was a Jim N Nicks instead of an Applebee's! Did eat our fill of barbecue, which definitely hit the spot -- along with the homemade pimiento and the different hot sauces.

Now, I saw some of the places mentioned on the list here (and for our second dinner, we did head out to somewhere else that ya'll had recommended, but we were just too tired) - -- however, we were fortunate to be shooting all weekend in B'ham's African-American neighborhoods, and I have to say, next time I go back, I'm going to try out the little joints that we saw scattered about in those neighborhoods. Saw one in particular that looked good around . . .Avenue L? 18th St.? on our way to 13th St. . . .West? . . .The folks we were taping hadn't been since it changed hands a year ago, but it definitely looked worth a try, and I'd say you'll find some really interesting options if you just drive around and stop when you see a place that looks interesting. Next time we're down (which should be this summer, in shallah), we'll definitely be trying some of those joints.

[EJC]

As a current-Brooklynite who grew up in B'ham, I feel compelled to offer some suggestions (or at least the places I hit up when I go back home).

Early breakfast @ Bogue's for biscuits and gravy, grits, and smoked sausage.
Chicken biscuits @ Chic-fil-a.

White BBQ @ Mrs. Myra's
Ribs @ Dreamland (pick up an extra jar of sauce for me!)
BBQ'd turkey sandwich @ Full Moon

Nikki's West for meat and three

[gyp7318]

Bogue's has gone through a couple of management changes in the past couple of years and the consistency is really bad. Sometimes it's really good and other times just bleh, even for their famous orange rolls.

[Dax]

I'd say I'd pass on Mrs. Myra's as I thought the pulled and smoked chicken was kind of average, but since I only went once, I won't go there ... well sort of.

[gyp7318]

Where are you going to be in Birmingham? I've heard good things about VJ's on the Runway. I don't know how it is since they moved to "fancier" digs. It is named that b/c it literally used to sit on the far end of the runway of the airport, just outside the fence. That is going to be southern food w/out pretense. You may also want to check out the Irondale Cafe, the inspiration for the cafe in the book/movie Fried Green Tomatoes. As far as BBQ, maybe Pat James Full Moon Cafe in Southside. They franchised and have locations all over the city but the one downtown/Southside is always packed for dinner w/contractor trucks and such. Usually a good sign. I don't know if Bert's on the Bluff is still around. It is a meat and three that is about 15 minutes from downtown in the Bluff Park neighborhood on top of the mountain.

You may also want to check out a post by Dax on this board. Several restaurants and reviews are mentioned, including some southern and I *think* bbq joints.