Someone wrote: : I will be driving from Mobile AL thru Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, : and then into Mississippi via Meridian, Philadelphia, and ending in : Jackson. I'm looking for recommendations for good regional flavor : restaurants to stop at along the way for some good local food. Montgomery - Lek's - excellent Thai Magnolia Cafe - sort of nouvelle creole/southern Jubilee Seafood - old-fashioned seafood joint, mostly fried, but usually good oysters in season, and specials are usually grilled. Favorite haunt of lawyers and legislative types, but a nice atmosphere in spite of that. Kat 'n Harry's - in same little strip as Jubilee. (Actually, they have 2 places - a bar/restaurant combo with music on the weekends, and the Bistro next door, which has a slightly more elegant atmosphere). You can sometimes catch pretty good blues around the corner at the 1048 Club. Birmingham - Highland Bar and Grill - nouvelle southern restaurant of Frank Stitt, best chef (or at least best-known) in Alabama. Stresses fresh, local ingredients. Bottega and Cafe Bottega - Frank Stitt's newer ventures into Italian. Bottega open only for dinner; the Cafe next door open for lunch and dinner, and more casual (and cheaper). Reservations advised for Bottega; I don't think the Cafe accepts them. Good, cheap, casual Lebanese place on Southside is the Pita Stop. For a real southern experience, go to the Social Grill downtown (I haven't been there in years, so this may be a stale pointer) and have a vegetable plate (it's a steam-table cafeteria). Original Pancake House in Five Points South for (late) breakfast, or maybe the Mill (catty-corner across the intersection from OPH). Any of several Greek-owned seafood joints - Nikki's, John's, Bright Star (in Bessemer), several others. These are all good, not great places, but sort of proto-typically Birmingham. Birmingham's a much better restaurant town than you might imagine, although several good ones have closed recently (R.I.P. Dexter's). Other places to try -- Basil's, Cobb Lane, Bombay Cafe, and about a dozen others whose names I can't remember. Larry Owen
Alabama