ALABAMA DINING

Latest news and restaurant listings for Alabama

Authentic Vietnamese noodle shop offers a culinary exploration

Click here to see Second Helpings: A Quick Look Back at Past Dining Reviews

[Pho Hoang Noodle House, 2539 John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover (in the Publix Supermarket shopping center); 560-0709. ]

I consider an outing to an ethnic restaurant to be a success when my family is the cultural minority. In that regard, our visits to Pho Hoang Noodle House turned out as planned. On one trip, a girlfriend and I were the only non-Asian people in the place. Perfect!

Authenticity, however, sometimes goes hand-in-hand with adventure. Be ready. The menu at this relatively new, family-owned Vietnamese eatery features plenty of unfamiliar ingredients. The place is billed as a noodle house -- it's that and much more. Pho Hoang specializes in noodle dishes, spicy foods, special sauces and cook-it-yourself hot pots.

Continue reading "Dining Review: A Tasty Adventure" »

Food Detective: Getting recipes from area restaurants for your favorite dishes

View the Continental Bakery's Peach Pie Crust Recipe

In the summer of '07, Mandy Haddin of Bluff Park e-mailed to request the recipe for the peach pie she had discovered at Continental Bakery in English Village.

Describing it as "fabulous," she reported that she would "love to have (the) recipe." Well, things don't always happen fast in these pursuits.

Continue reading "Fresh Fruit, Buttery Crust Make For A Peach Of A Pie" »

Dishing with: Inside the kitchen with area chefs

Shannon "Sparky" Nicholson, executive chef
Prairie Fire Grille, 5426 U.S. 280, 991-1313.

Restaurant's Specialty: The food, hands down.

What Sets This Restaurant Apart From Others? Fine dining with a Southwestern fusion.

How Long Has The Restaurant Been Open? 6 ½ years.

What's New? The attitude of the employees. Everyone here is committed to 100-percent guest satisfaction without personal attitudes getting in the way. We just like to take care of our guests and have a great time doing it.

Continue reading "Dishing With Shannon Sparky Nicholson, Executive chef" »

If the economic crisis has got you down, the Silverton Cafe has some food-and-drink specials that could lift your spirits.

Or at least make you laugh.

The Forest Park bar and eatery has come up with some tongue-in-cheek menu additions to help customers grin and bear the financial meltdown.

Here are a few libations to get you started:
• Sub Prime Sangria. "Wash down that mortgage mess." (Available by the glass, or if need be, a pitcher).
• Wachovia's Merge -- Shaken, Not Stirred. "What you need while contemplating your bonds."
• Wall Street on the Rocks. "It's like a Manhattan, just extra bitters."
• Lehman's Lemon Drop. "Guaranteed to leave only a slightly sour taste in your mouth.

Among the Silvertron's Blue Chipped Plate Specials are:
• Freddie Mac'n'Cheesy. "The government has guaranteed it's tasty."
• Stock Soup. "Hurry, it's drying up fast."

And for dessert:
• Your Slice of the AIG Pie. "A lot like our Forest Park Pie -- just more nuts."
The Silvertron Cafe is at 3813 Clairmont Ave. Hours are 11a.m. -10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. -9 p.m. Sunday.

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Festival Continues At Saint George
The 27th annual Saint George's Middle Eastern Food Festival, which began Thursday, continues today and Saturday at Saint George Melkite Greek Catholic Church, 425 16th Ave. South.

Lunch hours are 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner is 4-9 p.m. both days. Drive-through service is available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 4-7 p.m. for dinner.

For a menu and info, go to: www.saintgeorgeonline.org

Bob Carlton is a senior reporter for The Birmingham News. His e-mail is bcarlton@bhamnews.com.

As kids, brothers Jeff, Chris and Jason Bajalieh all helped out around their dad's sandwich shop after they got out of school every day.

Now, 13 years after Saleh "Sol" Bajalieh closed the original Sol's Sandwich Shop & Deli in the basement of the old John A. Hand Building -- and four years after he passed away -- the three Bajalieh brothers have brought Sol's back to downtown in the Two North Twentieth building at the corner of Morris Avenue and 20th Street North.

Continue reading "At Sol's, sons carry on their father's tradition" »

Location is everything. Right? Not necessarily.

Some of the best discoveries are in out-of-the-way places. That's certainly true in Huntsville.

Customers aren't likely to arrive at The Skillet by chance. It is in the back of an inconspicuous strip of shops off Pulaski Pike overlooking Home Depot and Costco. It's not easy to find even if you are looking for it.

Continue reading "The Skillet's down-home food is worth a trip off the beaten path" »

Bridge Street Town Centre will become the proving ground for another new restaurant concept.

Huntsville's premier outdoor shopping village will soon have a spot for Japanese cuisine. It will be called Sakoa Japanese Grille, and it has taken over the old Biscuits & Blues Cafe unit across from the carousel and gondola dock.

Continue reading "Sakoa Japanese Grille newest Bridge Street eatery" »