Birmingham Dining Recommendations

#1
kiddiedoc

kiddiedoc

Renaissance Man
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#1
In need of a dinner recommendation for guys' golf trip to the RTJ courses near B'ham. Looking online, I found Highlands, Bottega, and Ocean. Any advice is appreciated!

Yes, we will catch Dreamland for the trip home.
 
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#3
#3
Your fine dining options are good. In addition I'd add Che Fonfon and Hot and Hot Fish Club. Anything Frank Stitt or Chris Hastings will be top notch.

El Bario is downtown and has a unique take on Mexican from a Frank Stitt disciple. All the ones mentioned (with the exception of Ocean and Dreamland) are in the most recent Southern Living Best 100 restaurants in the South.

Dreamland is severely overrated IMHO.
 
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#4
#4
For bar hopping I'd recommend hitting the Lakeview area (south side of downtown). Lou's is fun and while not quite in Lakeview the Garage Cafe is worth a visit.

Carrigans is an interesting bar downtown where they take mixed drinks very seriously. It gets stupid crowded at times but the whiskey sour is outstanding.
 
#6
#6
Satterfields is better than Ocean imo. Saw's is a great place to eat. Dreamland is waaaay overrated imo.

For a chain, J Alexander's is good. Shula steakhouse isn't worth the $$$$.
 
#7
#7
agree about Saws. If you happen to hit Avondale Brewery (which ain't a bad idea) you can hit the Saw's next door and bring it back to the Brewery
 
#9
#9
If Dreamland is overrated, what would you consider the best Q in the area?
 
#10
#10
kiddiedoc said:
If Dreamland is overrated, what would you consider the best Q in the area?
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Jim n Nicks is better. Georgia Pit is ok. Dreamland isn't bad, its just Luke Calhoun's here in Knoxville, tons of hype but mediocre results.

The bbq in Bham is found in kitchens instead of restaurants though. Just gotta know somebody.
 
#11
#11
bamacheats said:
Jim n Nicks is better. Georgia Pit is ok. Dreamland isn't bad, its just Luke Calhoun's here in Knoxville, tons of hype but mediocre results.

The bbq in Bham is found in kitchens instead of restaurants though. Just gotta know somebody.
Click to expand...

Saying Jim n Nicks is good BBQ is blasphemous.
 
#12
#12
kiddiedoc said:
If Dreamland is overrated, what would you consider the best Q in the area?
Click to expand...

Saws gets high marks.

My problem with Dreamland is that it is primarily spare ribs that haven't been cooked long enough. Really chewy. The sauce is good.

Birmingham is crawling with BBQ - Saw, Dreamland, Full Moon (outside sliced is a wonderful heart attack in slow motion), Jim 'n Nicks (despite what BEN says), Golden Rule, (all with multiple locations) plus lots of one off places.

A great meat and 3 for lunch is Niki's West. Legendary but they are a bit Soup Nazi-like so don't dilly dally with your order.
 
#16
#16
Waiting for a table at El Barrio. Quite a crowd, glad they have a Tripel on draft.
 
#17
#17
kiddiedoc said:
Waiting for a table at El Barrio. Quite a crowd, glad they have a Tripel on draft.
Click to expand...

Cool. You play the Ridge today or Ross Bridge? I played a tournament on the Valley course.

Heading to a new place in the Uptown area (never been there).

Enjoy your stay. Post here if you have any questions or want to try to connect. Not sure what my crew is up to tonight.
 
#18
#18
volinbham said:
Cool. You play the Ridge today or Ross Bridge? I played a tournament on the Valley course.

Heading to a new place in the Uptown area (never been there).

Enjoy your stay. Post here if you have any questions or want to try to connect. Not sure what my crew is up to tonight.
Click to expand...

Ridge. I had forgotten how many elevated approach shots the course had. We'll just say I did not go low. RB again tomorrow.

Dinner did not disappoint. All agreed that was some of the best Mexican-inspired food we've ever had. Screw authentic when it's that delicious. Jalepeno IPA, house made habanero sauce, chorizo meatloaf... Are you kidding me??? Needless to say, you could tell the place was hip by the clientele :)
 
#19
#19
I've heard the chorizo meatloaf is outstanding.

The Ridge has nice views but I hate some of the holes (because I suck at them). The long par 3 where you are elevated and hit over a ravine to a sideways elevated green (I think it's
16 or 7 depending on which 9 they have as the start). I also hate #9 - the monster uphill. That used to be #18 but I think they figured it was a bad way to finish your day
 
#20
#20
volinbham said:
I've heard the chorizo meatloaf is outstanding.

The Ridge has nice views but I hate some of the holes (because I suck at them). The long par 3 where you are elevated and hit over a ravine to a sideways elevated green (I think it's
16 or 7 depending on which 9 they have as the start). I also hate #9 - the monster uphill. That used to be #18 but I think they figured it was a bad way to finish your day
Click to expand...

It's crazy that you can play that many holes uphill and still end up at the same place. I was expecting to have to catch some sort of tram back down to the clubhouse :)

It was crazy mobilizing 8 dudes all around B'ham after 5 hours in the heat all day. Maybe we can meet up next time I'm in enemy territory, would love to grab a beer sometime.

Now, head this way in 2 weeks -- it's FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!
 
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