The Foodie Thread

[4CERTN]

I may well have missed it, but can a Forum with a General Discussion sub-forum really consider itself properly well-rounded without a food-based thread therein? I know, right - I didn’t think so, either! (All typed in good fun, of course, as this Forum is already a happenin’ place…but…but…did you get my little double entendre there with “Foodie” and “well-rounded”? Har-har, dee-har-har, dee-har-har…)

So…whatcha eatin’ these days, brothers and sisters? Dining-out, carrying-out, freshly-prepared at the homestead and anything in-between - tells us about it, post up a recipe, maybe even be a super-nerd like me and post a pic of it, why don’tcha?

I’ll kick it off next post…

 

[4CERTN]

Should you find yourself in the vicinity of The Summit shopping complex along Highway 280 in the BHM area, check out Village Tavern. Nice AND reasonably-priced, it makes for a fine place to enjoy a meal on a date for two or a family / workplace outing.

Their menu offers a selection of steaks, chicken dishes, salads, and the like. One little hidden gem: their so-called Chicken Colorado. You’ll have to ask your server for it as, for some reason, they took it off the menu some years back. It was one of my favorites and I was not thrilled at its departure. I mentioned this casually to a server once, who told me the kitchen can still craft it…and I’m mighty glad they can.

Two grilled, seasoned chicken breasts topped with cheese, tomatoes, and green onions. Oh, did I mention bacon? Yeah - there’s bacon. And barbecue sauce. Typically served over a bed of black beans and rice, Village Tavern can be very accommodating and lets me substitute garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

‘Twas quite good…

 

[bamabum]

Now you post this, after I just finished several "homemade" biscuits with salt-cured ham, some of my daughter's fig preserves, sorghum syrup, and locally sourced honey. I'll keep this thread in mind for future "fixins".

 

[kenny1773]

I must be the only person that had a bad experience at Village Tavern. So many people recommended it to me, I took my family, we all had bad meals. So much so that I wrote a letter to the manager, they offered to give me a gift certificate, but I declined it was that bad and my complaint was not about money.

This was BEFORE covid and the great labor shortages all other restaurants now blame

Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa (yes you must go to the one in Tuscaloosa) would be my go to for ribs. The one on 280 isn't doing it right.

Saw's Soul Kitchen for a sweet tea fried chicken sandwich

We stole this idea and made sweet tea chicken fingers
Pretty simple to just take fried chicken seasoning you like
batter and deep fry the fingers as you would any other
but
the kicker is to make a homemade strong sweet tea, yeah I know all Alabama sweet tea is strong
Marinate the chicken fingers in the tea for 24 hours before you bread and deep fry them
I use an outdoor propane turkey fryer with a baske
peanut oil at 350, they cook in 5 minutes
I make like 5lbs of fingers when I do it. Has a great flavor

 

[cutt]

I love the Village Tavern. Sunday brunch is fabulous.

 

[4CERTN]

Now you post this, after I just finished several "homemade" biscuits with salt-cured ham, some of my daughter's fig preserves, sorghum syrup, and locally sourced honey. I'll keep this thread in mind for future "fixins".

Yes, sir, you’ve gotta get a picture of this next time - it sounds great!

 

[4CERTN]

I must be the only person that had a bad experience at Village Tavern. So many people recommended it to me, I took my family, we all had bad meals. So much so that I wrote a letter to the manager, they offered to give me a gift certificate, but I declined it was that bad and my complaint was not about money.

This was BEFORE covid and the great labor shortages all other restaurants now blame

Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa (yes you must go to the one in Tuscaloosa) would be my go to for ribs. The one on 280 isn't doing it right.

Saw's Soul Kitchen for a sweet tea fried chicken sandwich

We stole this idea and made sweet tea chicken fingers
Pretty simple to just take fried chicken seasoning you like
batter and deep fry the fingers as you would any other
but
the kicker is to make a homemade strong sweet tea, yeah I know all Alabama sweet tea is strong
Marinate the chicken fingers in the tea for 24 hours before you bread and deep fry them
I use an outdoor propane turkey fryer with a baske
peanut oil at 350, they cook in 5 minutes
I make like 5lbs of fingers when I do it. Has a great flavor

Well, it’s funny you say this about VT, as we actually took another couple there once and the wife sadly became quite ill after her meal while still at the restaurant! I hated that for her and, to my knowledge, they’ve never returned (understandably so).

I am lovin’ the notion of this chicken finger recipe - may have to give this a go!

 

[4CERTN]

I love the Village Tavern. Sunday brunch is fabulous.

We go a handful of times a year and really like it - they truly won me over with their ability to keep that Chicken Colorado dish alive even when it’s not “officially” offered any more.

We do need to try their Sunday brunch; your comments are the latest good remarks I’ve heard / read about that.

 

[Dfalt]

Just gonna leave a few recommendations of places to eat in the Troy/Enterprise/Dothan/Montgomery area since that's what I'm most familiar with:
Troy - Flo's Diner on Love Street is really good but be prepared for a wait. If you like Mexican be sure to check out Valencia's on 231 next to Subway, they have excellent authentic Mexican food. I order a 3-meat burrito from there for lunch once a week. Mossy Grove a.k.a The Schoolhouse is another classic that can be found on Elba Highway as well as Julia's and Sister's both on 231 (Sister's is just south of Troy)
Enterprise - Big Daddy's BBQ on Rawls Street is a small place that isn't really on one of the main roads but they make the best baked beans I've ever eaten in my entire life.
Dothan - Dobb's BBQ is just off Ross Clark Circle and has been in business for over 100 years so you know it's good. They've also got a nice collection of big fish mounted on the walls to enjoy while you're there. I've never been but I've always heard Connestoga Steakhouse on 231 is fantastic. There's WAY more than this in Dothan but I'm trying to keep it to local non-chain stores that I know about.
Montgomery - I don't really go to Montgomery much anymore but Filet and Vine is a really nice buffet inside a local grocery store/winery. Food depends on what they're cooking that day but was excellent the time I had it.

 

[4CERTN]

Thank you @Dfalt - one cannot beat first-person recommendations like these!

 

[4CERTN]

Next up for me is just a whole plateful of assorted goodness haha…

I’m a fan of Mexican food. I suspect that what I’m really a fan of is “Americanized” Mexican food, but that may have to be its own topic.

I’m also a bonafide carnivore; however, on those days where I want something a little lighter, I’ve found that I can ask for (or even prepare myself) a darn fine Mexican-style meal with NO meat.

Case in point: “Veggie Loco,” my own made-up name for a modified dish at one of my favorite local Mexican restaurants. They and probably other similar establishments carry a dish called “Pollo Loco,” a fairly simple affair of grilled chicken over rice, topped with queso. Not too darn bad in its own right, I started asking for steak in place of chicken and also for the addition of fajita-style peppers and onions. Love it!

One day, I thought I’d try just leaving the meat off altogether, just to see how it might turn out. Asked for extra peppers and onions and also added some pickled jalapeños (I did try fresh / raw jalapeños once, and it was just too much heat for me haha…) Every now and then I’ll have some grilled zucchini thrown in just for fun.

This has become one of my all-time favorites. Fajita veggies and jalapeños over rice, topped with queso - perfection (to me) when the appetite calls for it.

In this pic, they REALLY loaded me up on the veggies - there’s a bed of rice in there, too.

 

[kenny1773]

Found a couple pics

Fingers Marinating and Dogo saying, is that chicken??




To deep fried awesomeness

 

[4CERTN]

@kenny1773 - oh, yeah! Dogo has the right idea: guard that bird!

Looks great!

 

[Dfalt]

Found a couple pics

Fingers Marinating and Dogo saying, is that chicken??

View attachment 4637


To deep fried awesomeness

View attachment 4638

Those are some fine looking tendies. What marinade are you using?

 

[kenny1773]

The marinade is simply a homemade (but on the strong side, some call it double strength) sweet tea, min 24 hours of marinade, but is better longer

 

[4CERTN]

We don’t eat at Outback Steakhouse as much as we used to. Once upon a time, it felt like kind of a “big deal” to go there - not that it’s necessarily bad now, it’s just “different,” it seems.

That said, one of our family’s favorite dishes there has been Alice Springs Chicken: grilled seasoned chicken breasts topped with bacon, barbecue sauce, and Swiss cheese. Fairly easy to experiment with on the grill.

I also hand-whittled that “Thankful” sign while I waited on the coals.

…okay, not really re: the sign. But the bird was darn good.

 

[4CERTN]

I’m putting on my Nomex suit for this one, as I’m about to broach a topic about which opinions can be fierce:

Hot dogs.
Wieners.
Franks.

Kidding about the flame-suit but, yep, the classic American ballpark staple as rendered, in this case, by me: home-grilled Oscar Meyers topped with mustard, chopped onion, sweet cole slaw, and a dash of barbecue sauce (substituted for Sneaky Pete’s sauce as I had none on-hand - it stood-in quite well).



Downtown Birmingham was once home to a number of hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop type hot dog providers that were just amazing, perhaps best typified by the former Pete’s Famous Hot Dogs on 2nd Avenue North. I’ve never been able to replicate at home the taste of those dogs!

 

[cutt]

I’m putting on my Nomex suit for this one, as I’m about to broach a topic about which opinions can be fierce:

Hot dogs.
Wieners.
Franks.

Kidding about the flame-suit but, yep, the classic American ballpark staple as rendered, in this case, by me: home-grilled Oscar Meyers topped with mustard, chopped onion, sweet cole slaw, and a dash of barbecue sauce (substituted for Sneaky Pete’s sauce as I had none on-hand - it stood-in quite well).

View attachment 4675

Downtown Birmingham was once home to a number of hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop type hot dog providers that were just amazing, perhaps best typified by the former Pete’s Famous Hot Dogs on 2nd Avenue North. I’ve never been able to replicate at home the taste of those dogs!

 

[cutt]

Steamed buns and a Grapieco. When the owners died the hotdog places died with them. Sad. One of the good things from yesterday.

 

[Davyalabama]

-Hotdogs, Montgomery, Chris's hotdogs downtown.
-Hamburger, just South of Montgomery hwy 231, Hamburger King, put in Sykes and Cohn on your GPS, it is in their parking lot.
-Red's Little Red School House in Grady, Al for a good buffet.
-Steak in Montgomery, you can try Charles Anthony's Pub or during the day eat at the Stockyard out by the airport.
-Lavaca, Al - Ezell's Fish Camp, do not get this confused with Ezell's Catfish Cabin, it is like comparing the original Dreamland BBQ or the original Wintzell's Oyster House to these chain stores that are popping up.
-Defuniak Springs, Fl - Fannin's Rest., they have the best lightly battered, lightly fried shrimp you will ever eat, the biggest BLT I have ever seen, and a fantastic hamburger steak. If you go through early, make sure you stop in for a satisfying breakfast at a very low cost.