Wednesday, February 25, 2015

EVENT: EAT / DRINK BIRMINGHAM



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Mark your calendars: Saturday, March 14, 2015. 2-6PM

I am super excited about this upcoming event.

There is lots of buzz generating about EAT/ DRINK Birmingham. This is an exciting event for food & drink lovers everywhere. This event is predicted to sell out so buy your tickets today.

Visit eatdrinkbham.com to get details about everything from event parking, the dress code and a list of all of the participating restaurants. Although, attendees will have the opportunity to sample alcoholic beverages paired with the chef created dishes, non-alcoholic beverages will be provided by Red Diamond.

Details:

Alabama's craft brewers are teaming up with Birmingham's independent restaurants on March 14 to showcase the unique and diverse culinary culture of the city. Guests will enjoy unlimited samples from Birmingham's best local restaurants with craft beers that have been expertly-paired with each dish. Learn about the joy of pairing food and beer from local chefs and brewers.
 
Eat Drink Birmingham is also the only place to find draft of St. Stephens Stout. This statewide "collaboration beer" was conceived and created by the members of the Alabama Brewers Guild and is the first beer produced in collaboration across the state.
 
 
100% of the proceeds from Eat Drink Birmingham benefit the Alabama Brewers Guild, a driving force behind the craft beer movement in our state. This is a 21 and older event


Who: The brewery members of the Alabama Brewers Guild and the restaurant members of the Birmingham Originals
What: 
Eat Drink Birmingham
Where: SoHo Square in Homewood
When: Saturday, March 14 from 2:00PM to 6:00PM




 

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Friday, February 20, 2015

Frios Gourmet Pops - Heating Up The Frosty Competition.



I'm fully aware that it's way too cold outside to even mention frozen treats, but I'm going to do it anyway.

So I'm scrolling along my Twitter timeline one day and I see a picture indicating that there might somehow be a Moon Pie flavored popsicle in existence. "No way", I told myself. That's got to be the most ridiculous thing ever. I've GOT to have one!


Frios Pops Birmingham is the latest company vying for the title of frozen treat supremacy. I met with Michael Weidenbach, the spearhead of this chilly operation. He gave me a great overview of Frios Pops and even let me get an up close and personal look at their awesome truck.

Although I had to restrain myself from trying them all, I did try several of the amazing pops.
The individually wrapped Moon Pie, King Cake, Banana Pud'n and Tiramisu ALL have real pieces of the deserts right INSIDE the popsicles!

I also sampled the root beer float, creamy coconut & sweet tea pops. All very true to their descriptions.

They have an impressive list of  list of several fun and delicious flavors:

Available flavors:
- Moon Pie
- King Cake
- Tiramisu
- Peanut Butter & Chocolate
- Banana Pud'n
- Creamy Coconut
- Sweet Tea
- Root Beer Float
- Pink Lemonade
-Chocolate & Caramel  
And many more to come!
I'm excited to announce to you that Frios will be opening in their permanent location on March 7th in the Southbrook Shopping Center in Alabaster at  569 1st Avenue Southwest, Alabaster AL 35007.

For more info, visit
www.facebook.com/friosbirmingham
www.twitter.com/friosbirmingham
www.instagram.com/friosbirmingham


Thanks for reading.
~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider

Monday, February 9, 2015

#CenturyOfLove Valentine's Day Dinner Give-Away!!!




Great news!!

After my recent visit to Century Restaurant at the Tutwiler Hotel in Downtown Birmingham, I thought it would be awesome for someone else to experience this elegant Birmingham restaurant. So my friends at Century Restaurant at the Tutwiler Hotel are sponsoring a dinner for two on 2/14/15!

Check out the details below for your chance to enter a photo of you and your sweetie in the #CenturyOfLove twitter photo contest. The picture with the most likes/ faves at the end of the contest wins!

Contest ends at noon on 2/13/15.

Feel free to share this link on all social media outlets or with friends & family.
Twitter users can vote for your entry.

You can share your entry on all social media outlets, but the votes will only be counted on twitter.

If you missed it, click here to read my recent review on Century.

Good Luck!

Click for larger view

Friday, February 6, 2015

Slice Pizza- Servin' It Up With Style

 
*If you received this via email, click here to view the full version of the site* http://birminghamrestaurantraider.blogspot.com/
 
One of the greatest debates ever will always be about who has the best pizza in Birmingham. Just like the rib debate, this could go on forever. There is a poll on the full version of the site containing a list of many pizza joints in Birmingham. Eventually, I will eat my way through the list. However, this particular evening, I ventured over to Slice on Birmingham's Southside. Located right next to Moe's Barbecue, Slice is right in the heart of the Lakeview area and definitely seems like a popular spot.
 
Atmosphere: From the looks of it, Slice is a perfect after work meeting spot. There seemed to be a lot of college aged patrons on this particular night. There was unused outdoor seating, probably due to the chilly temps on this evening. The acoustics inside definitely reflected a busy environment. Lot's of conversation.
 
The Meal: My dining companion and I shared what was described as a "small plate" of  the
Garlic Cheese Bread- House Cheese Blend, Olive Oil, Garlic, Fresh Thyme. I'm sorry, but the plate was BIG and so was the flavor. Their garlic cheese bread is the absolute truth in my opinion! Wondering if this will be hard to top as I journey through the pizza community in Birmingham. For our main pie, we shared a pizza called The Lakeview - Braised Beef Short Rib, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Tomato, Asiago, Arugula, Red Onion & Horseradish Sauce .When I read the description, I thought... These people are insane! Never in a million years can they pull off blending these ingredients on a pizza. Well guess what, they did it and did it well. The Lakeview was like having a full course meal all on a slice of pizza. I was impressed.
 
The Service: Excellent. I always test the servers knowledge of the menu. Although the restaurant was packed, our service was faster than expected. Fast and hungry definitely go together.
 
The Prices: Pizza prices start at $15.00 and go up depending on the item. They also have a "build your own pizza" feature which is great for picky eaters. They also carry soups, salads, desserts and an extensive beer menu for all of you brew heads.
 
Room for Growth & Improvement: The only observation I would make is to focus on up-selling at the time of order. Although, there are soups & salads on the menu, a good business move would always be to offer those items even if the customer doesn't buy. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
 
Overall experience: Even though I am not ever fond of the parking on Southside, I loved the food and will definitely be a repeat customer.
 
For more information on Slice, visit their website at http://www.slicebirmingham.com/
 
Thanks for reading,
~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider
The Lakeview

The pizzas are served on these neat little serving platforms

Aerial view

The Garlic Cheese bread Small Plate
 

 


 

 
 


Monday, February 2, 2015

REVIEW- Experience The Midtown Elegance of Century Restaurant at The Tutwiler Hotel

First of all I'd like to say thanks to all of the subscribers and followers that reach out to recommend restaurants. My list keeps growing and I promise, I will eventually visit them all. One restaurant that has been recommended multiple times is the Century Restaurant at the historic Tutwiler Hotel in downtown Birmingham. For those of you who didn't know, The Tutwiler Hotel is one of the oldest lodging properties in Birmingham. Now operating under the Hampton Inn umbrella, the hotel has not lost any of it's charm at all. The history of the hotel itself can be found on their BhamWiki.com  page. Given the significant history of the hotel, my expectations of Century Restaurant were definitely high.

Atmosphere: This is by far one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever been to. The color scheme was very chic. The bar area seems like a nice place to meet with friends after work, there was a television and a bartender seemed to have everything under control.
The dining room was equally as nice. It had simplified elegance. The ambiance was absolutely perfect. I like an atmosphere where you can actually hear the person sitting across from you.

The Meal: My dining companion and I shared the initial serving of warm, sliced bread & butter. Next, we had an appetizer of roasted garlic hummus. The dollop of sun dried tomatoes on top, made this one of the most unique variations of hummus dip I'd ever had. My entrĂ©e was the Angus ribeye steak topped with Cabernet glazed mushrooms. The side of roasted asparagus, carrots and potatoes excellently complimented the steak. I actually cleaned my plate! My dinner companion had the chicken picatta with a side of grilled veggies, Sherry new potatoes & lemon caper sauce. This was also an amazing dish.

The service: Everyone from the valet to the server we had was very professional. The restaurant validated our  valet parking ticket since we were not staying at the hotel. Our server, was extremely accommodating, attentive and very personable. We felt very welcomed and comfortable.

The prices: The soup/salad menu ranges from $6 to $14. Appetizers from $8 to $14. Dinner entrees start at $19. Their lunch entrees are roughly 50% less than the dinner.

Room for growth & improvement: Aim for a larger crowd on weeknights and test server menu knowledge of ingredients and descriptions. These are not complaints just suggestions.

Overall experience: Amazing! Century Restaurant is the ideal "special occasion" restaurant. I will definitely go back. Hurry and make your Valentine's Day reservations! They will be offering a special menu for $39.95 per person. The night will include a live jazz guitarist and free valet parking.
To reserve your table, click this link Valentine's Day 2015 at Century Restaurant & Bar

For more info on Century Restaurant & Bar, visit their website http://www.centurybirmingham.com/
Follow them on Twitter @CenturyBham

Thanks for reading,
~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider
Roasted Garlic Hummus Appetizer

Yummy, warm, delicious bread
Chicken Picatta
Angus Ribeye