REVIEW: Avondale Common House & Distillery

What goes with an amazing day & amazing weather? Amazing food & amazing atmosphere. On this particular day, I ventured out to a spot in Avondale that has been buzzing for quite sometime. I have to be honest, I have received mixed reviews about Avondale Common House & Distillery. Some good and some not so good. You know me.... I have a "see for yourself" attitude. My hungry lunch date and I ventured out to this new spot and we were both met with impressive "everything".

Avondale Common House is located on the same block with Avondale Brewery, one of my faves & one of Birmingham's most popular outdoor venues.


We were greeted promptly upon arrival by their friendly hostess and opted for a comfortable table on the patio.  Our server, Tyler, arrived shortly with 2 glasses of  ice cold "city punch" in hand. (That's water, H2o,.... You get the picture)

He was very knowledgeable of the menu and was able to recommend excellent choices for us pretty quickly.

My date decided upon the Southern Fried Boneless Chicken Breast entree' : A moist & tender GENEROUS sized chicken breast, accompanied by an order of their IPA braised collards, smoked mashed potatoes and "sawmill" gravy.  Folks, this was a darn good entree'. Even though it wasn't mine, I still managed to scarf down  a small portion. The greens are kinda hidden on this picture, but believe me they're there.

Yummmmm! 

I had a hankering for seafood so I opted for the Common House Shrimp & Grits: succulent, blackened shrimp, Andouille sausage, Cheesy cheese grits, peppers, onions and scallions. Amazing flavor. Amazing presentation.

Avondale Common House & Distillery also features an impressive variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads & unique desserts not to mention great home made side dishes.

Their prices are not too bad either. Entree's range from $12-$20 dollars.

Overall, I was impressed with everything from "Greet to Eat"! Despite the mixed reviews, my experience was superb.
I plan to return very soon to try other dishes.

Thanks for reading & sharing,
~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider

"Anonymously Raiding A Restaurant Near You"
 #RaidBham

Avondale Common House & Distillery
4100 3rd Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35222
(205)703-9895
http://avondalecommonhouse.com/
https://www.facebook.com/avondalecommhouse/

1st Annual Magic City Mac & Cheese Fest

When I read about this event I could not believe my eyes! A festival dedicated to one of my all time FAVORITE foods! 😋😋

Community Grief Support of Birmingham in conjunction with Avondale Brewing Company will be hosting the first annual Magic City Mac & Cheese Festival on Sun, August 6, 2017 from 1-4 PM. 

This festival is less of a competition and more of a celebration of one of America's most popular dishes. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to try several versions of mac & cheese prepared by some of Birmingham's most popular restaurants and chefs. 

Early Bird tickets are still available at $15.00 per adult. Children ages 6-12 will be admitted for $5.00 and kids 5 & under will be admitted FREE! 

Buffalo Rock will be on site with non-alcoholic beverages for sale. Stop by the bar at Avondale Brewing Company to pick up your favorite local brew. 

Early ticket purchases are HIGHLY suggested as this event is sure to draw a huge crowd. Tickets will be $20.00 at the gate. 

Although this is technically not a competition, all of the mac & cheese recipes will be judged by a group of pre-selected tasters. (What a hard job)

"Community Grief Support is a safe place where people grieving the death of a loved one can find hope and healing and meet with others who have had this experience and understand. Together they learn how to regain control of their lives in an environment of care, comfort and healing." They offer counseling for individuals, couples & families.

Be sure to stop by the donation table. 

Can't make it to the festival? Donate to CGS at http://www.communitygriefsupport.org/donate.php

Avondale Brewing Co is located at 

201 41st Street South
Birmingham, AL 35222 


*Streets will be blocked off so arrive early for the best parking selection*

Thank you for your support & thank you for sharing this info! 

The Birmingham Restaurant Raider

Anonymously Raiding A Restaurant Near You! 

#RaidBham

@RestaurantRaidr

 

 

Review: Rowe's Service Station "Go In For A Fill Up"

If you are looking for great places to eat, then make your way over to Avondale. Avondale is fast becoming the  growing "go-to" area to find restaurants that are "off the beaten path".

Several people have recommended Rowe's Service Station. After about the 300th suggestion, I decided to grab a friend and scurry on over to this infamous food joint. My head was spinning a bit from all of the suggestions on what to eat. However, I was definitely able to narrow it down to one dish that stood out on the menu.

Atmosphere: Rowe's offers a casual dining atmosphere. There is indoor table seating, bar seating and several seats to enjoy the outdoors on a nice day or evening. We opted for comfortable table seating indoors on this particular evening.

The Meal: This was a truly a hard decision to make. After viewing SOOO MANY great looking options on the menu, I decided to have the Bistro Filet, a succulent cut of steak cooked medium with a side of their excellent grilled asparagus topped with with house made Brown Butter Vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan along with a side of delicious sweet potato hash. This was one of the best dishes I've had all year and will be put on my list of favorites. My dinner companion, decided on the chicken & waffles: moist fried chicken portions served with Belgian style waffles cut into triangles.

The Prices: I was pleasantly surprised by their prices. Rowe's is a place where you can get a lot of food for a reasonable amount of money. The Bistro Filet dinner was $14.00 and the chicken and waffles came to $9.00. Not bad for a dinner for two.

The Staff: The staff at Rowe's was friendly, accommodating and gave us service with a smile during this visit. On top of a great meal, this was one of the highlights of the visit.

Overall Experience: Rowe's definitely lived up to all of the great things I'd heard over the past few months and the food was as good as I'd hoped. In addition to dinner, they offer great breakfast options, local beers and a brunch menu that attracts a standing room only crowd. I shall return!

For more information about Rowe's Service Station & to view the most up to date menus, visit their website at www.http://eatatrowes.com/

Like them on Facebook at RowesServiceStation

Follow them on Twitter @RowesAvondale
Thanks for reading!

~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider
"Anonymously Raiding A Restaurant Near You" 
http://birminghamrestaurantraider.blogspot.com/ 

Bistro Filet

Chicken & Waffles

Review: Melt Birmingham-"Reinventing The Sammich"

The food truck phenomenon has REALLY taken off in the city of Birmingham. It always makes me proud to see a food truck business expand to a brick & mortar location. One name that has been consistently suggested over & over is Melt. Melt has infamously taken the grilled cheese sandwich to another level. Their menu shows that a little creativity can make thousands of hungry locals flock to their food truck and their restaurant in droves.


Atmosphere: The restaurant is spacious and can accommodate large groups. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. This is a casual dining spot that sits right in the heart of Avondale. At the time of my visit, there was a very nice crowd. The indoor seating was filled close to capacity. It was busy, but not so noisy that I could not enjoy the conversation with my dinner companion.

The Meal: We had a shared appetizer of the "That's How Matilda Rolls"- rolls of flash fried mozzarella & cheddar cheeses combined with red pepper flakes with a side of marinara for dipping. These were VERY good. If you like Italian blend cheeses, you will love these. My main dish consisted of a recommended Melt favorite, the "Flyin' Hawaiian" - a Pretzel bun loaded with smoked ham, a slice of cajun spiced grilled pineapple and melted habanero jack cheese. This was complimented with a side of amazing Greek pasta salad. My dinner companion opted for the "Food Truck Nachos"-A bed of freshly prepared house made chips, topped with succulent pulled pork, sliced fried jalapeno peppers, nacho cheese sauce, fried jalapenos, green onions AND if that's not isn't enough... jalapeno ranch. But wait... there's more! To top it all off, we shared an order of three deep fried, double-stuffed Oreo cookies, dusted with powdered sugar.

The Service: The service was very friendly. I would have liked more frequent refills due to the dishes we ordered, but no real complaints about the actual service.

The prices: The prices at Melt are extremely reasonable. The starters & shareable items range between $3 & $7. This includes soup. If you'd like to try one of their signature salads, they range from $7-$11 bucks, sandwiches $7-$12 & sides from $3-$5. They also have a great looking kids menu.

Overall experience: I enjoyed the atmosphere and everything we ordered. I didn't feel ripped off and still hungry at the end of my meal, so I'd say that's a good thing. They have some other great looking menu items I'd like to try such as their infamous grilled mac & cheese sandwich. I shall return!

For more information about Melt Birmingham check out their website at http://www.meltbham.com/
Follow them on Twitter at @meltbham 
Follow them on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/meltbham

Thanks for reading,

~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider

Their house made 41st Street Mustard is amazing!

The "Matilda" rolls

The Flyin' Hawaiian w/ Greek pasta salad

The Food Truck Nachos

Deep fried Oreos