Birmingham becoming known as up-and-coming food city

By Cathy Wood Myers

STAFF WRITER

wo hours down 1-65 from the Shoals is

T one of the country's top dining desti-

nations - Birmingham, which suc-
cessful New York restaurateur Danny
Meyer recently called an "up-and-
coming" food city in a New York Times Sunday
Magazine interview.
''We were pleased and surprised by that We've
hit the big time now!" said Dilcy Hilley, vice presi-
dent of marketing and communications for the
Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors
Bureau. ''We all knew how good the food was here
and now everybody knows."
Birmingham's food-city reputation rests on its
strong independent restaurants that offer a variety
of cuisines at a variety of prices. And more open
. every year, Hilley said.
Frqm nationally acclaimed gourmet restaurants
to locally favored roadside diners, Birmingham has
it all.
"TIris year, bigger magazines such as Food and
Wine and writers for nationally prestigious and
renowned publications have been in town to visit,"
Hilley added. ''Word has gotten around, as it does
in any professional community, that there are so
many good independent restaurants in Birming-
ham ~ unlike other cities, where there are good
chain restaurants. We just have an incredIble mix of
~sorts of dishes."
But why is this happening in a small city in
Alabama?
''We have to point to Frank Stitt for taking the
chance and opening sucha fine restaurant here as
Highlands," Hilley said.

Stitt sets the bar

Stitt, an Alabama native with extensive culinary
experience outside of the South, opened Highlands
Bar and Grill in Birmingham in 1982. At the upscale
restaurant, he combines down-home Southern
ingredients with subtle French elegance - a mix-
ture that intrigues and delights food fans across the
country.
, In fact, it was Stitt who influenced his friend
Meyer to come try Birmingham's food.
Stitt also has written a cookbook, "Southern
Table," and frequently has been on 1V - and th, t GREAlER BIRMINGHAM VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU
growing reputation has brought mou~..w;.""'-'''''''''''-UJEi.European-s1:yle Bakery at Culinard in Birmingham, part of the Culinary Institute of Virgii1ia
Birmingham to train under him and others. College, is one of the must-eat places that have made Alabama's largest city known across
TOP continued on 2E the c0l;lntry as an ulHlnd-coming food destination.

ATAGlANCE
Want a sample of Birmingham's flavors?
The Birmingham Originals, a chapter of the Council of Independent
Restaurants of America, recently sponsored the Break 'n Bread tasting
and fundraiser. Here's the menu and restaurant list:
Sol y Luna ~ Pork medallions with corn and jalapeno salsa;
Franklin's Homewood Gourmet ~ Baby Blue Salad; Little Savannah -
Shrimp ceviche with golden sweet com, smoked red onion and local
green tomatoes; Local- Salmon tartare with Asian flavors; Hot and
Hot FISh Club - Hot and Hot Shrimp and Grits with country ham, fresh
thyme, tomatoes and ver jus;
Icon - Roasted Pumpkin Ginger Risotto Cake with Fall Apple Com-
pote and pecorino romano cheese; Irondale care - Peach bread pud-
ding with custard sauce; The Bright Star - Seafood gumbo; Out Takes
- Pasta Pesta and'Swiss Almond Chicken salads;
Chez Lulu and Continental Bakery - Artisan breads and local butter
from the bakery and warm bread pudding with Bourbon hard sauce
from the cafe; Costa's - Costa's Famous Black Angus Steaks and
Grilled Chicken and Award-Winning Spare Ribs and Mini Q's;
Cosmos - The Soprano, a cracker-thin-crust with pizza sauce, fresh
mozzarella, basil and parmesan cheese; Ocean - Thai-spiced seared
scallops with wilted baby greens and plum sauce; 26 - Red Chili Miran
Braised Pork with Soba Noodle Salad and Wok-Seared Asian Slaw;
V. Richard's - Nutter Butters and brownies; daniel george - Braised
beef and chicken tamales; Standard Bistro - Seared Scallops with
Three-Mushroom Ragout, truffled mashed potatoes and crisp fried
leeks; and Nabeel's - Vegetarian Lasagna with Feta.
Other restaurants at the tasting were The Fish Market, La Reunion,
Open Door Cafe and Silvertron.
- birminghamorigina/s.org

TOP: An up-and-coming food city
,
Continued from IE
Culinard, the Culinary Institute of
Vrrginia College, also contributes
to Birmingham's stellar food scene.
"Culinary science really is so
hot right now. Culinard turns out
great talent," Hilley said, "A lot of
those students who might have in
the past left to go somewhere such
as Boston to Charleston are stay-
ing here now."
But it's the standards Stitt set at
Highlands andbisother restau-
rants - the ltalian- and Mediter-
ranean-flavored Bottega and the
intimate French-bistro Chez Fon-
fon - that keeps the dining bar
high.
"A lot of Birmingham's reputa-
tion has to do with Highlands being
recognized. That kind of national
attention and also from the cook-
book and TV shows has sort of
helped put Birmingham on the culi-
nary map," he said.
Sophisticated diners
Birmingham chefs' commit-
ment to using fresh and local ingre-
,
dients when they can and high- here so that people go out tc
quality ingredients always is anoth- and enjoy dining. Also, diners 1
erplus. travel, and the University ofA1
'The 'cottage industry' of small, rna at Birmingham doctors h
local farmers and growers and the been all over the world and er
purveyors that provide incredible at top restaurants. There's a
products to the restaurants has prisingly sophisticated wine kn,
grown tremendously," said Chris edge - people who are real
Hastings, chefat Hot and Hot Fish cionados of wine and food liv.
Club. 'These are the people who Birmingham."
provide the hand-erafted cheese, That means increased expe
farm-raised meats and local pro- tions for quality dining, he add
duce that give chefs the opportu- 'The locals here have com
nity to express our regional flavors. . expect high standards becauSl
This type of cottage industry did- .places like Standard Bistro, Oce.
n't exist 15 to 20 years ago to the daniel george and my restauran
extent that it does today. Now, There's a pretty good level
Birmingham restaurants are able understanding about how food an
to showcase local, Alabama restaurants are supposed to be
products, and the quality of the Stitt said.
food that's served is superior to the "People travel to New York an
mass-produced products that used San Francisco, eat there, comt
to be our only option." back and say, That sure was fun,
An appreciative audience is but we like it here'."
another key to Birmingham's bur- Hilley agreed.
geoning food fame. 'Th~re are places that are very
'The people of Birmingham are sophisticated here and you step in .
sophisticated." Stitt said. 'There's and forget that you're in Birming-
sufficient affluence and income ham, Alabama," she said. "We're
really so proud."
Cathy Wood Myers can be
reached at 740-5733 ()Y
cathy. myers@timesdaily.com.