Question for Alabama Dis'ers!

[rcraw45425]

When we lived in B'ham we'd take I 20 to Atlanta, I 65 to Montgomery then down to Mobile. I 75 is in the middle of GA (out of the way) and Valdosta is in South GA.

 

[mousiemom]

the dew drop is not walking distance but is so good. wintzell's oyster house is in the downtown area and has good seafood along with the other places that were mentioned: felix, original oyster house, and the captain's table that is located right beside the battleship-can't miss this one! you will be safe around the sagenger. my bestfriend works at jimmy buffet's sister's restaurant in gulf shores-lulu's. if you have time, ride across the bay to fairhope. they have nice shops and you can ride the scenic route by the water. they also have a bay steamer restaurant right in town.
good luck and have a good trip!!
mousiemom

 

[pinkrose]

We just got home from a trip to B'ham and then on down to the beach ain the FL panhandle. Funny thing is, we used to live in Chelsea back when DH was in residency in the early 90s. We both were blown away by how much it's grown. Be sure to hit the Summit shopping center, it's like a grown ups wonderland. Sephora, Saks, Pottery Barn, Vera Bradley store, Cheesecake Factory, Apple store, tons of places to shop. I think it's taken the spot in me heart formerly held by the Riverchase Galleria up there. Try Dreamland for ribs, it's a Univ. of AL tradition that has branched out to B'ham and other cities. Enjoy your trip!

You are so right about the Summit! I love being able to just go into the store I need with out having to walk through a big mall.

Oh, and as was mentioned... Dreamland is awesome! If you get a chance to go to the Irondale area, try and get some lunch at the Irondale Cafe ( Whistle Stop Cafe from Fried Green Tomatoes). http://www.irondalecafe.com/

 

[tadamom]

When I drive home to Florence from Atlanta, I go through B'ham and I take I-20 to B'ham (2-2.5 hr drive).

 

[perla75]

Anyone know anything about Heroes Sports Bar in Mobile?

They are hosting a pre-show party for the concert we are going to next week and I wondered how this place is?

Thanks!

 

[Sinderelli]

Cool!! We will definately go here & get a cheeseburger! Do you know if it's walkable from the Saenger Theater area? Or what street it's on so I can google map it?

Thanks!

The Dew Drop Inn is on Old Shell Road- not in walking distance from downtown Mobile, but a beautiful drive. Old Shell Road also takes you to the back entrance of Spring Hill College, the 3rd oldest Jesuit college and my alma mater! The front entrance of Spring Hill is on Dauphin Street, which you can take to get downtown.

There are some beautiful neighborhoods in Mobile. It's definitely worth a drive!

 

[perla75]

Just got back from our trip & wanted to let you know what we did and saw-thank you for all your help!

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel TWICE! I loved it! What a great idea to have a chain of clean home style restaurants off basically every exit! Our service was great at both places, portions were huge!, and food was great (and cheap!). I loved the blueberry pancakes and grits!

Calera: We stayed at our friend's new house in Calera. Cute town. I experienced my first Walmart We ate at an amazing little hole in the wall Mexican place (forgot the name, but it was down the street from the Calera Walmart & Cracker Barrel. I was very impressed with the movie theater in Alabaster (Sp?)!! I sware I have never experienced such comfy seats in a movie theater!!

Birmingham: We went to the Birmingham Zoo (in Mountain Brook?). Loved feeding the giraffes!!! I wish they had that at DAK in WDW!! We also went to the Civil Rights Institute, which was very interesting and enjoyable. The show we saw was at the Alabama Theater & I loved the theater (and the concert!)-it seems to be maintained really well & so pretty inside. I have to say that overall, I was not a fan of downtown Birmingham. It seemed like at one point it was a lovely and bustling city, but now just seemed desolate, empty, & sad.

Mobile: Loved the drive from Calera to Mobile! That endless bridge right before you hit Mobile was fun. We stayed at the Radisson which was beautiful & comfy. The Saenger Theater was beautiful. We ate dinner at the Hurricane Brewing Co. & loved the beer and the food. Ate breakfast at the Spot of Tea-really good and great service.

All in all, a fun trip! The weather was pretty kind all week as well!
Thanks again for all of your helpful advice and opinions!

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Glad you enjoyed your trip...

I'm chiming in a little late here...but most of the good stuff around B'Ham is in Bessemer. DH is from there and we used to travel into the city once in a while for something to do. His family all live in the Tuscaloosa area.

John Grisham wrote a great article in the Little Rock Junior League's cookbook Apron Strings, where he talks about how he takes pleasure in serving grits to his friends from the North. His recipe for Shrimp and Grits comes from a friend of his and appears in the book. That. is good eating.

 

[pinkrose]

Just got back from our trip & wanted to let you know what we did and saw-thank you for all your help!

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel TWICE! I loved it! What a great idea to have a chain of clean home style restaurants off basically every exit! Our service was great at both places, portions were huge!, and food was great (and cheap!). I loved the blueberry pancakes and grits!

Calera: We stayed at our friend's new house in Calera. Cute town. I experienced my first Walmart We ate at an amazing little hole in the wall Mexican place (forgot the name, but it was down the street from the Calera Walmart & Cracker Barrel. I was very impressed with the movie theater in Alabaster (Sp?)!! I sware I have never experienced such comfy seats in a movie theater!!

Birmingham: We went to the Birmingham Zoo (in Mountain Brook?). Loved feeding the giraffes!!! I wish they had that at DAK in WDW!! We also went to the Civil Rights Institute, which was very interesting and enjoyable. The show we saw was at the Alabama Theater & I loved the theater (and the concert!)-it seems to be maintained really well & so pretty inside. I have to say that overall, I was not a fan of downtown Birmingham. It seemed like at one point it was a lovely and bustling city, but now just seemed desolate, empty, & sad.

Mobile: Loved the drive from Calera to Mobile! That endless bridge right before you hit Mobile was fun. We stayed at the Radisson which was beautiful & comfy. The Saenger Theater was beautiful. We ate dinner at the Hurricane Brewing Co. & loved the beer and the food. Ate breakfast at the Spot of Tea-really good and great service.

All in all, a fun trip! The weather was pretty kind all week as well!
Thanks again for all of your helpful advice and opinions!

Glad you had a great time! I live near Calera (Helena). You did spell Alabaster correct.

You are right about Downtown B'ham. I'm not much of a fan either. They are trying to bring it "back" now. Hoover, 280 area, Trussville, ect. are where everything is now.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I'm glad you had a great trip!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

As for cool things to do...

there are many cool things to do in Montgomery.

Alabama State Capital
Civil Rights Memorial
Rosa Parks Museum
Dexter Avenue "King Memorial" Baptist Church
Hank Williams Museum & Grave
F. Scott Fitzgerald Home & Museum
RTJ Golf Course
Alabama Shakespeare Festival (world renowned)
Montgomery Biscuits Baseball (Really neat place)
Montgomery Zoo (Just as good as Atlanta)
Hyundai Manufacturing plant guided tours

If you guys don't have a Bass Pro Shop in the Northeast, it is REALLY REALLY worth going to the one in Prattville. I'm not into fishing or outdoorsy things, but that place is absolutely unbelievable. Its like Disneyworld for Bass. No kidding. Plus, I bet the restaurant inside serves Shrimp & grits. If your a big environmentalist-stay away. Bambi and his forest friends are hanging everywhere.

Priester's Pecans is also just south of Montgomery. There is also a Stuckey's near the Priester's Pecans and also one in Verbena at Exit 200.

Hey there! I didn't realize there was another Dis'er here in town. Woohoo!
Kim

 

[mousiemom]

the long bridge you went across before you got to mobile is called the "dolly parton bridge" because of the 2 huge humps!! i had lunch @ the cracker barrell lastweek and i love to go look in the country store. love the spot of tea downtown!! i will have to go check out the brewing co. i've been there when it was under a different mgmt. co. where's your next trip?
mousiemom

 

[darlak]

If you're traveling west from Atlanta to Birmingham, then you should stop for lunch at the Irondale Cafe. It's the original WhistleStop Cafe made famous by Fannie Flagg's book Fried Green Tomatoes and they have great food! Sadly they don't serve breakfast though.

http://www.irondalecafe.com/

Breakfast is good at Cracker Barrel and they serve it all day, so if you wanted to have grits as a side dish to your lunch or dinner, you could. On Sunday's (only on Sunday's) they have a boneless chicken dinner that may be the best I've ever had. Don't confuse it with the boneless chicken dinner that's always on the menu though, the Sunday one is completely different.

Our Civil Rights museum is awesome, as is the McWane Center. I especially recommend the McWane Center. You can do a Google search to see both.

For a quick breakfast, I would recommend Jack's. It's a local chain place sort of like MickyD's, but they do have a full breakfast platter with eggs, grits, bacon and biscuit. Their sweet tea is also a favorite of mine. Breakfast platter is less than $3, they also have the best biscuits and gravy plus the usual assortment of breakfast biscuits. Jack's are everywhere here, so it shouldn't be too hard to locate one.

Uncle Mort's was a great suggestion, but that will not be on your way. It's west of Birmingham on Highway 78 toward Jasper.

If you do make it to Bessemer, have some ribs at Bob Sikes BBQ. They're so good, I get them with the sauce on the side, as they really don't even need the sauce.

 

[perla75]

If you're traveling west from Atlanta to Birmingham, then you should stop for lunch at the Irondale Cafe. It's the original WhistleStop Cafe made famous by Fannie Flagg's book Fried Green Tomatoes and they have great food! Sadly they don't serve breakfast though.

http://www.irondalecafe.com/

Uncle Mort's was a great suggestion, but that will not be on your way. It's west of Birmingham on Highway 78 toward Jasper.

Is Uncle Morts the restaurant chain that also sells their sweet tea by the gallon at Walmart? I thought we passed one in downtown Birmingham, but I could be thinking of a different name.

 

[Amlee]

Is Uncle Morts the restaurant chain that also sells their sweet tea by the gallon at Walmart? I thought we passed one in downtown Birmingham, but I could be thinking of a different name.

No, that is Milo's. Great tea, fries and pies, but not crazy about their burgers.

Uncle Morts is a small mom and pop place. I would say Cracker Barrel would be base off of a place like Morts.

 

[perla75]

No, that is Milo's. Great tea, fries and pies, but not crazy about their burgers.

Uncle Morts is a small mom and pop place. I would say Cracker Barrel would be base off of a place like Morts.

That's right-Milo's! We didn't get to go there, but the sweet tea we got from Walmart was great! My first sweet tea experience & I loved it. We'll have to check out Uncle Morts for our next trip.

 

[rcraw45425]

Put it this way, if you eat a Milo burger, be sure to eat a roll of Rolaids for dessert! They were great when we lived in Birmingham but boy you pay for them later! Also, the tea is now available with Splenda so you get the maximum sweetness without the calories!

 

[Amlee]

Put it this way, if you eat a Milo burger, be sure to eat a roll of Rolaids for dessert! They were great when we lived in Birmingham but boy you pay for them later! Also, the tea is now available with Splenda so you get the maximum sweetness without the calories!

Not to mention, it's impossible to eat a Milo's burger and remain clean. It goes everywhere!

I no longer make tea, I just buy milos. I like to mix the unsweet and the sweet in a pitcher.

 

[rcraw45425]

Not to mention, it's impossible to eat a Milo's burger and remain clean. It goes everywhere!

I no longer make tea, I just buy milos. I like to mix the unsweet and the sweet in a pitcher.

Amen to that! It's not like eating a Krystal burger while riding down Hwy 280, right? Don't get me wrong, I loved those things! When we were in B'ham three weeks ago I tried to figure a way to convince my girls to eat there for lunch, but no, we had to eat Johnny Rockets at the Summitt and the lovely Galleria Food Court instead! I buy the Splenda tea, DH adds more Splenda to it, lol! IMO, it's easier to buy it and know that it's good for a while than to make it and go to pour some a few days later and it taste "off".

We have, however, managed to get them to try Sneaky Pete's for hot dogs and Dreamland for ribs though

 

[Amlee]

You eat and drive on 280?!

My friend who is a die hard LSU fan from Baton Rouge met me in T-town and she had to eat at the orginial Dreamland. I swear that it is the orginial rib shack. I like Jim & Nic's better.

We don't have a Milo's here, so I swing by Gardendale's on my way back north to get their tea.