Fun things to do (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa: home, hotels, lease)

[Bama Bound]

So I am getting ready to move to Birmingham in June to complete my residency and I am coming down in a few weeks to look around for a place to live.

My boyfriend is going to come with me (He's never been to Alabama) and I would like to do something fun and show him that Alabama has something to offer (He's a bit iffy on moving there).

PLEASE help me out here....names of good places to eat unique to Birmingham...good places to go hang out....especially if there are places where we can drink beer and listen to some good original music etc. Any ideas would be appreciated. I just want him to have a good first impression of the place and I too would like to see more of what Birmingham has to offer! Thanks!!

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by Bama Bound

So I am getting ready to move to Birmingham in June to complete my residency and I am coming down in a few weeks to look around for a place to live.

My boyfriend is going to come with me (He's never been to Alabama) and I would like to do something fun and show him that Alabama has something to offer (He's a bit iffy on moving there).

PLEASE help me out here....names of good places to eat unique to Birmingham...good places to go hang out....especially if there are places where we can drink beer and listen to some good original music etc. Any ideas would be appreciated. I just want him to have a good first impression of the place and I too would like to see more of what Birmingham has to offer! Thanks!!

The summit lifestyle center in Mountain Brook offers great shopping and restaurants, and Five Points South near UAB is a great nightlife and entertainment district. If you like malls the best two in the area are the Galleria and Brookwood.Those are my favorite places in the city I don't live there but visit often I'll let everybody else cover the other places.

[cpg35223]

For some reason, my first entry was slow in posting, so I wrote another. I liked the second post better than the first, so I chose to delete this one.

[cpg35223]

Here's a good website for you to check out:

Black & White: Black & White, Birmingham's City Paper

This is for Black & White, the local entertainment paper. It has the scoop on all the things to do. By the way, April, May, and June are particularly nice times to visit. There are plenty of things to do: Birmingham Art Connection, Brunos Memorial Classic, Doo Dah Day, and City Stages (a must in June). Plus it lists all the clubs and the set lists.

I used to do a lot of session work, and am consistently surprised that a city of this size has such a good music scene. Plenty of good acts come through and, as opposed to Chicago and Cleveland where I come from, it's easier to get tickets.

Oh, here's another really good web site that pretty much lists everything going on in the city: activeculture.info: arts and cultural events in Birmingham

As far as restaurants go, I've found no end of really good places to eat. Probably Highlands would be top of my list, along with Bottega, Ocean, Daniel George, Table and several dozen others. It would be really hard to go wrong with any of these.

Good luck! We've lived in Chicago, Cleveland, San Diego, and Baltimore. Except for the fact that there isn't a large body of water nearby, Birmingham has been our favorite place to live.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Except for the fact that there isn't a large body of water nearby, Birmingham has been our favorite place to live.

What?!? You haven't heard of Smith Lake? Logan Martin Lake? Lake Tuscaloosa?

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by Southlander

What?!? You haven't heard of Smith Lake? Logan Martin Lake? Lake Tuscaloosa?

I don't really consider those "Large" bodies of water, he probably means coming from Chicago,Cleveland, San Diego and Baltimore something like Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Pacific Ocean, or the Chesapeake Bay /Atlantic. The largest lakes and longest rivers in Alabama are in North Alabama. We are relatively close to the gulf but its still almost a four hour drive from Birmingham.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Southlander

What?!? You haven't heard of Smith Lake? Logan Martin Lake? Lake Tuscaloosa?

I sail on Logan Martin on the occasional weekend. But that just isn't the same as the open ocean.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

I sail on Logan Martin on the occasional weekend. But that just isn't the same as the open ocean.

True. Better than nothin,' though!

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by Bama Bound

PLEASE help me out here....names of good places to eat unique to Birmingham...good places to go hang out....especially if there are places where we can drink beer and listen to some good original music etc. Any ideas would be appreciated. I just want him to have a good first impression of the place and I too would like to see more of what Birmingham has to offer! Thanks!!

Without hesitation, I would go to WorkPlay for an evening....

W O R K P L A Y

Go to the Fish Market for lunch....if y'all like fish, you will adore it....

The Fish Market - Birmingham, Alabama


Next, I would strongly recommend the Hotel Highland as the place to stay....

Birmingham Alabama Hotels - The Hotel Highland

For a fun spot to eat at night, there are almost too many to mention, but I would try Sol Y Luna for tapas and fun margarhetas...

Sol Y Luna, Birmingham

For Mexican, I would go and sit on the patio at Cocina Superior....

Cocina Superior - Modern TexMex

[Bama Bound]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

Without hesitation, I would go to WorkPlay for an evening....

W O R K P L A Y

Go to the Fish Market for lunch....if y'all like fish, you will adore it....

The Fish Market - Birmingham, Alabama


Next, I would strongly recommend the Hotel Highland as the place to stay....

Birmingham Alabama Hotels - The Hotel Highland

For a fun spot to eat at night, there are almost too many to mention, but I would try Sol Y Luna for tapas and fun margarhetas...

Sol Y Luna, Birmingham

For Mexican, I would go and sit on the patio at Cocina Superior....

Cocina Superior - Modern TexMex

This was a great post! Thanks for the good information. I just booked a room at the Hotel Highland because a few people have now recommended it...I hope it's as nice as it costs