A nice little shout out on local restaurants (Birmingham, Hoover: buy, prices)

[cpg35223]

Birmingham coming into its own in terms of food and drink - Travel - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/31/2331931/birmingham-coming-into-its-own.html#storylink=fbuser - broken link)

[Bette]

Makes me want to check them out

[harry chickpea]

Nice blurb. However... "coming into its own???" B'ham has had some fantastic spots for dining and a few drinks for years. Actually, when we moved from B'ham to Miami, I was less impressed with the Miami restaurants than the ones in B'ham. The Cuban influence, weak mojo, and sand filled paella were common. In contrast, even the lunch places in B'ham had tasty and perfectly cooked foods at low prices.

[lakeriedog]

My husband and I will be moving to the area from California in a few years. Wondering if we will be able to find Mexican, Indian, Chinese, and Italian restaurants?

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by lakeriedog

My husband and I will be moving to the area from California in a few years. Wondering if we will be able to find Mexican, Indian, Chinese, and Italian restaurants?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. With Indian and Chinese, it may not appeal to purists. But Birmingham has an excellent restaurant scene, far better than one would expect for a city this size. Having two Beard finalists in the same city isn't a bad thing you know?

[bluebeard]

Being from California... your options for these will for the most part be lacking, comparatively. This is probably the one thing I miss most. But the ethnic scene isn't horrible given the population size.
With Italian, you shouldn't have a problem at all. Birmingham is definitely Euro-philic My personal favorite is Bettola and I would miss this place even back in Cali. They've raised their prices, but its still awesome. They are expanding next door for tapas-style European dishes next door as well. There are a number of Italian restaurants of different types.
The Birmingham ethnic specialty is Mediterranean. My favorites are Makarios and Pita Stop. People may direct you to Al's, but really its just an old standby thats convenient from UAB, is open 365 days and 24 hours, and has been around forever, so there's an emotional tie for us that attend or work there.
With Mexican:at most places stick with tacos. Really. There are a few good taquerias here and there (Gordo's and the taco truck on Valley, Taqueria Mexico in Hoover). Iguana's has decent grilled meats (higher scale Tex-Mex).
With Chinese there are pretty much 2 places: Red Pearl on Valley and Mt. Chen's in Hoover (although this one's gone downhill).
With Indian, Silver Coin used to be genuinely great, but they've raised the prices and lowered the quality. Sitar at 5 points is now better (buffet is acceptable, order for better quality). Taj India is not as good. Kabob and Curry is somewhere to avoid.
You will be directed to Surin (the Thai place). I personally find it not worth going too, unless you're bored of everything else and want a cheap lunch out. You'd just as soon buy canned curry pastes and make it yourself for a better Thai meal.
Vietnamese is Saigon Noodle on 280 and Asian Cuisine on 150 (John Hawkins). The Green Springs one is pretty bad. Seoul Restaurant on Green Springs is ok.
There's a Jamaican place (Yehman) downtown that's really heavy and salty, but good. I hadn't really had Carribean food before coming out east.
There's a good Cajun place (Cajun Creations) in Bessemer that's cheap for pretty good quality.

You can cruise around chowhound too:
http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/75

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

Being from California... your options for these will for the most part be lacking, comparatively. This is probably the one thing I miss most. But the ethnic scene isn't horrible given the population size.
With Italian, you shouldn't have a problem at all. Birmingham is definitely Euro-philic My personal favorite is Bettola and I would miss this place even back in Cali. They've raised their prices, but its still awesome. They are expanding next door for tapas-style European dishes next door as well. There are a number of Italian restaurants of different types.
The Birmingham ethnic specialty is Mediterranean. My favorites are Makarios and Pita Stop. People may direct you to Al's, but really its just an old standby thats convenient from UAB, is open 365 days and 24 hours, and has been around forever, so there's an emotional tie for us that attend or work there.
With Mexican:at most places stick with tacos. Really. There are a few good taquerias here and there (Gordo's and the taco truck on Valley, Taqueria Mexico in Hoover). Iguana's has decent grilled meats (higher scale Tex-Mex).
With Chinese there are pretty much 2 places: Red Pearl on Valley and Mt. Chen's in Hoover (although this one's gone downhill).
With Indian, Silver Coin used to be genuinely great, but they've raised the prices and lowered the quality. Sitar at 5 points is now better (buffet is acceptable, order for better quality). Taj India is not as good. Kabob and Curry is somewhere to avoid.
You will be directed to Surin (the Thai place). I personally find it not worth going too, unless you're bored of everything else and want a cheap lunch out. You'd just as soon buy canned curry pastes and make it yourself for a better Thai meal.
Vietnamese is Saigon Noodle on 280 and Asian Cuisine on 150 (John Hawkins). The Green Springs one is pretty bad. Seoul Restaurant on Green Springs is ok.
There's a Jamaican place (Yehman) downtown that's really heavy and salty, but good. I hadn't really had Carribean food before coming out east.
There's a good Cajun place (Cajun Creations) in Bessemer that's cheap for pretty good quality.

You can cruise around chowhound too:
Central South - Chowhound

I think that's good input.

[harry chickpea]

Really good post, Bluebeard. My experience with Pita Stop is from years ago. Have they become more consistent? It used to be spotty and I couldn't figure out which days and times were better.

Doesn't matter to me too much now anyway, can't afford to go out to eat, but I am curious.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Really good post, Bluebeard. My experience with Pita Stop is from years ago. Have they become more consistent? It used to be spotty and I couldn't figure out which days and times were better.

Doesn't matter to me too much now anyway, can't afford to go out to eat, but I am curious.

Since Makarios has opened, I actually don't go there so much. Not just for the food, but I also like to eat outside. I pretty much always ate there for lunch. My wife liked the Wednesday fish special (forgot what it was.)