Alabama

Some Alabama burger joints have been flipping patties for so long that they have outlasted rotary phones, drive-in…

By James Holloway · Nov 10

Gulf Shores has no shortage of places that promise seafood, but only a few have a parking lot…

By James Holloway · Nov 10

Some places along the river in west Alabama have quietly fed families since the 1970s, and they never…

By James Holloway · Nov 9

When the weather turns gray and chilly, a plate of country cooking starts to sound like the best…

By James Holloway · Nov 9

Just off the busy causeway near Spanish Fort, a quiet patch of waterfront, woods, and wetland waits for…

By James Holloway · Nov 8

Some places in Mobile chase trends, and some just keep doing their thing year after year. One little…

By James Holloway · Nov 8

Grab a tray, pick up the tongs, and start choosing. That simple routine is how mornings begin at…

By James Holloway · Nov 7

Summer packs up and leaves, but a soft serve craving never really does. Across Alabama, a handful of…

By James Holloway · Nov 7

Some Huntsville mornings start with a decision, and some start with a habit. For a large group of…

By James Holloway · Nov 6

A river that runs along the top of a mountain sounds like a trick question, but it is…

By James Holloway · Nov 6

Somewhere along the long stretch of I-65 in South Alabama, road-trippers keep making the same unplanned turn. They…

By James Holloway · Nov 5

Some towns have a statue in the square. Florence, Alabama, has a soda counter that has been serving…

By James Holloway · Nov 5

Arizona gets a lot of credit for its family taquerias, and that reputation is earned. But Alabama has…

By James Holloway · Nov 4

When the temperature drops in Alabama, a lot of people skip the fancy menus and head straight for…

By James Holloway · Nov 4

Some places in Alabama never got the memo that the decades kept moving. Their counters still serve slaw…

By James Holloway · Nov 3

Some Tuscaloosa families pass down recipes, and some pass down directions to a barbecue counter. Former students drive…

By James Holloway · Nov 3

Interstates made Alabama road trips faster, but they also sent a lot of drivers zooming past the places…

By James Holloway · Nov 2

Some Alabama restaurants have been serving lunch longer than most of us have been alive. They have outlasted…

By James Holloway · Nov 2

Some Alabama diners have the coffee poured and the grill hot while most of the state is still…

By James Holloway · Nov 1

Some family traditions start at a counter, with a kid on tiptoe ordering a milkshake for the very…

By James Holloway · Nov 1

Some restaurants chase trends. Others outlast them by a century and barely change the decor. On a busy…

By James Holloway · Oct 31

Some people drive two hours for lunch and call it a bargain. That happens more than you might…

By James Holloway · Oct 31

Sometimes the best weekend is the one where you slow down, park the car, and actually look around.…

By James Holloway · Oct 30

Alabama summers come with a very specific reward, and it shows up in a paper bag full of…

By James Holloway · Oct 30

Some places in Mobile have outlived nearly everything around them, and one little spot on a shaded midtown…

By James Holloway · Oct 29

Alabama takes its barbecue seriously, and some of the best places in the state have been cooking pork…

By James Holloway · Oct 29

Alabama takes its barbecue seriously, and ribs might be the truest test of a pitmaster’s patience. Around the…

By James Holloway · Oct 28

Some Birmingham restaurants chase trends. One modest building on the city’s south side has spent about 80 years…

By James Holloway · Oct 28

Some lunch spots in Mobile fill their parking lots so fast at noon that drivers circle twice before…

By James Holloway · Oct 27

Some places in Alabama run on a clock, and some run on the time it takes a crappie…

By James Holloway · Oct 27

In one Birmingham parking lot, the waiting room has four wheels and a cup holder. People order at…

By James Holloway · Oct 26

Some of the best meals in Tuscaloosa do not come with a big sign, a fancy dining room,…

By James Holloway · Oct 26

Some boat trips end with a long search for a decent place to tie up. Others end at…

By James Holloway · Oct 25

Some of the best meals in Birmingham come out of buildings that never bothered to look fancy. Downtown,…

By James Holloway · Oct 25

Some dinners end when the plate is empty. Others keep going for days, one leftover container at a…

By James Holloway · Oct 24

Some restaurants hide their best feature behind a fancy sign. This one puts a warning right on the…

By James Holloway · Oct 24

Most steak dinners end with a check and a mint, but one dining room in Wetumpka sends guests…

By James Holloway · Oct 23

Alabama takes its burgers seriously, and some of the best ones come from tiny towns you might drive…

By James Holloway · Oct 23

Summer in Alabama means one thing at the roadside stands and open-air markets: peaches. When the fruit is…

By James Holloway · Oct 22