Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Lunch at Lloyd's

Dianne and I made a rare trip to the US Highway 280 area recently and decided for old time's sake to have lunch at Lloyd's Restaurant. The place is legendary in central Alabama, having operated at its current location since 1978. The original Lloyd's opened in Chelsea in a modest building in 1937; the owner was Lloyd Chesser. After his retirement in 1971, the new owners eventually relocated the business. 

At the time of that move, the place was "out in the country". The only other business at the time in that area may have been the one across the highway, Perrin's Grocery, a gas station & store with a stone face that's still operating. I believe there has been a bit of growth around those businesses in the past few years.  

I remember eating at Lloyd's probably in the early 1990's when our kids Amos and Becca were pretty young. Dianne and I could not really remember if we had ever eaten there another time. 

Frankly, I was rather disappointed. I had a chopped pork plate, which arrived with some sort of weak-tasting sauce ALREADY ON IT. Yikes. The pork wasn't all that flavorful, either. A couple of weeks earlier brother Richard and I ate at a Gibson's Bar-B-Q in Huntsville, and I had a choice of red or white sauce to go on the excellent pork. White it was, by the way. 

The turnip greens, corn on the cobb and butter peas were pretty good. Dianne enjoyed her grilled snapper, so maybe I ordered the wrong entree. I'm afraid the place and its food just struck me as rather tired. If you want a 1970's time machine, Lloyd's will do. 

In today's varied culinary and nutrition conscious worlds, traditional Southern food seems passe and lots of it is not that healthy. I say that as an Alabama native who has lived here all my life and eaten who knows how many such meals over the years. These days our eating choices are so much wider, and I like a lot of them. Let's go get some sushi!

Every now and then I do want some of that "comfort" food and much better can be found at Niki's West and Sweet Tea Restaurant in Birmingham or Sarris Cafe in Pelham. Strangely enough, those three places are owned by people with Greek roots. Immigrants from Greece began coming to central Alabama over a hundred years ago. Now that's Southern!


Further Reading

Wortham, April. 65 years old: Longtime 280 restaurant has seen many changes since 1937 opening. Shelby County Reporter 27 February 2002, p. 6

Taylor, Kelli Hewett. Steaking claim to tradition: Lloyd's at 70 still home to old-style Southern cooking. Birmingham News 1 July 2007, pp. 15A-16A











Tuesday, November 13, 2018

A Visit to Niki's West

On a recent Saturday Dianne and I visited Cullman to check out the Alabama Gourd Show. This event is one of two sponsored by the Alabama Gourd Society; the other is held in Clanton in March. Dianne has been wanting to combine her beading/jewelry work with gourds for some time, so she was able to pick up some beginner's tools and hints from various exhibitors. The craftsmanship and imagination on display at this show are pretty impressive. You can get a few hints below.

On the way back to Pelham we decided to have an early dinner at Niki's West, the legendary "steak and seafood" place on Finely Avenue in Birmingham. You can read more about them at their website and this article from 2013. You can read what owner Pete Hontzas had to say about Niki's influence in Birmingham in this 2017 article

If you've never eaten at Niki's, get there ASAP! You can go through the buffet line, which is all we've ever done, or order from the menu. Either way it's bound to be good. 

Dave Hoekstra's meditation on Niki's West and Greek soul food in Birmingham can be found here.

Bob Carlton has written "Niki's West: The story behind a classic Alabama restaurant" available here










I ordered the divine liver and onions and enjoyed it very much. Our son Amos declares this one to be "literally my favorite meal in the world".













Update April 22, 2019:  

Dianne, son Amos and I made it to Niki's this past weekend and took a few more photos; the first three are by Amos. 


















Tuesday, August 14, 2018

A Visit to the Bright Star Restaurant

In recent years many Alabama restaurants have gained national acclaim, but only one of them has been around for more than a century. Tom Bonduris opened The Bright Star in Birmingham in 1907 as a 25-seat cafe. After several moves to larger quarters, he ended up in the current location in Bessemer in May 1915. An unknown travelling artist from Germany painted the European scenes on the murals inside. At the time Bessemer was a booming mining town, and the Bright Star operated around the clock.

Bill Koikos became co-owner in 1925 and worked until his death in 1980. He created their famous fried snapper throats dish. His two sons and a cousin currently operate the business. The restaurant has been expanded several times over the years and now seats 330 customers.

More history can be found at the BhamWiki linked in the first paragraph and on the restaurant's web site. Niki Sepsas' book A Centennial Celebration of The Bright Star Restaurant published in 2007 has much detailed history and many memories from customers. The book is heavily illustrated.

Last month brother Richard and I had lunch there on a Friday before making our annual visit to the coin show at the Bessemer Civic Center. Richard had that snapper throats meal, as he did last year. I had the broiled snapper; I've forgotten what I had in 2017. But it was delicious! If you've never been to the Bright Star, make a visit. You'll have a great meal, and see an historical landmark as well!

Some more comments are below. 



This four-story building was constructed by the Bessemer Realty Company. Pope Drugstore, Realty Barbershop, and legal and medical officers in addition to the Bright Star were operating there when it opened in 1915.













We found this sign in our booth this year. Marble from Sylacauga, perhaps?



As you might suspect, many famous people have eaten at the Bright Star through the decades. Bear Bryant always had a table in the back just outside the kitchen, which allowed him to enter and exit unobtrusively.















Monday, April 18, 2016

Birmingham Photos of the Day (44): Six Cafes

Back in February I did a blog post on some drug stores in Birmingham in 1906 that offered sandwiches and soda. I thought I'd continue that food and drink theme here. Given the number of restaurants Birmingham has seen over the decades, I'll probably revisit this topic at some point. Comments are below each photo.

All photos are from the Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collections






Hooper's Cafe on opening day in February 1906 seemed to be a busy place. The restaurant was then located at 312-314 20th Street North. In the list of city restaurants below taken from the 1920 yellow pages, Hooper's remains in the same location. By the time the 1945 yellow pages appeared, Hooper's had moved to 2009 3rd Avenue North. I wonder how much longer it operated? 

According to the BhamWiki entry, the establishment was owned by John Carlton Hooper and "The house special was a 24-ounce hand-cut T-bone. It was served with a baked potato, salad and hot biscuits for 35 cents. Other dishes included tenderloin of trout and sweet potato pie. The all-male wait staff was dressed in tuxedos."  



The Avenue B Cafe was located at 2130 2nd Avenue South and included entrances for both "white" and "colored". The photograph was taken for property appraisal purposes by the Jefferson County Board of Equalization some time between 1938 and 1977. That car you can barely see on the right would seem to indicate close to the earlier year. The 1945 yellow pages lists Jim Bouloukos as the manager and notes the "Home Made Chili." 



The Crystal Cafe was located at the corner of 4th Avenue North and Twenty-Fifth Street. Barely visible on the right is the "Colored Entrance." The great Birmingham photographer Oscar V. Hunt took this picture sometime before 1960; from the cars on the left, I'd guess late 1940's or early 1950's. The 1945 city yellow pages lists a "Crystal Lunch Room" at this location.




La Paree did business at 2013 5th Avenue North. Their listing in the 1945 yellow pages claimed "Famous for Steaks--Seafood." These cars look to be ca. 1940, maybe?





This One Star Cafe photo is another one by Oscar V. Hunt. The George Jarrell Distribution Company is making a delivery at this moment. The 1945 yellow pages list the establishment at 2400 12th Avenue North where you could buy "Sandwiches, Barbecue, Beverages."



This photograph of the Cafe Italiano exterior on 20th Street announces "Steaks Seafood" and was taken on January 20, 1978. Next door is the Charles Arndt clothing store.




Restaurants listed in the 1920 Birmingham Yellow Pages: 










Monday, January 4, 2016

Adventures at the Smokey Hollow Restaurant in Jemison

One of the places Dianne and I visit from time to time is Petals from the Past in Jemison. She's the gardener, but the business does feature "heirloom" and "antique" plants, so there's some natural history there. Recently they have begun specializing in plants native to and once common in Alabama and the South. To get there, take the Jemison exit at Chilton County 42, go west, and turn left at County 29. Drive a couple of miles and Petals will be on your left.

However, the best part of such a trip is a stop for breakfast, lunch or supper at the Smokey Hollow Restaurant. You can't miss it; the place is on the right where you turn left to go to Petals. Nothing fancy there, just good food and lots of it. We've eaten there many times in recent years and never been disappointed. The interior has a neat decor; the photo below only gives a taste of the interesting signs and posters all over the walls.

I do have one funny story to tell about the place. One Sunday afternoon back in September, on our way to a talk on native plants at Petals from the Past, we stopped in for lunch. We had been seated for a few minutes when an older gentleman in overalls, ball cap and several days growth of beard came in alone and sat in the booth behind Dianne. Soon the young lady who had been waiting on us went up to him and asked what he wanted.

He wanted a steak, and he wanted the waitress to bring the meat out for him to examine before it was cooked. "Sir," the waitress protested, "I can't bring raw meat out here." He didn't miss a beat. "You go back there and tell so-and-so [he gave the cook's first name] and tell him so-and-so [he gave his own name] is out here and wants to look at his meat." 

The poor waitress, who must have been new enough not to have dealt with this customer before, dutifully went to the back and soon brought out a steak wrapped in butcher paper to show him. He approved. She asked how he wanted it cooked. "Almost that raw," he replied. 

I wonder if Highland's Bar & Grill has customers like that.

The town of Jemison had about 2500 people in 2010. You can read about its history, much of it involving the state's early railroads, here. Jemison was incorporated in 1907. 










This photo of Smokey Hollow Restaurant and the one below are courtesy of TripAdvisor






Some of the decor is superb.