Good places to eat in Birmingham

[lizerdbits]

Hi everyone,

Maybe this should be in the lounge but I thought I'd have better luck here. A coworker and I are going to Birmingham next week for work so I was hoping to get some recommendations on good places for lunch/dinner. Local style food would be great, but if there's a great Mexican, Chinese, etc place that's good too. Our hotel is near UAB on 9th street, is there a lot to eat near there that's not college student fast food like I ate years ago? I guess there's bus service around too and I can always get a cab (we're not getting a car).

Thanks! :hi:

[mentalsolstice]

1. Fish Market!

Best fish, in the entire South, and best service you can get in the state. We have a lot of great Mexican choices...the Sol Azteca family chain is the best for authentic, however, they don't have any stores near UAB. We also have a big Lebanese population, and one of the best restaurants to reflect this is the Pita Stoppe (an especial favorite, my husband...my boyfriend at the time, took me there for my 30th b'day and our first date out, the 2 previous dates were home-cooked). And we have great southern bar-b-que (Dreamland, Jim 'n nick's), as well as meat 'n threes (meat special of the day, plus 3 veggies), such as Ted's or VJ's on the Runway.

We also have nationally recognized chefs such as Frank Stitts, and many who have learned from him...so we have some pricey restaurants to reflect such fame. The 5-points south district is cool for its ambiance.

PM me and I can give you all kinds of local flavor!

[nealmhughes]

2. Surin in 5 Pts. for Thai and sushi. Lots of Greek/Arab places as noted above.

Personally, I hate Dreamland. I prefer the no name places out in the country, and especially in Florence and Huntsville area more for bbq.
Bottega for a nice Italian joint. The meat and 3's can't be missed at lunch, and if lucky, they will have banana pudding and red velvet cake for dessert! Just ask anyone at the hotel for a rec. people are friendly there and everyone will have a favorite bbq place they tout.
The alternative is just walk down 20th or 21st St South towards 5 pts and pick a joint that suits your fancy. Just a few blocks from UAB actual campus, which is spread out like a mad man's idea of a campus, though. That is to say, it has only a few parking areas, and is stretched out along University, which would be 8th Ave. S, and runs from 13th or so to the 20s and there are med centers and hospitals spread out all along on both sides of the avenue.

[southpaw]

3. I'll second Surin...

Some of the best Sushi in the state... and the coconut soup is orgasmic.

[lizerdbits]

4. Surin was really good

I loved the coconut soup and spicy beef salad. The people I was working with have it as one of their favorites. We made the mistake of ordering the PB pie- good but one piece was about 4 inches long and 3 high. HUGE! Jim and Nicks was good too. I didn't make it to Dreamland, will have to go back. Someone I was working with said their BBQ is really vinegar-y and I'm not a big vinegar fan so I didn't put in much effort to make it over there. My last day we went out for Mexican that I didn't care for much other than the cheese dip for chips. I don't remember the exact name but I think it had 'tropical' in the name and was on 20th near the 5 pts intersection. It was mostly salty meat and cheese, not that that's all bad. :) Thanks for the recs everyone!