Birmingham : Eats

There is something so memorable about Southern cooking... I figured our 'eats' along the way were worth a good post all their own.  So lucky to have Taryn, our personal food connoisseur, along with us.  She highly recommended a place called Flip Burger Boutique in Birmingham.  Anyone who likes a good burger (doesn't everyone?!) would LOVE this place. We tried the rBq, chorizo, thai, po boyger and korean bbq burgers. Wow. So delish.  And, we couldn't leave without ordering the tempura sweet potato fries (served with chocolate salt), onion rings, and the Nutella toasted marshmallow milkshake.  The restaurant was started by Richard Blais, who appeared on Iron Chef America and Top Chef : Chicago. The booths in the restaurant were in the shape of a giant oval - and the pendant light was attached to a wooden structure above that was the exact shape and size of our table, like a mirror image...  such a creative idea for a place with the name "Flip."  Take a look at these plates.

We somewhat disrupted the flow of the restaurant with our car seats and high chairs, to which I say, "deal with it!" p.s. - I'm one of those annoyed mothers who can't stand restaurant bathrooms with no changing table, or counter, or ANY place to change a baby. Rude.

We went to a new restaurant in Montgomery called Village Kitchen.  It is located in a stylish development with a Crossville store and other nice retail spaces.  The restaurant itself is very well-designed.  Having been to markets in both Vegas and High Point for the last few years, I was really impressed at how current the design is, and saw pieces I recognized from different market showrooms. I should have taken more pictures of the interior - the paint colors, lighting, accessories and the large white tufted banquettes made for a very hip dining experience.  And then there's the menu -guess what I ordered?  french toast topped with sausage.  You have never tasted anything so yummy.  I ate the entire plate - complete with buttered syrup.  Mom and Michael had the fried chicken waffle... that's right, a piece of fried chicken came on a waffle - meant to be eaten together w/ syrup.  Talk about a Southern twist.  We also sampled the shrimp and grits and more sweet potato fries.  I will always remember you, plate of french toast.

Lindsey bought a Groupon to a dessert bar called Yolo.  It was a self-serve yogurt bar, a cupcake shop, a candy store and a gelato shop all in one.  It was tasty.  Reese thought so too - she was very into the sample cups of pink frozen yogurt.

No outing in Tupelo is complete without a trip to Pepper's Deli - Mom took a long lunch to eat with us.

Just before Blair and I caught our flight home, we stopped by Trattoria Centrale with Taryn and Reese. This yummy little cafe is in the heart of downtown Birmingham.  Very unique menu and delicious as well. Mostly we were just trying to postpone our inevitable departure.