The View from Treasure Island

Year of Alabama Food website launched

Treasure — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:05:35 +0000

The Alabama TourismDepartment officially launched the Year of Alabama Food website last week at the FoodBlogSouth event in Birmingham. The website www.yearofalabamafood.com features the updated version of the “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure, a sneak preview of the Year of Alabama Food television commercial, a searchable listing of Alabama restaurants, and a host of social media components. “The website shines because it so interactive and involving,” said campaign coordinator Brian Jones. “We looked at dozens of award-winning food websites and our goal was to make this the best of the best. Luckie & Company in Birmingham was our web designer and they really hit it out of the park with the food site.” www.yearofalabamafood.com.

From the article “What are you waiting for? – Tourism department releases new list of ‘try-before-you-die’ Alabama dishes” by Teri Greene in the Montgomery Advertiser:

This year, Alabama is getting serious about food — again. We’re all accustomed to the “Year of Alabama …” theme promoted annually by the Alabama Department of Tourism, and in 2012, the state’s signature dishes are having their year in the spotlight. But this is not the first time signature dishes such as Southern-fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, banana pudding, smoked barbecue and Gulf-fresh seafood have been highlighted. The inaugural Year of Alabama Food was in 2005. However, there is one big difference this time around: An awesome website devoted to Alabama food. The Tourism Department put together a site, www.yearofalabamafood.com, that is not only modern, warm and welcoming (how can an oversize photo of hot apple pie a la mode not be welcoming?) but chock-full of info about Alabama chefs and restaurants, including the nationally noted and the prize-winning. You’ll also find a list of food fests across the state that’ll keep you full and happy throughout the year; a map of “food trails”; a guide to farmers’ markets; and a collection of “secret Alabama recipes.”

Other highlights include a farm-to-table blog that gives you the low-down on Alabama breweries; locally-sourced specialties — artisanal cheese and sausage-makers, for instance; and some tips for healthier eating. There’s also a place for wanna-be Southern gourmets to share their own phone pics of their homemade dishes. And yes, the famous list — “100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die” — is back, and updated. Name your weakness. Pecan Pie? Blue Cheese Burgers? Shrimp Po-Boys? Cheese grits? You’ll find them on the list, along with dozens upon dozens more. The food experts compiling the roster didn’t just beat the streets of the big cities. They also wandered into the corners of Aliceville (barbecue brisket at the Plantation House), Hartselle (Mercedes Special skillet at Las Vias), Trinity (white cream corn at Caddo Cafeteria) and Waverly (seasonal gourmet ice cream at Yellow Hammer).

What made the cut in the River Region? The fried chicken at the legendary Martin’s in Montgomery, the fried green tomato sandwich at La Jolla, veggies on the hot bar at Derk’s Filet & Vine, crab cakes & dill sauce at Our Place Cafe in Wetumpka and … well, you’re just going to have to go down the list, dish by delicious dish, on your own. Bonnie Ponstein, who with her husband, Barry, owns the Red Bluff Cottage B&B in Montgomery’s Cottage Hill neighborhood, boasts two items on the “must-eat” list: Wild Rice Waffles and Walk-Thru-Fire Pancakes. You have to be an overnight guest at the B&B to get them (and make a special request) but the experience is worth it, Bonnie said. There’s no secret to making a memorable — or in this case, to-die-for-dish, she added. The pancakes became famous because of their special creamy filling mixed with fresh blueberries, strawberries and pineapple. “It depends on what’s available,” Ponstein said. “Sometimes I make my lemon curd from scratch, and that makes it really good.” Her wild rice waffles are light and Belgian and start with a careful separating and folding of eggs. Once the rice is cooked, she coats it onto whole wheat flour. The Ponsteins, who made the previous list, are proud to be featured again. “I’m excited that we’re in there,” Bonnie said. “It has brought a lot of business to us. People like the concept of having 100 dishes and then saying, ‘Oh, let’s see how many I can eat.’”

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Visit Local Farmers Markets and Wineries near Alabama Bed and Breakfasts

Treasure — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:02:36 +0000

In addition to enjoying exciting food festivals and discovering great places to dine, Alabamians and visitors alike are encouraged to get off the interstates and major thoroughfares for a visit to local farms, farmers markets, and wineries. Visit any one of 135 state farmers markets and roadside stands. Sample the goat cheese crafted by Belle Chevre in Elkmont. Enjoy jellies and jams, produced by the folks in Alabama’s Black Belt and sold through places like Black Belt Treasures in Camden. Discover the Alabama Wine Trail, featuring more than a dozen farm wineries, and explore culinary destinations such as Butlers Mill Restaurant in Graham and Rikard Mill near Monroeville, where you can watch cane syrup being made the old-fashioned way.

The logo for the 2012 food-themed campaign, a tasty green tomato on a spoon, will be featured in print and television ads throughout the year and a dedicated website, www.yearofalabamafood.com, showcases the local flavor that is uniquely Alabama.

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rate Alabama Chefs and Award-Winning Restaurants

Treasure — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:40 +0000

Travelers can discover the best in fine dining and country cooking restaurants in the South when they visit Chef Frank Stitt’s Highlands Bar and Grill and Chris and Idie Hastings’ Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Martin’s Restaurant in Montgomery, Arricia Italian Trattoria & Bar in Auburn, and True in Mobile, which is owned and operated by renowned Chef Wesley True. Learn how Lucy Buffett, owner of Lulu’s in Gulf Shores, and other restaurateurs around the state are bringing the farm to the table to enhance your dining experience. The update of the popular “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure includes fresh menu selections and great local culinary destinations not previously featured. The updated brochure is available on the www.yearofalabamafood.com website “We are excited about spotlighting lesser-known restaurants while continuing to showcase Southern classics, such as The Bright Star in Bessemer, named an American Classic by the James Beard Award Foundation,” said Sentell. Tourism will also create a new BBQ Trail brochure that will list restaurants, joints and local chains. Some of the featured BBQ will include Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, SAW’s in Homewood, Full Moon, Jim N Nick’s and icons like Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and Golden Rule in Birmingham.

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Alabama Tourism celebrates “Year of Food” in 2012

Treasure — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:59:02 +0000

The Alabama Tourism Department kicked off its 2012 campaign, The Year of Alabama Food,on Jan. 27 during the FoodBlogSouth event in Birmingham. FoodBlogSouth is the second largest conference in the nation for food writers, bloggers and photographers.The tourism campaign focuses on award-winning chefs, farm-to-table, fresh gulf seafood and popular foods grown or made in Alabama. The campaign is designed to drive business to locally owned restaurants serving Alabama farm products. Some of the Alabama products include Belle Chevre Cheese from Elkmont, Conecuh sausage, Slocomb tomatoes and Dothan peanuts. This is the second food campaign by the tourism department, the first was in 2005 and received the award for best state tourism marketing campaign by the National Council of State Tourism Directors.

As part of the Year of Alabama Food, the tourism department will hold a statewide “Restaurant Week” Aug. 17-26 during which locally owned and operated restaurants will be able to showcase their dishes by offering meals at a discount. Tourism will also promote nearly 400 food festivals across the state and will create a new BBQ Trail, in addition to an updated “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure. “Food is popular with everyone and it has been one of our most successful campaigns. It was time to bring it back, but this time we want to highlight local food and our great chefs,” said tourism director Lee Sentell. “We have several new things planned for 2012 that we feel will showcase the best in food that Alabama has to offer.”

Discover Food Festivals in the Alabama Calendar of Events
Visitors wishing to discover the local flavor of Sweet Home Alabama are invited to enjoy any of the more than 375 annual food festivals and events hosted by cities and towns across the state. Moon pies and mayhem set the stage for Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebration in February. Moulton celebrates the state’s agricultural heritage during the Chicken and Egg Festival in April. A smorgasbord of Southern goodness awaits visitors during the Slocomb Tomato Festival in June and the Russellville Watermelon Festival in August. In September, Pinson hosts the Butterbean Festival and Tuskegee pays homage to scientist George Washington Carver during the Carver Sweet Potato Festival in October. The Break’N Bread/ Birmingham Food & Wine Festival is at Pepper Place Railroad Park in October. The National Shrimp Festival is held each October on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, and a barbecue competition highlights the Christmas on the River celebration in Demopolis in December. A complete list of 2012 food festivals and other events can be found online by visiting www.alabama.travel. They are also featured in the printed 2012 Alabama Calendar of Events available at the state’s eight welcome centers.

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Governor’s Mansion open for Christmas Candlelight Tours on Monday

Treasure — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:12:06 +0000

Governor and Mrs. Robert Bentley will open the Governor’s Mansion for Christmas candlelight tours from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 19. The 1907 Colonial Revival mansion located at 1142 South Perry Street in Montgomery will be aglow with lights and filled with the spirit of the season. Guests should pick up their free tickets at the Governor’s Mansion Gift shop across the street on Finley Avenue. The first Monday will feature live music, the second a cooking demonstration and the third will feature the Christmas story. For more information please see www.alabama.travel.

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Birmingham’s Railroad Park wins award from SATW

Treasure — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:38:02 +0000

The Society of American Travel Writers’ (SATW) annual convention, held in New Zealand last month, served as the backdrop to announce the 2011 Phoenix Award winners. Created in 1969, the Phoenix Awards recognize conservation, preservation, beautification, and environmental accomplishments as they relate to travel. Birmingham’s Railroad Park was one of four developments in the nation recognized with a Phoenix Award. Nearly four decades in the making, Railroad Park is a linear, 19-acre green space created on a former urban wasteland in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The first stage of a planned “Three Parks Initiative,” it features a two-acre lake and meandering creeks; paths for bicyclists, runners, and walkers; benches; free wifi; a skate park; play areas for children; a grassy hillside amphitheatre; outdoor workout equipment; and a shaded plaza with covered sheds that hold park offices, bathrooms, and areas for concessions. It serves as a space for recreation and small- and large-scale events. “Railroad Park has all the parts for a Phoenix Award – historical and environmental conservation, public/private partnerships, across-the-board benefit to the community and potential to fuel future growth,” a committee member wrote.

For more information on Railroad Park please see www.railroadpark.org

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From articles by Rhonda A. Pickett and Casandra Andrews in the Press-Register:

Treasure — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:21:54 +0000

From articles by Rhonda A. Pickett and Casandra Andrews in the Press-Register:

Big Shrimpin’- the new reality-based series filmed in Bayou La Batre and on the Gulf of Mexico — premieres Thursday night, Nov. 17. The eight-episode program follows three south Mobile County boat captains and their boss as they head to the opening of shrimp season in Texas the summer after the Gulf oil spill. The first one-hour episode is set to air Thursday night at 9 p.m. on The History Channel.

The shrimp boat captains -nicknamed Bullfrog, Redbone and Roundhead – answer to Dominick Ficarino, who owns a fleet of shrimp trawlers and Dominick’s Seafood, a sprawling processing plant in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Ficarino said he wasn’t surprised when a production company told him they wanted to film a reality show about the plight of shrimpers. After watching “Deadliest Catch,” a series about hauling in crabs as crews battle treacherous weather, he knew that harvesting seafood from the Gulf of Mexico would also make for good TV. “I think our business is extremely interesting, and people are going to see how hard these guys really work,” Ficarino said. “It’s a long, hard grinding job, and there’s nothing easy about it.” Ficarino and his fourth generation family business is determined to rebound from the widespread devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the oil spill at a time when nearly 90 percent of shrimp in America comes from outside the U.S. “We definitely feel pressure,” he said. “We are in here believing it’s not a dying breed. We strive every day to keep it going. A lot of people don’t realize whether they are eating imports or domestic shrimp. I live in Mobile, and my own neighbors don’t know.”

Several people filmed for the series said they hope it brings more attention to the struggles of those who work in the local seafood industry. Those who tune in will meet Captain Redbone, a 35-year veteran of the business, who is known for hauling in the most shrimp. At 32, Captain Bullfrog is already known as the “shrimp whisperer” and is the youngest leader in Ficarino’s fleet. Captain Roundhead claimed he was once the best in the business, but he’s had a few hard seasons and is looking for redemption. Away from home and their families for months at a time, the boat crews battled weather, equipment failure and sometimes each other as they earned a livelihood, according to those familiar with the show. Camera crews stayed on the shrimp trawlers for an entire 47-day trip, which included the July 15 opening of the Texas shrimp season three states away. They spent a total of 16 weeks filming on the Gulf of Mexico and other spots around Bayou La Batre, including a shop where shrimp nets are still created by the nimble fingers of local craftsmen.

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Gumbo Cook-Off between Alabama and LSU fans

Treasure — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:01:23 +0000

Tuscaloosa- Alabama and LSU fans will compete in the first-ever LouisiBama Gumbo Bowl Tailgate Cook-Off as part of game day celebrations in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 5.

Four Alabama fans and four LSU fans will put their gumbo recipes to the test in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium before the big game. The winner of the cook-off will take home the Gumbo Bowl Tailgate Grand Champion trophy. Judges for the challenge include Alabama football star Kenny Stabler and LSU football star A.J. Duhe, as well as Alabama Executive Chef and Great American Seafood Cook-off winner Jim Smith. For information on being one of the Alabama fans selected for the cook-off see www.alabama.travel.

Other events planned for the LouisiBama Gumbo Bowl include a shot at the world’s record for the largest pot of gumbo.

The world’s largest pot of gumbo is a joint effort by Alabama football All-American and All-pro Miami Dolphin legend Bob Baumhower, Chef Steve Zucker from Baumhower’s namesake restaurants and renowned award-winning chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto. This unique cooking team will be preparing the gumbo in a huge 300-year-old cast iron pot being brought in on a flatbed tractor trailer from South Louisiana to Tuscaloosa.

The gumbo recipe the chefs are using will feed 10,000 people and calls for 750 pounds shrimp, 450 pounds catfish fillets, 100 pounds claw crabmeat, 50 pounds white crabmeat, 200 pounds alligator meat, 25 pounds Louisiana crawfish tail meat, 200 pounds diced onions, 75 pounds diced celery, 100 pounds diced green bell pepper, 150 pounds sliced okra, 50 pounds garlic and 20 pounds butter. The Guinness Book of World Records will be verifying the gumbo for the record.

Bowls of the gumbo will be sold to the pre-game football crowd for $5 with all proceeds going to benefit Tuscaloosa area charities and their work in the tornado recovery effort. For information on purchasing advance tickets see www.alabama.travel.

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Birmingham chef Frank Stitt selected to Esquire Restaurant Hall of Fame

Treasure — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:30:48 +0000

Frank Stitt
In 1984, when the words Southern and cuisine were rarely used in the same sentence, Esquire named Highlands in Birmingham one of the Best New Restaurants in America. I wrote that chef-owner Frank Stitt’s bistro appealed to “the affluent suburban crowds coaxed out of their clubs to come downtown and eat well for a change” – Georgia Bay scallops with basil, for example, and local baked oysters. Back when Paula Deen was working as a bank teller, Alabama-bred Stitt was already at the forefront of New Southern cuisine. Since then, he’s opened two other excellent restaurants and racked up awards. But what he hasn’t done is also remarkable: He has not left Alabama, instead staying put to turn out highly personal food that has inspired a wave of Southern chefs. And yet like any great chef – and any true Southerner – he keeps searching for better ways to do things, which means his days of influence are far from over.

For the complete article please see http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/best-restaurants-2011/best-chefs-america-1111.

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Alabama Bed & Breakfast Inns

Treasure — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:44:40 +0000

Alabama boasts more than 100 bed and breakfast inns as alternatives to hotel and resort accommodations. Many of these inns predate the 20th century and served as homes of prominent residents, while those constructed in the late 20th century resemble 19th-century Victorian homes. Several bed and breakfast inns are historic landmarks and contain original antique furniture left by their former residents; they sit on palatial properties in rural areas or in historic districts.

For a site that list all the “indepentantly inspected” bed and breakfast, visit the official state association website at bedandbreakfastalablam.com

For an Alabama Bed and Breakfast that is Birmingham’s romantic getaways retreat. Whether it’s a wedding honeymoon, a week-end romantic getaway, or a family get-together, escape to our Logan Martin Lake home, and relax right on the shore of the Coosa river. Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast awaits you!…

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