Food is a topic and taste much loved by our residents and the community management team at The Retreat at Mountain Brook. Lucky for us we live in a thriving food community—in fact—one of the hottest food scenes in the nation is right here in Birmingham and its surrounding areas. Recently, national restaurant guide Zagat.com ranked Birmingham No. 1 on its new list of America’s Next Hot Food Cities.
To appropriately honor all this food goodness, we’re also hosting our 1st Annual Street Food Festival, celebrating our residents, Saturday, August 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We’ll have Fat Mama’s Lunch Box, Pazzo Big Slice, Urban Pops, along with cold beverages and prizes! (You must be present to win.) Visit our event page on Facebook and let us know you are joining us.
Aren’t we lucky? And luckier still because starting August 16, Birmingham Restaurant Week (BRW) begins. For the uninitiated, BRW is a 10-day food-a-liscious event (we know, it says week but why not celebrate a few days more) that begins August 16 and lasts until the 25th. Founded in 2010, BRW is a unique and original food fest featuring Birmingham bred and born restaurants along with some awesome chains that we love. Now in its 10th year, the event draws foodies from near and far to enjoy the city’s premier dining out event.
Here’s how it works – for 10 days, participating restaurants across Birmingham and its surrounding neighborhoods offer special lunch and dinner menus at set price points in $5 dollar increments from $10 to $50 per person. Whether you’re revisiting your favorite restaurants or experiencing new ones, it’s easy for food lovers to savor the flavors of Birmingham and celebrate the landmark eateries that have elevated Birmingham’s culinary scene to national stardom!
Participating restaurants near The Retreat include the Avondale/Forest Park neighborhood which is less than five miles from our apartment community. Restaurants in the area include: Whistling Table, Avondale Common House, Brat Brot, Little Savannah Restaurant & Bar, and Lucky Cat to name a few.
In the Lakeview neighborhood you’ll find these awesome restaurants participating: Blueprint on 3rd, Eugene’s Hot Chicken, Ovenbird and Skycastle along with the ever-popular gourmet-inspired Slice Pizza.
Close to home in Crestline Heights, you can enjoy Otey’s Tavern, and a short hop over to English Village offers you Vino and Chez Lulu for the best garlic soup you will ever put in your mouth. Yes, garlic. Yes, ever.
Further afield (but still just 15 minutes by car or Lyft) in Southside, Ocean, helmed by superstar award-winning executive chef George Reis offers a menu that features your choice of Fried Oysters with leek frisee, red onion, roasted tomato aioli or Duck Rillettes with arugula, figs, and grilled bread, followed by Gulf Shrimp Carbonara lady peas, beech mushrooms, guanciale or Norwegian Salmon with beet risotto, and horseradish apple yogurt. His BRW special menu ends with Chocolate Pot De Crème, always a diner favorite.
To appropriately honor all this food goodness, we’re also hosting our 1st Annual Street Food Festival, celebrating our residents, Saturday, August 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We’ll have Fat Mama’s Lunch Box, Pazzo Big Slice, Urban Pops, along with cold beverages and prizes! (You must be present to win.) Visit our event page on Facebook and let us know you are joining us.
Yes, the food scene in Birmingham and surrounding communities has come a long way since the days of iceberg-only salads. We encourage you to come have fun at our street food festival and before that, check out the BRW and discover a restaurant (or two) that suits your fancy. And be sure to let us know your food impressions, because is there anything better than talking about food in the ‘HAM? We think not. See you August 24 at The Retreat.
