What To Eat in Alabama
Around the Mobile Bay, must-eats include the sweet local crab-meat specialty, West Indies salad, as well as fried crab claws and fresh oysters. Throughout the state, barbecue is noteworthy – ribs especially; and to the north be sure to look for white BBQ sauce, unique to the area. Deep South classics such as fried chicken, cream pie, and banana pudding abound in the cafes of Birmingham and Montgomery. And you haven’t fully tasted Alabama until you’ve had a kraut-topped chili dog at Mobile’s Dew Drop Inn.
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At once rich and piquant, West Indies salad is a mix of fresh crab meat, vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped sweet onion. It is served cool by the bowl – frequently family style for the whole table, accompanied by saltine crackers. It usually is an appetizer, but is often eaten in double portions as an entrée.
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Of all the South's soothing desserts, none is quite so palliative as banana pudding or, as true aficionados of comfort food know it, 'naner pudding. It is a dandy finish for any meal of meat and threes, especially welcome as the denouement following salty country ham, spicy barbecue, or highly seasoned fried chicken.
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Unique to northern Alabama, white barbecue sauce is smoke-cooked chicken's boon companion. It is mayonnaise-based with an undercurrent of vinegar.
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Bates House of Turkey
A turkey-only restaurant where birds comes from the proprietors' own farm, Bate's is just off I-65 in Greenville, Alabama. Such an easy square meal!
Kendall’s BBQ
Kendall's is a tiny take-out-only BBQ shack just yards from I-65 and a few minutes' drive from Hank Williams' boyhood home.
George’s Old Time Bar-B Que
Hospitable Alabama roadside BBQ parlor offers chopped pork, super-succulent brisket, spare ribs, and loaded potatoes. Plus early-morning breakfast.
Big Potato Company
Located in the corner of a Texaco convenience store just off I-65, the Big Potato Company serves grand baked spuds stuffed every-which-way.
Capitol Oyster Bar
Seafood shack ambience and a patio overlooking the Alabama River make the Capitol Oyster Bar a favorite destination for casual meals, drinks & live blues music.
Downtowner Restaurant
Where locals eat, especially at breakfast when the Downtowner is a gathering place for coffee & conversation. Lunch is meat-and-3. Have the lemon icebox pie.
Jubilee Seafood
Don't let its plain looks deceive you. Jubilee is a Montgomery hidden gem for outstanding seafood, including Alabama's unique West Indies Salad.
Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot
One of Alabama's best BBQ parlors, Lannie's is a 70+ year-old restaurant serving succulent smoke-cooked pulled pork and ribs as well as big hamburgers.
Southern Comfort
Comfort food, southern-style, is what this charming little restaurant offers. Don't miss white-sauced smoke-cooked chicken, an Alabama specialty.
