Gus’s Hotdogs on 4th Ave North downtown has been around since the late 1940’s. The current owner has had it since 1997. The hotdogs are very similar to  Pete’s Famous.   

I don’t really know yet, it’s at least 6-8 months away. I thought I would hit some of the spots in Birmingham and Mobile, and move on over to New Orleans. But we’ll see.

Cliff, I’ve been reading your report and taking notes in preparation for a trip to Alabama next year. It appears that Pete’s has closed. Sorry I won’t have a chance to give it a try.

Although, now I’m finding Gus’s hot dogs and I wonder if they reopened. I think Gus who owned Pete’s died, but maybe someone reopened if with his name?

To where in Al are you headed??

Don’t have a lot of rec’s for either but Green Acres Cafe in Birmingham is pretty special.
Here’s a http://davwudsfoodcourt.blogspot.ca/2012/04/minority-report.html report from my visit.

Cliff, I’ve been reading your report and taking notes in preparation for a trip to Alabama next year. It appears that Pete’s has closed. Sorry I won’t have a chance to give it a try.

Although, now I’m finding Gus’s hot dogs and I wonder if they reopened. I think Gus who owned Pete’s died, but maybe someone reopened if with his name?

I don’t really know yet, it’s at least 6-8 months away. I thought I would hit some of the spots in Birmingham and Mobile, and move on over to New Orleans. But we’ll see.

Cliff, I’ve been reading your report and taking notes in preparation for a trip to Alabama next year. It appears that Pete’s has closed. Sorry I won’t have a chance to give it a try.

Although, now I’m finding Gus’s hot dogs and I wonder if they reopened. I think Gus who owned Pete’s died, but maybe someone reopened if with his name?

To where in Al are you headed??

Cliff, I’ve been reading your report and taking notes in preparation for a trip to Alabama next year. It appears that Pete’s has closed. Sorry I won’t have a chance to give it a try.

Although, now I’m finding Gus’s hot dogs and I wonder if they reopened. I think Gus who owned Pete’s died, but maybe someone reopened if with his name?

To where in Al are you headed??

We visited the Bright star about 2 weeks ago and were so excited about it.  We were absolutely severely disappointed.  The crab claws were the tiniest I’ve ever seen.  The lobster, crab augratin had the nastiest texture (kinda like and uncooked potato dumpling), the seafood platter we got everything was bland.  My friends found pork in their bread pudding and we had oregano in ours.  I can cook way better than that – and won’t be wasting money there again.

TTM-
Haven’t been there in years but Bates Turkey Farm Restaurant is nice but nothing exceptional.
Just an average meal.
I would not make a special effort to go there.
Same turkey, dressing, mashed potato meal you could get most anywhere.
The advantage is it’s right off I-65 and quick to get on & off the Interstate.
http://www.batesturkey.com/restaurant.aspx http://www.batesturkey.com/restaurant.aspx

I am all about keeping an open mind, but I can’t see myself liking a mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce under almost any circumstances.

luckily nothing is pre sauced. The chicken itself  is nicely smoked.  I’m almost certain they have several other sauce options too, although I didn’t try any

I am all about keeping an open mind, but I can’t see myself liking a mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce under almost any circumstances.

TTM-
* Never been there, but everyone including WJ raves about Miss Myra’s in Birmingham.  I’ve had the banana pudding and it was outstanding!

*

 
TTM never takes my suggestions serious anyway    [huh]…however after I recommended Miss Myra’s, it got the Ayersian stamp of approval on their recent trip
Their specialty is the BBQ chicken with alabama white bbq sauce. Their beans and deviled eggs are really good too. Besides the banana pudding which is otherworldly, Sandra still talks about the lemon ice box pie.

Add me to the list of people heading to Birmingham in the near future. I just purchased tickets to the SEC Baseball Tournament coming up in a few weeks in Hoover.
 
From this report, I have identified a few must stops (unless I completely misread):
 
Bogue’s
Bob Syke’s BBQ
Niki’s West (but, not for breakfast)
Full Moon BBQ
 
I also have a few “I will try to make it work” stops, unless I need to be convinced that they should be moved to the “must” pile:
 
Baby Ray’s BBQ
Bright Star
Durbin Farm Market (on the way home, probably)
 
That leaves me with a few questions. (1) Is Dreamland still worth a stop? Is it worth driving to Tuscaloosa, instead? I liked Dreamland when I visited in Mobile a few years back. No, I didn’t think it was as good as Brick Pit, but I liked it, nonetheless.
 
(2) Have you (or anyone else, really)  been to Saw’s BBQ? I tried to do a search, and, unfortunately, these search terms do not yield useful results.
 
(3) Do I understand correctly that Isaiah’s in Montgomery is now closed? If so, have you tried Martin’s in Montgomery? They came up on the 100 Things to Eat Before You Die list for Alabama…and I do love me some fried chicken. I expect to pass through Montgomery on my way home.
 
(4) Speaking of routing, I will be driving home and also would like to stop at Durbin Farm Market. Is there a reason you chose them over their neighbors/competitors across the street, Peach Park?
 
(5) Have you been to Bates Turkey Farm in Greenville? They look like they have the once-in-a-blue-moon turkey-themed restaurant, and I can happily eat a random Thanksgiving meal at the end of May.
 
(6) Lastly, it appears as though I will be flying into Atlanta and driving to Birmingham. I could absolutely convince myself that I need to go to Mary Mac’s, which I love. The road from ATL-BHM looks like a pretty empty highway. Do you know of any gems along the way that may not be on my radar?
 
Any help is, as always, greatly appreciated.