Restaurant experiment: Diplomat Deli

Diplomat Deli

1413 Montgomery Highway between Vestavia Parkway and Pizitz Drive

Suite #101

Vestavia Hills, AL 35216

205-979-1515

http://www.diplomatdeli.com

Despite probably having driven by Diplomat Deli a billion times, I’d never noticed it and only decided to check it out since I saw it on RateBeer.com.  This is because Diplomat Deli is known for being a package store in addition to a sandwich shop.  The wine and beer selections are supposedly pretty impressive.  I didn’t examine them thoroughly to say, though it appears that their beer selection is wide and prices are kind.  There are a handful of beers on tap, mostly local options.  No beer before noon on a Sunday though.

Laura and I met up for lunch, and even though it wasn’t 12pm yet, Diplomat was hopping.  You seat yourself, and then a server comes to take your order.  Our server was a young dude, possibly a high school kid.  He was very polite.  It was a bit drafty though.  I chose a seat poorly.

I ordered the Ambassador hot sandwich ($6.95) which included “roast beef, longhorn Colby cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard on onion roll.”  It came out quicker than I had expected.  And it was also smaller than I expected.

Between the ruffled chips and the petite sandwich, I was not full and had to resort to ordering  dessert.  The French silk pie was $3.75 and a better deal, a generous slice.  It’s basically chocolate pudding in a pie crust.  Mmm.  While paying, I asked if the desserts were made on-site.  I was informed that some of them were.  Mine was of questionable origin, but Laura’s lemon icebox pie was made on the premises.  I did like how we were not rushed off the premises after we had finished eating.

In summary, the Diplomat Deli is like a governmental institution, leaving you somewhat unsatisfied.  Once I tried to visit the U.N., and all the tickets had sold out.  This was after I had waited in a long line and had braved the metal detector.  So DD is like the UN in that regard.  Hmm, this analogy didn’t work out as I had hoped, but I was trying to link Diplomat Deli to the United Nations, to be all diplomatic.

Restaurant experiment: El Barrio

El Barrio

2211 2nd Avenue North between 22nd and 23rd Streets North

Birmingham, AL 35203

205-868-3737

http://elbarriobirmingham.com

Laura suggested this place as a venue for her pre-birthday dinner.  Not being familiar with El Barrio and because I like new things, I readily agreed.  Having lived in Manhattan’s El Barrio, I found it to be all very amusing.  I did a little research and found out that El Barrio is from the team who brought us the delightful Trattoria Centrale.  With this pedigree, I was all the more excited.  Brigitte, if you are reading, the chef is a Kiwi!  Not too many Kiwis in Alabama, that’s for sure.

Anyway, being 7:30 on a Friday night led us to discover that there was a wait for a table.  We plopped down in seats by the bar and soaked up the coolness.  The hostess told us 30 minutes, but it was only around 10 minutes.  Managing expectations?  El Barrio is very beautifully renovated, with a gigantic mural as the showstopper.  Here’s a donkey/burro in a sombrero that glared at me.  The crowd was mixed though mostly 20/30somethings.  And lots of girls in wedges.  Looked like the place to be for date nights.

The two of us both decided on grapefruit margaritas ($6.50) for our beverages.  Yum, thumbs up from me.  Wish it were a tad cheaper though.  Laura wanted Queso Fundido ($4), and I certainly wasn’t going to argue.  Here is a picture of the queso.  To my disappointment, the huge pile of cilantro clippings did not endear me to the dish initially, but the actual taste won me over.  Laura told me to just push the cilantro aside, which is what I did.  The unmistakeable flavor of blue cheese really made the dip sparkle.

As it turns out, we both ordered the platos de tacos ($8.50) which includes your choice of two tacos, black beans, and red rice.  Laura’s two tacos were the barbacoa and pollo, and I elected to try the al pastor and the barbacoa.  The al pastor was described as “chile-marinated pork with charred pineapple salsa” and the barbacoa as “slow cooked beef, charred onions, chipotle, fresh cheese & cilantro.”  Still recovering from the cilantro party foul earlier, I specifically requested no cilantro which they took to heart, even omitting the dusting of cilantro I spotted atop Laura’s rice and beans.  The tortillas were legit, having that spongy texture that handmade tortillas possess.  I started off with the pork tacos which promptly set my lips, gums, and tongue a tingling.   A little too spicy for my tastes, but hey, no lack of flavor there.  The barbacoa was soft and hearty.  Spicy too but not as killer.  The rice and beans were a fine complement to the tacos.  I sipped more margarita to ease the hot pain.

There was a large succulent growing in a sink right outside of the bathrooms.  How neato.

Our waitress was probably the weakest point of the meal.  I don’t recall her really checking up on us, and she also didn’t seem too friendly.  She didn’t offer us dessert, horrors!

Despite her and the cilantro worship, I would definitely come back.  Laura wants to try the sidecar!

Restaurant experiment: Newk’s Express Cafe

Newk’s Express Cafe

612 Montgomery Highway at Laurel Road

Suite 110

Vestavia Hills, AL 35216

205-777-0442

When I see Newk’s, I think Newt’s.  Does anyone else feel the same way?  But I don’t think about Newt Gingrich.  Thank goodness.

So I met Laura at this brand new Newk’s in Vestavia Hills on the early side of a weekday evening.  This was my first Newk’s experience since once we aborted a mission to eat at the one on 280 because parking was not to be found.  Thankfully that was not the issue at this branch.  Laura likes Newk’s a lot, and therefore I was looking forward to this dining experience.

Newk’s is another one of those order-at-the-counter places.  The counter staff appeared to possibly be high school kids.  But what sets Newk’s apart (aside from the take-home plastic cups you receive with a drink order) is the toppings bar.  It is pretty darn amazing.  Croutons, cheese, capers, pickles, you name it.  And slender breadsticks imported from Italy!  I scooped up extra Parm and croutons for my salad.  Huzzah!

I ordered the half sandwich and half salad combo for a little under 8 bucks.  For the sandwich, I picked out the pesto chicken with peppers and goat cheese, toasted, and for the salad, I went with the Caesar because you could only decide from the Caesar or the “Simply” salad, and I hadn’t had a Caesar in a long time.  I just saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes, so now I think of mutant chimpanzees when I type “Caesar.”

I have no complaints about the salad.  It was a quite generous portion, and the dressing tasted as it should for a Caesar.  The sandwich was a little on the smaller side, I must say.  It wish it were enlarged.  The salad’s too big and the sandwich’s too small.  How very Goldilocks.  But the pesto chicken was good.  It was the goat cheese, most definitely.  I probably love anything with goat cheese slapped on it.  Mmm.  No worries, I just stuffed myself with Italian breadsticks as a side dish.

There was really loud music coming from somewhere, where, we couldn’t figure out.  Didn’t seem like it was emanating from the Mexican joint next door.  Mysterious.  And annoying.  If you don’t like kids, Newk’s is not the place for you as there were families galore.  The bathrooms are posh, if that’s your thing.  Looking forward to trying the Newk’s on Richard Arrington sometime in the future.

Restaurant experiment: Another Broken Egg Cafe

Another Broken Egg Cafe

2418 Montevallo Road at Culver Road

Mountain Brook, AL 35223

205-871-7849

http://www.anotherbrokenegg.com

[A] poached egg isn’t a poached egg unless it’s been stolen from the woods in the dead of night!

–Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Birmingham is not a Sunday brunch dining destination, or at least in the vein of NYC.  If you can find a restaurant that’s actually open on Sunday, that’s pretty much the whole scene.  We were going to Rojo but it opened too late because we were hungry and we couldn’t wait.  Laura offered Another Broken Egg Cafe, and that sounded reasonable to both Joni and I.  It’s a chain based out of Louisiana but is concentrated in the southeast.

There’s no private lot, so you’ll either have to deal with the street outside of the restaurant or park in the lot by the Western Supermarket.

No wait at 9AM but when we were leaving around 10AM, throngs of potential eaters were waiting in the vestibule, pouring over menus.

From my seat, I stared at a giant Christmas tree, complete with wrapped presents underneath, which Laura and I decided were likely empty boxes.  The other patrons varied but were mostly families and older people.  One old man at a table nearby asked Joni if she were from New England from her accent.  Um, okay.  Random.  I adored the sconces with images of cracked eggs, and Joni was charmed by the stoneware mugs featuring the cafe’s logo.  You could also buy these for $18 if you so desired.  Our waitress was soft-spoken and quietly and stealthily appeared at my side, initially almost spookily.  She was very attentive; I don’t think Joni’s mug was ever devoid of coffee.

The giant menu will have something you’ll dig.  My heart was torn between my steadfast familiar companion eggs Benedict and the flashy, charming bananas Foster.  Hmm, it seems as though I’m partial to dishes with the format: [food] [Person's name].  Very interesting.  The PDF of the menu isn’t working on the website, but there were lots of different options for Benedicts, and the bananas Foster came in waffle, pancake, and French toast forms.  Most entrees were around $10-13.  Asking for decision advice from Laura, she stated that the Foster might be too sugary, and since I love eggs B so much, I should just go for them.  Selection selected!  I also tried a generous glass of the freshly-squeezed orange juice (~$4), yum.  And there were a couple of dishes incorporating lobster(!!!), can’t say I’ve seen that before for brunch.

I did like the eggs Benedict and ate every last bite.  Nice Hollandaise.  I just wished temperature-wise, they were a little warmer, but that often seems to be the case with this particular dish.  The home fries appear quite unassuming, but they were actually little cubes of delightfulness.  Not incredibly deep flavors, but just maybe light seasoning, some garlic salt?  Anyway, we all agreed they were positive things.

Another Broken Egg Cafe is a very solid brunch option in Mountain Brook.  No hungover hipsters here, but good food.  Go early.

Restaurant experiment: Urban Cookhouse

Urban Cookhouse

250 Summit Boulevard

Suite 102

Birmingham, AL 35243

205-969-6700

http://urbancookhouse.com

Urban Cookhouse may not be extremely edgy (as the name might’ve suggested) but it sure is a crowd-pleaser.  I haven’t been to the original location in Homewood so I can’t compare the two, but this brand-new Summit location welcomed us with open arms after an afternoon of holiday shopping at the mammoth Summit.

The style of the place is order at the counter, have food delivered to you.  I’m telling you, this is a very popular theme in Birmingham dining.  Joni asked about the popular menu items, and the cashier rattled off a couple of choices.  I was in the occasional salad mood and ordered the Local Mix salad ($7.25) which contained “applewood bacon, corn, hard-boiled egg, red onion, cheddar and our honey mustard vinaigrette.”  The salad-eater has the option of adding meats at an extra charge, but I declined.

Laura and Joni both ended up ordering the Chipotle Braised Pork plate which was “served with hot cheddar pasta, marinated slaw and two slices of white bread” though the ladies requested a substitution of the bread with the orange rolls.  Though I did not try their mac and cheese, er, “hot cheddar pasta,” they heartily endorsed the side and made me wish I had some of that.  The slaw was okay but the pork was popular.

My salad was a thing of beauty, mostly because it contained a generous amount of bacon and cheese.  How can you go wrong with that?  You also cannot go wrong with serving lettuce that is not iceberg.  Palatable dressing…too bad I didn’t remove the roll and eat it first since the bottom was covered in a vinaigrette layer.  Whoops.  I chomped on my salad happily.

My chief constructive criticism is that Urban Cookhouse needs to serve more orange rolls on the side!  One was not enough!  We actually ended up ordering another side of the orange rolls.  Mmm, so scrumptious when hot.  They have just the right amount of sweetness and orange taste.  And they just peel apart so easily…yum to the infinity.  Apparently the rolls are popular items since you can buy a tray and bake them at home.  Ah, Millie Ray’s orange rolls.  I’d marry them so I could divorce them and then marry them again.

Right outside of the establishment, as we were leaving, a man and woman asked us how the food was.  It appeared as though they were debating about if they should try the Cookhouse.  After we highly recommended the place, we ran into them later elsewhere in the Summit, and they were officially converts.  Too bad Urban Cookhouse didn’t give us a commission for those diners.

Restaurant experiment: Bettola

Bettola

2901 2nd Avenue South at 29th Street South

Birmingham, AL 35233

205-731-6499

http://bettolarestaurant.com

I unearthed Bettola on Yelp and otherwise would not have found it since I’d yet been to the Pepper Place area.  I guess you could call the neighborhood the industrial part of Birmingham; you pass a bunch of warehouse-ish buildings before renovated factories appear before you, glossy and happenin’ and containing food purveyors.

Anyway, I feel let down by Yelp and the 4.5 star rating Bettola currently possesses.  It’s vaguely ironic that the only 2 star review was penned by someone from NYC because I kept thinking that Motorino in NYC does Bettola better than Bettola does.

Showing up on a busy Saturday night with Laura, I feared we’d be up for a 30 minute wait but luckily the host seated us right away.  There’s a very Manhattan vibe about Bettola just because the restaurant is long and narrow, and tables are a bit too close together for Birmingham.  While there were a few young people at the bar, the clientele seemed to be more well-heeled middle-agers and up.

Our waiter was willing to answer questions and seemed cheerful enough.  Wanting to swap slices, the two of us placed our pizza orders with him after he answered that one pie per person wouldn’t be too little or too much.  Laura and I decided against appetizers which was smart since free bread came out soon after.  Though there were traditional Italian specialties on the menu, I was jonesing for pizza after having watching Mystic Pizza earlier in the week.

The waiter had alerted us that the pizzas would be out in a jiff, and he was spot on since the two of us weren’t even done with the free bread when the pizzas were presented to us.

My pizza was the “Quattro Stagioni”  ($14).  This guy was topped with cotto ham [cooked prosciutto], black olives [may contain pits], mushrooms, and artichokes.  I don’t know what it was, but I just wasn’t in love.  I wish there were cheese.  I did like the charcoal-ly crunchy crust.  Maybe the tomato sauce was a tad dull.  I ate the whole thing and didn’t feel hungry after.  Good sized pie for an individual.

Regarding the other pie, Laura had ordered the “Prosciutto e Rucola” ($15).  Laura and I wished there was more cheese.  The arugula provided an almost too bitter emphasis.  Looks like a salad, no?  I adore prosciutto though.  Needed more of that!  Owing to the thinness of the dough, these slices are tough to eat elegantly.  I found myself doing the old fold-in-half trick which worked decently.  Any escapee toppings were forked into my mouth.

There was a gal working who kept clearing our plates without asking if we were done [we weren't].  What was up with that?  You can’t conclude that crust on the appetizer plates signal that we are done with said crusts.  Annoying.

Exiting the restaurant, I spotted the aqua-tiled pizza oven in the open kitchen.  Cute!

If I were Yelping this, 3 stars sounds about right.  Not as phenomenal as I had hoped.  Laura remarked that we should have gone to Cantina next door instead.  Indeed.

Restaurant experiment: Frio en La Paz

Frio en La Paz

700 Montgomery Highway

Vestavia Hills, AL 35216

205-745-3930

http://www.lapazbham.com

Laura and I met up here at the curiously named Frío en La Paz for lunch on a weekend.  She had suggested trying out this place since she had been to its sibling restaurant in Mountain Brook.  I had been to neither, so it was all new to me.  The place is housed in the City Center shopping center.  It’s in a newish building, though Laura explained that the suite Frio is in used to be an Italian restaurant.  I saw some patrons dining on the terrace, but I thought it was too nippy for that.

Frío’s décor is trendy-minimalist, with lots of white and some wood here and there.  There’s even a tequila wall.  Laura and I were seated by the wall of windows.  My chair wobbled but I sat on the front part of the seat and silently coped.  A basket of chips appeared with two dips: a red salsa and a green one.  I preferred the red.  The chips were nicely salted.  I was famished so I was shoving chips into my gullet with at a rapid rate.

Our waiter appeared too early to take our order, but he cheerfully rattled off the specials instead.  I was very pleased that lunch specials were available on the weekend, priced around $7-$8.  The entrees on the menu were all around $10-$15.  I opted for the quesadilla lunch special ($8).  I picked out the American-ish steak and blue cheese quesadilla as my quesa-dilluh as Napoleon’s grandmother would say, and I went for the salad instead of the soup.

I’ll admit that I initially thought my quesadilla portions were small, though Laura reminded me that it was a combo.  It was all for naught, since I found myself satiated at the end of the meal, instead of hungry for more.  The waiter explained that the white concoction was sour cream with cilantro and jalapeno and the pink concoction was Frío’s own dressing consisting of ranch and salsa.  I approved of the salad since the greenery was fresh and chilled, and there was crumbly Mexican cheese/cotija? a plenty.

The quesadilla actually exceeded my expectations.  Sizzling hot, the steak was flavored well and the blue cheese with a touch of onions was oozing.  The whole shebang was heavy and helped fill me up.  I love blue cheese, and I love steak, so this was the obvious choice for me, and I was content.

Restaurant experiment: Rojo

Rojo

2921 Highland Avenue South at 30th Street South

Birmingham, AL 35205

205-328-4733

http://rojo.birminghammenus.com

There sure is a lot of Tex Mex in this town, and Rojo is just one of the names in the pile.  What truly sets it apart is its location in picturesque residential Highland Park.  Laura and I elected to sit inside for two reasons: 1) to avoid smokers on the patio and 2) to watch football.  I should mention that there is a bar part of Rojo which is not connected directly to the restaurant part of Rojo.  In the restaurant side, you order at the counter, and a runner brings you your order.  The decor is funky-hip with bright colors, artwork, and Christmas lights; I could easily picture this sort of place in Brooklyn.

The menu is two-faced, with one side bearing the Latin dishes, and the reverse the American fare.  Since on the way to the restaurant, I inhaled the aroma of burgers, I was primed for a burger, and that is what I ordered.  Wasn’t really in a Mexican mood, so I ended up with just a regular old cheeseburger with pasta salad as my side (there are a whopping seven choices for your side).  It seems like Birmingham eateries like the iceberg lettuce rather than other varieties.  Luckily the food didn’t take too long to come out.  Still, I had time to assess the patrons; the Rojo crowd was predominantly young professionals especially couples, though there were older people thrown in here and there.

I don’t have too much to say about the cheeseburger ($7.50) since it was fine and delicious.  I had requested cheddar on mine.  The pasta salad had a generous amount of fresh basil, along with tomato bits and feta.  It was a welcome change from fries, and it was a good thing I didn’t order the fries, as they were the fat wedge kind I’m not enthusiastic about.

As the cheeseburger was not the largest entree ever, I elected to sample a dessert.  Though the blueberry cobbler was quite tempting, I selected the peanut butter cream pie ($4.95) in the end since Laura voted for it, and I had a dream recently about peanut butter cookies which I took to be a sign that I should consume this PB pie.

The pie was grade A!  The crust was airy and so was the filling.  Like the elegant, high-class cousin of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  Chocolate and peanut butter do go so well together.  Viva Rojo!

Restaurant experiment: Flip Burger Boutique

Flip Burger Boutique

220 Summit Boulevard

Suite 140

Birmingham, AL 35243

205-968-2000

http://flipburgerboutique.com

Though I’ve never seen an episode of Top Chef, after I learned that Flip Burger Boutique was birthed by a Top Chef contestant (Richard Blais), I figured I could try it since I’ve dined at several other Top Chef establishments.  Firstly, I must say that the parking at the Summit is frustrating.  Since it was later in the evening, Laura and I didn’t have too much trouble, but I could see parking being non-existent during peak meal/shopping times.

Flip Burger Boutique is on a corner adjacent to Chuy’s which Laura informed me was not worth going to.  The interior of the boutique is something that would have happened had the Museum of Modern Art had a baby with the space station from 2001.  Very sleek and mod.  See photographic evidence below:

I wish we could have scored one of these booths, but they were occupied when the hostess was seating us.  Of course, they all emptied out during the meal.  Sigh.  And the outside balcony seating looked to die for with views of the peons below the Summit, but as it was 99999 degrees outside with 120% humidity, Laura and I went with the chilly air inside.

Our server had a good personality and was attentive but not overly so.  The menu changes often, as Laura pointed out to me.  I went with something a little conservative: the butcher’s cut burger ($9).  All of the beef burgers are 5.5 ounces of hangar steak, brisket, and short rib blend.  This particular burger featured red wine jam, caramelized onions, frisée, and blue cheese.  Immediately, the meat reminded me of the burger at Minetta Tavern, like very soft and delicate.  The jam was very complementary, but the blue cheese fell out from between the buns, and I didn’t notice this, causing me to worry about missing cheese to Laura, who pointed out where the rogue blue had gone.  More blue cheese!  That’s my suggestion.

As the burgers do not already come with sides, I elected to try the zucchini fries with gremolata mayo ($4) as my accompaniment.  I did not know what gremolata was, but now I am aware that it  is a garlic, parsley, and lemon zest condiment which is crack-like in its addictiveness.  I wiped the ramekin clean, it was that phenomenal.  It does have garlic, and how can you go wrong with garlic?  And placing shredded cheese on top of the zucchini?  Priceless.  I could have done with fatter logs of zucchini but overall, a win.  Come to think of it, the runner who brought out our plates made it a point to mention that there was a generous serving of the mayo.  Heh.

There is a section on the menu for liquid nitrogen milkshakes.  Two words: Krispy Kreme.  I can’t say why I was so compelled to have this beverage, as I don’t even particularly like Krispy Kreme donuts, well, except for that time in college when I experimented with them.  Too sugary for me.  Anyway, this was just too southern to pass up.  Laura went for the Nutella+burnt marshmallow one after deciding against the Cap’n Crunch+pb foam flavor.  The soda glasses come out with the liquid nitrogen smoke rising off the top.  This sounds bizarre, but the Krispy milkshake is actually less sweet than the plain ol’ donut, go figure.  I did like the shake.  Shake Shack, eat your heart out.

On an unrelated note, this blog is three years old, happy belated birthday!

Beethoven’s Fifth Disease

Shout out to Laura, the impetus for the post.

When Laura queried me about Fifth disease, and if I had ever heard of it, I was baffled. Fifth disease? Is there a First, Second, Third, Fourth illness too?

Bad joke aside, Laura told me what she knew about the disease; it make children flush persistently, like they had been slapped. Basically, it sounded unappealing, but what sickness is?

Fifth disease is the only human parvovirus, Parvovirus B19. If you put “parvovirus” into Google, you get a lot of dog-related pages. But you can’t catch Fifth disease from your dog or cat or other animal pal. Parvoviruses are some of the teeniest viruses out there, topping out the yardstick at a whopping 20 to 25 nanometers. For my biomedical pals, they’re single stranded in the DNA department and fond of making hairpins.

The disease primarily affects children, and children are the most contagious even before they exhibit the trademark scarlet face. It sounds much like a cold; it’s spread in the same way, and other symptoms in kids can include fever and tiredness, along with a sometimes itchy rash on the body. Adults have it rough though because they will get joint pain. Usually the illness goes away on its own, lasting from about four to fourteen days. During this time, affected individuals should stay away from pregnant ladies due to possible anemia in the offspring and possible miscarriage. Some lucky people are immune or show no symptoms. Nice.

But what I really really want to know about fifth, AKA erythema infectiosum, is why is it called that?

Answer: in ye olden days, wee ones were plagued by five different skin rashes.

1. Rubeola (measles)
2. Varicella (chicken pox)
3. Rubella (German measles)
4. Roseola (controversy! also called sixth disease?)
5. Parvovirus B19

Fun lab fact: the parvovirus is named B19 because of how the lab researcher labeled plates!

References

• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/fifth_disease/article_em.htm
• http://www.fifthdisease.org/
• http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/parvo/2000/parvovirus.html
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/respiratory/parvo_b19.htm
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/respiratory/B19&preg.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvovirus_B19