By Donna Cornelius That thing you have for doughnuts? It’s in your genes. At least, that’s what Phil Amthor believes. “Everybody has a love for doughnuts within them from birth,” said Amthor, who started Birmingham’s We Have Doughnuts with his wife, Sara. The company just helps reawaken that primal connection, he said. The small batch, made-from-scratch doughnuts are sold … [Read more...]
Shell Game: Chef Jeremy Downey Wins Two Awards at Oyster Cook-off
By Donna Cornelius When Jeremy Downey eats an oyster, the taste takes him back to his childhood. Downey, the owner and chef of Bistro V in Vestavia Hills, grew up in Bayou La Batre on the Alabama Gulf Coast. “Our next door neighbor was an oyster guy, and he’d bring us a big old sack and say, ‘Here’s 50 pounds of oysters,’” Downey said. “Sometimes he’d just drop them on our … [Read more...]
The Play’s the Thing
By Donna Cornelius Some toys make kids go bonkers when they open them – and then gather dust once the “new” has worn off.s Three Over the Mountain stores make it their business to offer toys that will be fun for days to come. There’s probably not a child in the OTM area who can’t think of at least one gift that came from Homewood Toy and Hobby, Smith’s Variety Toy and Gift … [Read more...]
Grand Entrance: Grille 29 Restaurant Makes Its Debut in Birmingham
By Donna Cornelius It took some time for Grille 29 to join the Birmingham restaurant scene, but it didn’t take long for the upscale-casual eatery to start drawing diners. On a recent weekday afternoon, a full house was expected for the night in the large Brookwood Village building that formerly housed McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, and Grille 29 still found a … [Read more...]
Beyond the Kitchen: Cooks on a Mission’s Work Feeds Body and Soul
By Donna Cornelius Food and church go together like peanut butter and jelly–especially in the South. Sunday school classes take food to the sick and bereaved. Congregations gather for bountiful fellowship meals. Women’s groups automatically think “let’s do a cookbook” when the organ fund needs a little bolstering. At Mountain Brook Baptist Church, one group takes cooking to … [Read more...]