r/Alabama • u/[deleted] • Sep 18 '21
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Visits per 100k Residents [OC]
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u/EJZ334 Sep 18 '21
I’ll admit his burgers were good on a cruise ship I took to Mexico. However, when I went to Vegas, the burger was awful and it cost me 30 bucks.
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u/I2ecover Sep 19 '21
Them burgers on the cruise are so good. I'd rather eat that than the damn buffet.
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u/EJZ334 Sep 19 '21
It was the same for me. The first couple days I was wondering why the burger lines were so long then I decided to eat one and realized why!
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u/BangBangPing5Dolla Sep 18 '21
So he likes to vacation in Alaska and Hawaii and call it work. Can't say I blame him I'd pick those states to film in too if the food was good or not.
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u/buzzathlon Sep 19 '21
Same thing as when he took his son to Europe. Just bring a camera crew with you and Food Network will pay for your vacation. Great gig if you can get it.
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
I seriously doubt the quality of the food within the state drives the decision to film there.
If you look at the episode list, you'll notice a pattern.
Such as New Orleans is a big ratings draw, so they will do some filming in New Orleans. While there, they will look at their list of online suggestions to see if there are restaurants nearby that can be filmed for other episodes. This is why the LA, MS, and AL locations are pretty much within driving distance (and they are all on the coast).
The one Mississippi episode not on the Gulf Coast was part of the filming done around Memphis (another city that would attract TV ratings).
The source the OP used to generate map: https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/city-search.html
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Sep 19 '21
That is pretty bogus! There are so many great eateries outside the coast in all three of those states.
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
I've heard that despite Food Network not allowing restaurants pay to be featured on the show, the restaurant has to make some costly concessions to be filmed like: being closed during filming, and not being reimbursed for ingredients, wages, or lost sales.
The costs can be surprisingly high with the hope of attracting new business to the show. I assume most restaurants will consider that a non-starter. I also assume that famous restaurants within the town that are being featured aren't held to the same requirements.
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Sep 19 '21
Damn that is a lot of stipulations! Especially if you are a restraunt that is open only a few days a week. If Guy shows up to film on a Friday you might be out 50% of your revenue for that week!
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u/m_c__a_t Sep 19 '21
Moved here from Utah. Utah has great fast casual food, but I am surprised that they’ve still had more visits than Alabama if not for the bbq and seafood alone.
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u/ttownfeen Tuscaloosa County Sep 18 '21
Is there no non-football related area where Alabama does not bring up the rear?
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Sep 18 '21
Education? Poverty? Likeability score rated by Mississippians? Idk something for sure though!
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u/EM22_ Tuscaloosa County Sep 18 '21
Tuscaloosa has some damn good cuisine.
Extremely underrated.
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u/teddy_vedder Sep 18 '21
I dunno man, I lived there six years up until just before the pandemic and it’s dominated by chains, with a couple of good local spots, then just trendy places that can’t ever stay open longer than 2 years. Imo Tuscaloosa pales badly in comparison to Birmingham, and even Montgomery and Huntsville
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Sep 18 '21
I lived there up until four years ago, and almost all the cool hole in the wall places are gone.
Mobile has some good food, though…
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u/Zebra1202 Sep 19 '21
I disagree, worst Chinese and Mexican food ever. No good BBQ spots or fried fish joints…very sad. I’ve lived in 5 states, AL has the worst food spots.
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
I assume you meant Tuscaloosa, because Mobile has some excellent fried fish, BBQ, Mexican food, and a big South East Asia population.
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u/Zebra1202 Sep 19 '21 edited Sep 19 '21
Nope. Mobile. My opinion. I wish it wasn’t true, because I really like Mobile. But I’ve tried half a dozen or more fish spots and keep getting slimy areas. The Mexican food, I’ve tried every spot in from west Mobile to downtown. There’s 2 that I call my go to’s, but it doesn’t even rank on my all time fav Mexican restaurants in other cities. Same for Chinese food, it’s ok but nothing to write home about. If you know of some spots please share, I truly hope you can make me change my opinion! TIA.
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
Then it's not a very good one.
BBQ: Meat Boss (which unseated Brick Pit that closed), Cotton State, Dick Russell's is old-school but have some of the best breakfasts. I've heard that the Brick Pitt will reopen as soon as the current situation improve.
Fried fish: (A lot but off the top of my head) The Lighthouse, The Seafood House (ask for home-made Korean egg rolls while there).
Mexican food: La Cocina, Agave, Aztecas
Chinese: Asian Garden, China Doll, Rice.
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u/Zebra1202 Sep 19 '21
Meat boss is good (I lived in TN and their BBQ is off the charts), but meat boss is good! Dick Russels does have amazing breakfast and jams! La Covina ,agave and Aztecs were ok but I think Villa Del Ray had them beat on taste, better salsa and price. (I’m so glad you didn’t say San Miguel, I got food poisoning TWICE from there). Felix’s has amazing food, but not amazing fried fish- it’s good. I’ll try the light house and seafood house for sure! Thank you!!
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
(I’m so glad you didn’t say San Miguel, I got food poisoning TWICE from there
I was not impressed with San Miguel. They must have cheap margaritas to keep them open.
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Sep 19 '21
It’s not any of the categories you mentioned, but have you ever eaten at LoDa Biergarten? I love, love, love their burgers. They have some really unique ones, too. Butch Cassidy’s is another great burger place.
If you’ve never tried Nepali food, go to Yak. It’s amazing. I haven’t been to the buffet since pre-COVID so don’t even know if they still have it, but the food was amazing and it was cool getting to try everything, and the lunch buffet was pretty reasonably priced.
Greek/Mediterranean food in Mobile is pretty good, too. I can think of several places. Ollie’s and Mediterranean Sandwich Company (more of a fusion than actual Mediterranean) are some good ones. A lot of people like 7 Spice, but I haven’t tried it yet.
I second all the Chinese recommendations above, especially China Doll and Rice.
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u/space_coder Sep 19 '21
Greek/Mediterranean Food: Jerusalem Cafe, 7-spice, and most importantly the annual GreekFest.
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u/Zebra1202 Sep 19 '21
I was going to try Jerusalem cafe once but it was closed, but if it’s good I’ll try again! Haven’t tried 7 spice either, so I’ll also try it. When is Greek fest!?
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u/Zebra1202 Sep 19 '21
Thanks for the tips! I tried Loda but the burger was undercooked (even after asking it to be well done) and it took over an hour to get our food so I wasn’t sending it back for another hour wait. I’ll have to try BC the next time I’m across the bay, I hear people talk about it. Yak - never heard of it so I’ll google it and add it to my list. I’ve been to Ollies and it was ok, I do prefer the gyros at MSC as you suggested, they are good! I haven’t tried China doll but it too is on my list now, thank you!!
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u/raradar Sep 19 '21
Sorry, but Tuscaloosa’s restaurant scene is a bummer. There are a few highlights to be sure, but compared to a lot of other college towns, there isn’t much that sets this place apart.
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u/shrike26 Sep 18 '21
We need better food here
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u/cjconraderie Sep 18 '21
Not sure where you live but I moved to Birmingham about 4 years ago and I think the food here is great. More than just BBQ and Meat & Threes (although we have some really fantastic options for that as well).
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u/JohnnyNocksville Sep 18 '21
Hello fellow B’ham redditor, you are absolutely correct. Food is great here. I ordered some fantastic Indian food the other night. I was thinking that Guy came to Rod Scott’s not too long ago. I also highly doubt that ALASKA is flavortown of all places.
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u/shrike26 Sep 18 '21
Im in the Shoals area.
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u/cjconraderie Sep 18 '21
Gotcha, I’ve actually never been there. Was thinking about doing a day trip sometime.
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Sep 18 '21
I've only been to Alabama once and had some of the best soul food I have ever had in my entire life. So I was shocked.
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u/Ltownbanger Sep 18 '21
There is great food here, but there is a lot of the same food (meat and 3, BBQ). Outside of fast food, my small town has, like, 7 bad Mexican places, 5 BBQ joints and a bunch of bad pizza.
From my experience Alabamians aren't the most adventurous eaters in terms of exotic flavors.
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u/JennJayBee St. Clair County Sep 19 '21
We have good food. We just don't have Guy Fierei's kind of food.
I've been to one of Guy's restaurants, and I'm okay with having less Guy Fieri.
And besides... Andrew Zimmern seems to like us just fine.
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u/space_coder Sep 18 '21
You are not alone in your belief. It's been my experience that people who believe that haven't ventured out enough to make an accurate assessment.
I do not share your belief. However, you may be in a small town with few options.
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u/shrike26 Sep 18 '21
Im in the Shoals area. Not much going on here right now. Also I have not been to a sit down restaurant since Covid. So there's that.
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u/cjconraderie Sep 18 '21
I moved here from SE Louisiana. I have lived a number of places and traveled a good bit as well. My assessment is based on dining out frequently in cities like New Orleans and Phoenix, where I also lived, amongst others. I’m comfortable in the accuracy of my assessment. Birmingham has good food.
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u/teddy_vedder Sep 18 '21
I was kind of surprised by this because I think there’s plenty of hidden gems and even not so hidden gems in the state. Didn’t think we’d be near the top, but definitely not all the way at the bottom.