Doing Business in B’Ham.

My company, at the time did, a much better job on picking hotels this trip. This time I stayed at the Ramada Inn in Birmingham in a section known as Homewood.

One of the first things you immediately notice here is its great location. The hotel sits a bit off the major highway and offers spectacular views of the surrounding Red Mountains. It is conveniently located only about 15 minutes from downtown Birmingham. It is close to the zoo, Botanical Gardens, and Vulcan Park. There are also plenty of restaurants, gas stations, and shopping nearby. Hamburger Heaven sits right in front of them with a set of steps leading down from the hotel to the restaurant parking lot (see my separate review of Hamburger Heaven).

My room is quite spacious with a king bed. I have an armoire which also has an ironing board and iron in it, drawers, and a desk and chair. The bathroom is on par size wise with most mass market hotels. But at least this one didn’t have me fearing for my knees. The bathroom provides a hair dryer for your use and an amenities basket. There is also a coffee maker in the room.

Rooms are on the inside for safety. There are vending machines and ice on each floor. Check in and out was a breeze and the staff here is very helpful, friendly, and efficient. Downstairs there is a large and spacious lobby with plenty of chairs and tables. They have several vending machines and one carries such items and sandwiches and several microwave entrées. There is a microwave for guests to use. They offer extended continental breakfast each morning. In addition to cereal, toast, pop tarts, muffins, donuts, and Danish. They also offer a hot item each such as pancakes, waffles, and bacon and eggs.

They have Internet access in each room. They also have a computer and printer in the lobby for guests. They have a pool. They do have guest laundry. They also have meeting facilities. They have ample free parking. They are ADA friendly. In additional, they are pet friendly. The only problem I encountered in my five days here was on Saturday night. There was a group staying and they just happen to be on my floor (just my luck). The kids were roaming loose in the halls and people going up and down the halls talking very loudly. Finally at midnight I called down to the front desk and within minutes the place was peaceful and I never heard another peep.

The hotel is a great alternative to staying in the downtown area. For more information simply go to www.ramada.com.

As I stated earlier, I didn’t have much of an appetite due to some serious food poising my first few days in Birmingham. This was the first place I ate at when I got it back, and boy howdy was I starving.

I am not sure if this is a chain of restaurants in the Southeast or just a regional chain. I know there was more than one of these and when I tried to find information on the Internet I found several listed, all in the Southeast, but no website. Anyway this one sits just in front of the Ramada off Oxmoor Blvd. Its slogan is" best hamburger in the world." I am not 100% sure about that, but it is certainly in contention. And they were recently honored for being one of the top 50 hamburgers in the world. So I guess they must be doing something right.

The food here is typical of hamburger places. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, wings, fries, onion rings, and well you get the idea. They also have fresh made cake and plenty of shakes. Since things are made fresh here there are a much better alternative to mass fast food places.

Inside the place looks pretty much non-descript and just like any other hamburger place. Benches for customers, long stainless steel counter, and a section for condiments. Since this is a sports town there were plenty of pictures and other sports memorabilia hanging on the walls. They also have a patio for outdoor dining. When I first drove past the restaurant on my way to the hotel it was quite packed. After going up to my hotel room and changing I came back down to walk to the restaurant. There are a set of stairs leading from the hotel to the restaurant parking lot. There were several people from the hotel headed over the building so I just followed behind.

Since I had a week's worth of tummy troubles I kept it simple. Hamburger, fries, coke, and a piece of cake. I was given my number and only had to wait a few minutes before my burger was ready. This burger was heavenly (pun intended). It was thick and juicy and tasted just like the ones you cook out on a grill. Yummy! The fries were nice and crispy and tasted like they were hand cut and not frozen out of a bag. And the cake was to die for. Fluffy and moist. Mmmmm! When I was done my taste buds were happy and my stomach was full.

There are several other Hamburger Heavens around town. When looking for some of the best burgers around, you need look no further than hamburger heaven.

The only reason I am going to be generous and give this place a 2 is because some of the problems with the food may have something to do with the lingering effects of bad Chinese. The service would still be a 1, since that has nothing to do with how bad I felt.

I came into the restaurant a little after two and there were only a few customers in the place. I waited and waited for someone to come and greet me. Finally the hostess came over as if I had interrupted her doing something important and sat me down at a booth.

John’s has taken the dinner and made it upscale. It is furnished with black chrome and leather, big pictures of cartoons, white linen napkins, and wait staff all clad in black. They also offer a full service bar. I am guessing they think the snotty attitude of the wait staff adds to the air of stuffiness.

After a few minutes my waitress Jennifer comes over, also looking like I interrupted something important and takes my order. On the lunch menu you can get a variety of sandwiches and wraps, salad, fish, and comfort food such as meatloaf and fried chicken. Since I am not really in the mood to eat (but know I have to) I order a turkey club which comes with cheese, turkey, bacon, sun dried tomatoes, and onions. It is served with fries and a pickle and tea to drink. While I am waiting I am served cornbread sticks.

After an extremely long wait my food finally comes out. The sandwich is OK, just not outstanding. Again could be my recent illness. Before I dig into my food as always I take a picture. After eating a few minutes my waitress seems more interested in why I am taking pictures of food rather than if I need anything. I only can manage to eat about half of my sandwich, but I am drinking plenty of tea. I had to ask two other waitresses before I ever got any tea. While eating Jennifer dropped off my check and I never saw her again. Then at the register I had to argue with the cashier/host to get a receipt for my expense report.

The food here leaves much to be desired and the service was inexcusable. I would check out other restaurants in the area before dining here.

After stopping by Office Max and getting some copies made, I was starving. I asked my cashier where a great place to eat was. She said Johnny Ray's was legendary and just around the corner.

I pulled my little rented Kia up the steep driveway and parked. This building is a throwback to the diners of the '50s that are having a recent resurgence in the dining industry. It was about 8:30pm when I walked in and there were only a few customers planted at the counter talking to the waitresses. One looks up and tells me to sit anywhere.

I sit down at a booth and purse the menu. This place is supposed to be legendary for their BBQ. Now, nothing against Alabamans, but when you talk southern BBQ, Alabama BBQ doesn’t often enter into the mix. If I can’t see the pit and smell the Q cooking, I don’t order. In addition to BBQ they offer such dinner classics as burgers, salads, sandwiches, chicken, meatloaf, fish, roast, and so on. Since I was still in the feeling rotten stage I just went with a veggie plate.

I waited and waited for my waitress who was more intent on discussing American Idol than my order. I may be one of the few, but I hate the show. Not that I would have been thrilled to have the waitresses ignoring me to discuss Supernatural and what would happen next to the Winchester Boys. But to have to wait for this group to finish their Idol dissertation was not a great staring point.

Finally, my rather unpleasant waitress comes over and snorts "what ya want". I just stare a minute and proceed to order my three-veggie plate consisting of mashed potatoes with gravy, baked beans, and corn on the cob and my usual ice tea. Then my "waitresses" bellows "ya’ll Yankees like your tea unsweet, right?"! I gasp as I was taken back over her insult. I snippily replied "I am a southerner who likes her tea sweet, thank you". I knew then this would not end well.

My food must have just been sitting around as my unnamed server had my food out in less than five minutes. One bite and I knew why. It was cold. The gravy on my taters was lumpy, my biscuit could have been a lethal weapon, the butter wouldn’t melt on my corn, and my beans were flavorless. Since my fun-loving waitress had returned to her previous discussion I ate what I could. I finally just pushed my food back and went to the register. Miss Personality came up to the register and asked how everything was. I just stated back as if to say "what do you think" and left. I was thankful my hotel had vending machines.

Despite all the reviews up on the wall, I can’t give it a recommendation. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing legendary about this place.

This was my last night in Birmingham. I finished up my show and went looking for a restaurant that had been recommended to me. After 20 minutes of following my map quest directions, I didn’t see my intended stop. I was starving and need food immediately. I noticed the billboard for Barnhill’s and followed the directions. Since Barnhill’s claim to fame is good country cooking buffet style, it comes as no surprise that their building looks like a barn.

I walk in pay for my ticket and go find a place to sit down. There is a pretty good crowd in here this Sunday night. And judging by their dress, it must be the place to stop in after Sunday night church service. In fact one large group was doing some impromptu singing. Their incredible voices and black gospel almost made you feel like you were at the House of the Blues gospel brunch.

Now this is a buffet only restaurant. It is sat up like most other buffets out there. There is the salad and cold pasta bar, veggie bar, soup, a taco station, fixings for your baked potatoes, meats, a carving station, fruit, and dessert bar along with an ice cream machine.

I went and pursed the offerings to plan my dining attack and noticed everything was nice and clean and in order despite the fact there were plenty of people here. The meats included fried chicken, baked chicken, roast beef, fish, hamburger steak, and BBQ. I started with a small salad. The veggies were nice and crisp and the lettuce wasn’t wilted.

When I returned to my table, Latish was waiting for me. She had my tea and a basket of rolls and butter and told me to let her know if I needed anything at all. After eating my salad I go back up and have a sampling of their mashed potatoes, okra, corn, mac and cheese, and had some roasted chicken from the carving bar. Everything just melted in my mouth and was so good. Within just of few minutes of returning from the bar, here comes Latish to remove my salad plate, refill my tea, and make sure everything was OK. After that I proceed back up for some fruit and then later for cake and ice cream. When I was done, I needed a stretcher to roll me out. But my tummy was happy.

There was a pleasant family sitting next to me who started talking to me about the spring show since I still had my vendor badge on. Latish keep tabs on me and I never needed for anything. The food was great, and the service sparkling. Would I eat here again? You bet ya!

The Birmingham show is one of the largest and longest running garden shows in the Southeast. This year I was there to work it.

The show is held at the BJCC Center located in the heart of downtown Birmingham. This year’s show featured over 150 vendors and 75 vendors in the Western Supermarket food pavilion. There was over 220,000 square feet of exhibit space offering a variety of vendors. They featured gardens, a women’s pavilion, and a cooking theater. The show covers two levels of floor space.

There were vendors covering everything from home and gardens to just shopping. On the professional side you could find tractors big enough to tackle even the Biltmore House to every kind of home improvement service out there. Near me there was a home theater company which kept showing the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which was quite a distraction for me! They had pool companies and people ready to install a sun room for you. They had the CVB from nearby Gulf Shores Al. (where I hope to go to next summer to visit relatives). They had a drawing for a new Ford pick up truck, which was quite popular. There were plenty of prize drawings. In fact I won a free weekend in Gulf Shores. Just my luck, the time limit was two months! They even had real estate agents ready to sell your home after you improved it.

For garden lover they had everything you need for your garden. The people across from me had bright and beautiful Adirondack chairs. I saw plenty of chic pieces of patio furniture and yard art. They had ponds, flowers, statues, trellises, gazebos, stones, etc. And for those who don’t do it yourself, they had plenty of people to make your garden into something to rival the gardens of Versailles. Pike Nurseries had a stunning display which made me come home and start work on my own garden for the fall. Shopping vendors ranged from pet accessories, jewelry, home decor, and clothing. One of the biggest draw was the Western Supermarket Food Pavilion. Over 75 vendors handed out free samples of everything from cakes and cookies, to ice cream, to beverages you needed to be carded to enjoy. They even had a huge play area for children.

From a vendors stand point this place was great. Every evening they had hot refreshments sat up in a very nice vendors lounge. We had chicken wings, meatballs, hot sandwiches, chips and dip, and well you get the idea. Everyday they offered a hot lunch for purchase. And $7 got you a lot. One afternoon I had a huge piece of chicken, corn, potatoes, peas, salad, a roll, cake, and tea! Then one day hot roast beef open faced sandwich with fries, salad, corn on the cob, dessert, and drink!

The show was held at the BJCC Center which is right next to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The complex does have rest rooms and elevators and escalator for the handicapped. They do have actual food vendors where you can purchase a full meal, and not just nibble food. There are also plenty of restaurants in the downtown area within walking distance of the complex. Your ticket does offer in and out privileges. The complex does have its own indoor parking, but parking is neither free nor are there in and out privileges. Complex parking was $7. There are several lots surrounding the complex and prices range from $7-$10 also with no in and out privileges.

Hours/admission/info.

This years ticket prices were $9 (a)
$7 (s)
Free for children under 12

Hours:

Thursday 11am- 8pm
Friday 11am to 9pm
Saturday 10am to 8pm
Sunday noon-6pm.

Website: www.homeandgardenshow.tv
www.bjcc.org

If your in town next year and want plenty of ideas to get your green thumb ready, make sure to take in this great show.

Very highly recommended