Suggestions for an out of towner

[D-Walt]

Thank you everyone for the hospitality and suggestions. For those of you familiar with the restaurants mentioned above, which ones are best suited for dinner(atmosphere, serve alcohol, music?).
Thanks

[au4stree]

Saw's Juke Joint in Crestline (in Bham) will come the closest to your criteria.  I'd check their website to ensure live music is on the menu.  That location does have a nice vibe to it, especially this time of year, sitting on their porch.  Saw's & Jim n Nicks have full bars.  If you're wanting to go out and about after you eat, then Dreamland on the Southside will be closer to some of the nightlife things.

[RhodeHog]

Sorry to be late to the party. I'd agree with au4stree on most of his recommendations. Some other considerations/comments:

1. Full Moon BBQ in Fultondale is ok but, like Jim N Nicks, is a chain and has that feel (I ate at the original Full Moon in a cinderblock building in Southside in the old days)
2. Demitri's in Homewood is one of the classics that is connected with the Greek community that started a lot of restaurants in town. Golden Rule in Irondale is also from that Greek heritage.
3. Top Hat in Blount County is good but they're doing better catfish than ribs (pork is ok). Porky's at the Hayden exit is VERY good. If you are driving down to Bham on I-65, it's about 2-3 miles from the exit.
4. I've never been to Rib-It-Up but there always seems to be a line around that building. Very small place so you would probably do a to-go order and drive a few blocks to Railroad Park and eat there.
5. Dreamland Southside - If executed, my last meal will come from here. The Southside restaurant has the best vibe outside of the one in Tuscaloosa.

Your non-BBQ bonus: for a good southern meat-n-three go to Niki's West. Historical favorite, another rooted in Greek culture, and was featured on Andrew Zimmern's show once. Local favorite.

[zupanj]

Going to Birmingham tomorrow. Do au4strees comments still hold? Looking to try a different region though my KC tastes are pretty set.

[MBMorgan]

Going to Birmingham tomorrow. Do au4strees comments still hold? Looking to try a different region though my KC tastes are pretty set.

au4stree

[au4stree]

zupanj
Yes, I still think Saw’s has the better BBQ in Bham. Depending what you’re after, their chicken is usually the most consistent followed by their pork. It’s odd, they have multiple locations throughout Bham metro and each location has different menu options (i.e. smoked wings are not available everywhere). My favorite though is their pork and greens😋.

Rodney Scott’s moved to Homewood, that’s a neat community. His bbq is unique to Bham, whereas no one here does whole hog.

Dreamland is good, direct heat ribs, I like their place in Southside Bham. Lastly, fairly new to the area is Martin’s BBQ Joint, which is a chain out of TN. Their food has been good the times I’ve been in for lunch. If you are considering Martin’s, do yourself a favor and go to Miss Myra’s. It’s local and has great everything. My favorite there is her brisket.

Disclaimer: I’m not fond of the traditional bbq locations in Bham: Golden Rule, Dimitri’s, Full Moon, Bob Sykes. I find their meats to be dry and flavorless where they depend on sauce to mask poorly smoked meats. I’ve lived in Bham over 20 years, grew up on Big Bob’s and all the other great North Alabama joints.

[jfmorris]

Full Moon opened up here in Huntsville a few years back. I've not bothered to try it, as I had it down in Alabaster/Pelham once on business, and it was "meh" at that time. More chain BBQ I felt at the time.

[zupanj]

Thanks for the update. I hope to get to at least two places while we are there. Saw's and Miss Myra's

[surfdog]

I’ve been to Dreamland in Mobile. Well worth stopping by.

[mrteddyprincess]

I just ate at Dreamland in Birmingham with my wife. Those ribs are something else! I had Dreamland last summer. Took my wife back there so she could taste them!

Brian

[surfdog]

Yeah, the ribs are great…despite being cooked “wrong.” LOL
I’ve been twice…got the ribs the first time because I heard they were really good.
The second time? I got the ribs. If it ain’t broke…

[zupanj]

I wish I had seen the posts on Dreamland earlier. My daughter lives about 2 miles away from the Dreamland on US 280. I had forgotten but we ate there about 4 years ago and it was OK but it's not BBQ. They cooked the ribs on an open flame with no rub and cook them for a fairly short time. I think we used a lot of sauce on them but I don't really recall. Anyway I guess they were not that memorable, I just remember talking to the cook and being surprised at how the ribs were cooked.

[zupanj]

While in Birmingham this past week we ate at Miss Myra's and Saw's. Miss Myra was really disappointing. I had a three meat plate because I wanted to try the brisket, pork and ribs. The brisket was dry and didn't seem to have much smoke. It was served chopped rather than sliced. Not very good in my opinion. One factor may have been that it was about 2:30 -3:00 PM so the beef may have been sitting in a warmer for a long time. The ribs were over cooked and pulled right off the bone. It did have a bark but again was pretty dry. The pulled pork was pretty good. I used their white sauce on the pork. It was OK but I much prefer sweet KC sauces. I had beans and slaw for sides and both were pretty good. My wife had the chicken sandwich and she said it was maybe the best she ever had.

We also went to Saw's in Crestline. It turns our t we had eaten there before also. I had a chicken sandwich which was only OK. Chicken was a bit dry and had a white sauce on it. It was OK but I wouldn't order it again. My wife had a hamburger and she said it was terrific. Probably my next order if we eat there again.