I arrived in Birmingham early Tuesday afternoon. My brother and I met up with two of his friends to check out the Wine Loft, a new winebar that had just opened its second location at the Summit. We drove around for about ten minutes before realizing the address was an abandoned building - it had already gone out of business. We headed south on 280 to the nearby Grey Bar, a relatively cozy spot considering it's part of a small strip of stores. Fireplaces filled with big dripping candles surrounded by comfy couches make this a nice date spot, aside from the fact the two times I have been to this spot, it has been all but empty. The first time I came to Grey Bar, there was an acoustic singer performing, so this could be a good spot to check out live music in a more chill environment than a traditional music venue. I don't think the girl I saw performing is getting any recording contracts anytime soon, though, so I can't say I was disappointed at the lack of live music this evening. My brother and I decided to splurge and split a nice bottle of the Trivento Malbec; we were pleasantly surprised when we paid to discover wine bottles are half-off on Tuesday nights!
On Wednesday, my mom and I set off for a Girls Day Out. We began with manicures and pedicures followed by a delicious lunch at the very trendy FLIP Burger Boutique at the Summit. Chef Richard Blais is famous for appearing on Top Chef and Iron Chef America shows. This is definitely a unique spot to find in Birmingham, but I've found in the time I've lived in New York, Birmingham has become a little "cooler" and receptive to pricier, trendier spots like this. Moderately-priced, FLIP Burger has a very inventive menu and an unadventurous eater and drinker may not care for the different fusions available on the menu. It is unfortunate that the seating for outdoors wasn't set up - I can imagine on a beautiful spring or summer day sitting out on the balcony, which has a lovely view looking out over 280 and the southern part of Birmingham.
I started with the orange martini, which was delicious, but more in the vain of a mimosa with orange pulp in the drink, and definitely not a drink that would normally be paired with a burger. We ordered two appetizers at the urging of my FLIP connoisseur mother: sweet potato fries topped with chocolate salt (chocolate and sweet potatoes sounded a little odd, but one bite convinced me it was a brilliant match made in Tastebud Heaven) as well as the fried pickles, which I think would have been perfection without the abundance of dill on them (I am renowned for my hatred of dill). For the main course, I ordered the tuna tartare burger, which had huge chunks of tuna and was complemented with wasabi mayo, avocado, carrots, cucumbers and mango yolk. The burger was delicious, and with the martini and two appetizers, it was really too much food for one sitting. As tempting as it was to try out one of the specialty milkshakes like the "Krispy Kreme milkshake" or the "Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow milkshake," I decided I'd better save one of these crazy concoctions for the next visit!
Last night, I met a group of my best friends for dinner at Chuy's (yet another new restaurant at the Summit). It was chilly outside, but the restaurant had a covered patio with heat lamps (the heat lamps actually got a little overwhelming halfway through the meal), so we were able to enjoy the fresh outdoor air in what is technically the dead of winter. The restaurant is huge, and I'm actually not sure if there was any logical explanation for our 20 minute wait other than to give the cocktail waitress an opportunity to ply us with their holiday-themed mojitos (it had a raspberry flavor which was delicious). There was also a chips and salsa bar opposite the actual bar where guests could prepare their own chips with different salsas. Once we had been seated, we ordered classic margaritas, which also didn't disappoint. The Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom enchiladas appear to be the most popular item on the menu, and almost all of us ordered that dish. The food was nothing remarkable, just a solid Mexican meal.
My time in Birmingham is coming to a close, and it is now time for the other half of my holiday travels - we leave for New Orleans tomorrow morning!
Miles Traveled Today: 962
Total Miles Traveled: 7,221
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