Tuscaloosa's Farmers Market

Tuscaloosa has several spots for fresh, local fruits, veggies, plants, and even meat. This past Saturday, I ventured to the new River Market on Jack Warner Parkway for about the third time. By far, this was the best visit. I grabbed lots of yummy goodies and thought I would share some of the things I bought and what I made. The market is open on Tuesday and Saturdays from 7-noon. I will suggest you get there early for the best selection. We arrived before 9:00 and already some of the vendors were out of some items.

Stage area where Matt Jones was setting up  to perform some live music.

One of the biggest vendors at the market is Snow's Bend Farm. They always seem to have a large variety and they are a name I recognize as having had fresh produce in the area for years now. From this stand, I bought eggplant and a yellow and red pepper. My mom bought some rattlesnake beans. I loved the pictures of this produce.

 

Snow's Bend Farm stand

I also bought some squash from a former student, some banana peppers from a member of my church, some Chilton County peaches and some tomatoes, cucumbers, and blueberries from three other vendors. All said I purchased fruit and veggies from 7 different growers and all of it has been delicious. And it's a great feeling thinking about the "naturalness" of the food I am eating and supporting local growers. And, this week it was an added bonus I got to buy from a few people I knew.

All of my purchases

This means Wes and I had a great meal Sunday night! I made chicken kabobs with the peppers and a squash. And we also grilled the eggplant with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then, I fried the squash, cut the cucumbers and soaked them in vinegar, sliced tomatoes and made a blueberry crisp.

Finished product

Blueberry Crisp

If you haven't visited the market yet, you should! The new venue is gorgeous and the experience is great. The last time I went I bought sausage from the pork man and ground sirloin from the beef guy. We made some burgers with the ground beef and it felt great to have meat that wasn't over processed with who knows what in it. Wes and I don't eat a lot of ground beef, we have switched to more turkey, but when Wes was patting out the burgers, he could tell a big difference in the quality. I will certainly be going back as much as possible.

YP(t)

If you are out of college and under 40 in Tuscaloosa, you should be a part of the YP(t), or the Young Professionals of Tuscaloosa. This is a group formed as a part of the Chamber of Commerce designed to give "young professionals" a way to get involved in town and get to know each other. Tonight, this post is about a couple of events that the ypt group has either hosted or participated in over the past few months. In the past, we have had parties, networking events, and special interest events.You can find them on facebook, but the website is under construction.

Tonight was the Sushi Making Event at Chuck's Fish and what a great time we had. This event was in their private room upstairs. If you haven't been to Chuck's for sushi then you are missing out on some of the best sushi in town. But, tonight, we were not just eating the sushi, we were learning how to roll our own sushi. We had the option to make several of the most popular rolls and everything I had was delicious. Here is a shot of us making the spicy tuna roll.

Learning how to make the sushi

We each got to make two rolls. Amy and I shared our rolls so that we could try a few. Here is our first go of it with Spicy Tuna and Crunchy Shrimp.

Amy and me with my finished product.

We also got to try the uptown shrimp. I haven't tried it before, but it was just like the Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish. It was delicious!! And, they have a special on Wednesday night with Uptown Shrimp specials.

This was a great night with some familiar YP(t) friends and a chance to meet some new ones. I don't know how easy it is to set up a sushi making event with Chuck's, but it was a lot of fun. I know that I always have a good time with the young professionals group and tonight was no different. So, this post is to share that Chuck's has great sushi and to tell you to come to a YP(t) event if you are in T-town and in the age range.




I do think I learned that sushi is a food that I will continue to go out and order and not something I will make at home. Sure, the roll was good, but it takes a bit of prep and I definitely don't have the ingredients at home.

The other event that I participated in recently for YP(t) was the JLT Dragon Boat race. This event was at the end of April and it required 20 paddlers. Yes, paddlers. We paddled a boat down the Black Warrior River and had a blast!

YP(t) Team

Our team came in 10th out of 26 teams. And, I think everyone on the team had a really great time. I know I made a few new friends and can't wait to do this again next year. I think the event was really well received by the rest of town too. There were lots of business and other social groups who had teams. And, I heard great things from lots of the groups about how much fun everyone had.

YP(t) practicing before the race.

 This year the event was on the river behind Cypress Inn. They had food and drink for the spectators and the participants and most of the teams had set up tents with a tailgate like atmosphere. We were out there for a few hours and it was a great way to meet people and have fun outside in Tuscaloosa.

Tuesday in T-town

The new farmer's market on Jack Warner Parkway has opened! If you haven't been by it, it is a beautiful facility. It is open Tuesday and Saturday from 7a-noon. I hadn't been yet, but I had really been wanting to go. So, yesterday morning I stopped by to see what was there. I was expecting fewer vendors and a smaller crowd because it was Tuesday. And, it seems still a little early for a lot of produce. I can't wait until June with the good tomatoes start coming and the yummy fruit. According to the director, there are more vendors on Saturday and still room for more to come.
Here is a little about what I saw, and what I hear is there on Saturdays. I bought some fresh spinach and sweet potato butter from one of the men. He also had onions, collard greens, chow chow and relishes. There was a lady with homemade jellies and fried pies that looked delicious! A guy was there with pork products and a guy with pottery. Christy said that on Saturday there are more produce vendors, a man with black angus beef, plants, and more. I can't wait to stop back by this weekend on my way to the Dragon Boat Race.


Then, last night I went to the Documenting Justice film screening. This is a class at UA that has students from all different majors who come together to make 10 minute documentary films on something happening in Alabama. Here is a link to the article about it. These students did a fantastic job. Topics ranged from tornado relief in Tuscaloosa, to immigration, to schools in the black belt. I was really drawn in to several of them and felt like they could have been at least twice as long so I could hear more about the stories. This event was at the Bama Theatre, which is by far one of the greatest venues in Tuscaloosa.
This event only happens once a year, so you will have to wait a while if this sounds like something you would enjoy. But, it is just proof of the cool things being done here in town. And, just how lucky we are to have UA and the things that come along with that. This is certainly a chance to see just want the students here can bring to the table.

Nashville

Ok, so I said in the beginning that I wanted the focus of this blog to be about Tuscaloosa and the things I do here. But, I went to Nashville for a conference this past weekend and I just wanted to talk a little bit about this fabulous city that happens to be an easy drive from T-town.

The conference was for AAF District 7. AAF is the American Advertising Federation, and district 7 encompasses Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee clubs. The conference changes every time to a different location and this time we were in Nashville.

Thursday night we hopped around on Broadway and 2nd Ave. checking out some live music and the night scene. One of my favorite stops was at Whiskey Bent. They had a great band playing. This is one of the best things about Nashville, the live music. It isn't hard to find someone who can sing and play in this town. After all, isn't that why everyone is there, trying to make it big?? We stopped by a few other spots but we landed at The Big Bang Bar last and stayed there the longest. This is a dueling piano bar. If you haven't been to one before, it is a lot of fun. The guys take requests for songs, the more money you tip, the more likely it is to get played. They play everything from Elton John, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, and my favorite, Def Leopard's Pour Some Sugar on Me. We used to have one of these places in Tuscaloosa and unfortunately it didn't make it. The Big Bang was so much fun, we went back the next night.

Like I said, we had so much fun at Big Bang we went back Friday night after our Denim and Diamonds party. We also stopped by Tootsies, a classic stop on Broadway. And, we went to Paradise Park, which was really cool. Again, live music is everywhere and it is all good! You shouldn't miss these bars either.

Saturday we took a special tour of the Ryman Auditorium. I grew up only a little over an hour away from Nashville and had been tons of times before to the city. But, this was my first time in the Ryman. It was absolutely beautiful.

The stage at the Ryman

They have the original pews that were in the building around the turn of the 20th century. Those are some old pews!

Original Pews in the Ryman

The stained glass windows were gorgeous. They call this the mother church of country music. And, it actually was built as a church to have revivals but that turned out to not be all that profitable and so they started books acts to perform.

Stained glass windows in the Ryman Auditorium

They have exhibits that come and go and some pieces of the Ryman history on display all the time. There was a Johnny and June display currently with some really Johnny Cash boots and I can't believe I didn't get a picture. But, this picture shows Minnie Pearl's dress which I thought was really cool.

This is a great venue to check out if you visit Nashville. Of course, we didn't get to see a live performance, but I hear that the sound and acoustics are great.  This visit to Nashville has me wanting more live music! I might just have to check out their calendar of events.

The gala Saturday night was at the top of the Pinnacle building in downtown Nashville. It was just an open space and they brought tables in for the event so it had a really cool vibe to it. But, the best part was the view. I love a view!! I would live at the top of the Empire State building or the top of the Sears Tower if I could. It is even better when the sun goes down and the night lights up the sky. I have always loved city lights. So, you can imagine the view from this party was right up my alley.

This group likes to have fun. So, after the presentation of Clubs of the Year, the new Governor of the District, and some lovely speeches, we had a great band that played for us. Justin Nault and his band played great cover songs that had a big group of us dancing. They were tons of fun and even took a bunch of requests we threw out at them. It just so happens, that Justin is also a piano player at The Big Bang Bar and we had seen him play there too. What a small town Nashville ended up being. This isn't the best picture of the band, but you can also see the set up of the room.

My friend, and fellow AAF Tuscaloosa member, Laura went to the conference too.  We had a great time, heard great music, danced, learned some new things about advertising, and all in all had a great Nashville experience. It wasn't my first, and it won't be my last visit to The Music City.

Weekend of excitement

This was a great weekend in Tuscaloosa. The weather was perfect, there were things happening, and we got to hang out with several friends. I already mentioned the wine tasting and the dinner we had at Five, so I am jumping right to Saturday. I decided to put these all in one post because while we had fun at all the places we went, none had quite enough to talk about alone.

We started Saturday at Tree House Farm and Nursery for their garden expo. Coach Pat Dye was speaking at 10:00 about Japanese Maple Trees and of course, that caught Wes' attention. I really enjoyed hearing him talk about the trees and the way he has come to love them.  After coaching at Auburn, he started a small nursery at his home and now it has grown into quite the Japanese Maple farm.  He taught us how to prune the trees. After the talk, we looked around at all the great plants they have. If you are looking for trees or bushes this is the place to go! We bought one of Coach Dye's trees for Wes' aunt and uncle.

Coach Dye pruning his trees.

The baby Japanese Maple we bought.

After Treehouse, we went downtown to see what was going on with the Tour de Tuscaloosa and the Druid City Arts Festival. We had lunch at Depalma's. This is my favorite restaurant in town and some of my favorite Italian anywhere. I will make a whole post about this one sometime, but just quickly, the food has always been good, the service is good, and the atmosphere is really cool. There is always a mix of people, from college students, to young couples, to business people at lunch during the week. This visit I had the Mediterranean pasta with chicken. It is one of the lighter pastas, with less sauce but lots of flavor from the greek olives, peperoncini peppers and feta cheese.

We walked around downtown for a bit following lunch and made our way over to the Druid City Arts Festival. This art show is put on by a group on campus. I saw an article yesterday that it might be the last year as some of the founders of the event are graduating, but I hope they figure out a way to keep it going.  There was quite a variety of vendors and artists set up in the government plaza, the green space behind the city hall. Bands were playing music throughout the afternoon. One of my friends, Rebecca, had her Little Bee Design tent set up with her punny art! And, we walked around and saw jewelery, paintings, and knitting a lot of the other tents.

The Junior League of Tuscaloosa was hosting a wine and beer tasting at The Alcove, so we walked over there after we finished at the festival. The Alcove is a really cool spot in town with lots of beer selection, on tap and in bottles, and the home of the 2 oz drinks. They have some patio areas and have expanded what used to be a very small area inside. The crowd is an older crowd and is usually more laid back.  This event had the bar pretty crowded but it was a fun event and we enjoyed the tasting. I always recommend The Alcove for non college students looking for a cool place to have a drink, and we enjoyed sitting out back on the patio with some friends.

Friday food at FIVE

Five has already shown up in one of my blog posts, but here it is again. A few weeks ago, I talked about the very cool jazz brunch on Sundays at Five. This post is about the fabulous dinner we had at Five Friday night. This has quickly become a very hot spot in downtown Tuscaloosa and for good reason. There is always a crowd, the food is consistently good, and the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else in town. Five is located on 6th Street next to Catch 22 and just down from The Shirt Shop.

Outside seating at Five.

There is a small outside eating area, and one big dining area/ bar/ stage area. The whole room is very open with tons of chandeliers, a gorgeous bar, and a fairly crowded eating area.

View of the bar and chandeliers

Wes and I find ourselves at Five pretty often. The crowd is usually the same. Depending on the time of night, there may or may not be a good crowd of college students. They tend to come in a little later.  While we were there Friday, there was quite a few college students, 30 something's on both dates and group dinners, and parents bringing their college students to eat. The restaurant is somewhat small and the crowd is usually big, so there is often a decent wait time. This weekend we were at the wine tasting around the corner at Carpe Vino and we put our name on the list while we finished. It was a great idea! Five is working to turn the building next door into a pastry and lunch spot that will then serve dinner too. It will be nice to have more room!

Like I said above, the food is consistently good. There are five entrees written on a chalkboard in the restaurant. The options change a few times a year. There are also nightly specials, five appetizers, five white and red wines, and five specialty cocktails. The idea is simple and unique, and has been well received in Tuscaloosa.  My favorite item on the menu is the paneed chicken. It is served with mashed potatoes and a salad. All the entrees come with the same salad. It is topped with fruit, nuts, and feta cheese and their homemade vinaigrette type dressing. It is delicious. Wes ordered this Friday night and here is the picture.

Paneed Chicken

At dinner, we talked about what nice size portions you get at Five. This plate is $17, which is a little bit more expensive than some other places in town. But, it is a full plate. You definitely don't leave hungry. You know sometimes you can go to those fancy places with fancy ingredients and spend more than that for too little food. So, the prices range from $13 to $20ish but you will be pleased with the food.
I had the Friday special. This was the first time I had tried the jalapeno tequila shrimp and I was very pleased. It was served with a polenta cake and the same salad that comes with the other meals. The shrimp had a little bit of spice to it but it wasn't too much. The shrimp was served with peppers, onions, and a light sauce over the polenta cake. The polenta cake was just slightly crusty on the outside and really tasty. Wes and I talked about what exactly polenta is. I was thinking it was similar to grits and I looked it up to make sure. Yes, it is similar to grits made with cornmeal. All in all, the meal was delicious as always. Here is a shot of mine. The polenta cake is covered up in this shot. I forgot I also got a piece of bread.

Jalapeno Tequila Shrimp

We have taken several friends from out of town to eat at Five. Everyone is always pleased with their meals. It really is such a cool atmosphere and you don't even feel like you are in Tuscaloosa. Later in the night they have live music, which is cool but gets kind of loud. They also serve food late, so if you are out in downtown and need some food this is one of the few places still serving late. Quickly, this has become the place to go for dinner, drinks, live music, and to be seen. Even though parking in downtown can be a challenge, you can park once grab dinner, drinks, meet up with friends, and have a great night out in downtown Tuscaloosa. I highly recommend Five!!

Carpe Vino Wine Tasting

Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, Carpe Vino, a locally owned wine store, has a wine tasting. For $5 you get to sample 5 or 6 wines and then get $5 off a bottle of wine.

Carpe Vino has a nice selection of wines that are displayed in really cool silver tub like containers. The sitting area is several red sofas and several chairs. While were there all the sofas were full as well as a couple of groups of tasters standing around the room. The vibe at Carpe Vino is really laid back, casual but cool. I have been for a couple of other wine tastings at this location and have always really enjoyed myself.

The crowd Friday night was a variety of ages from college students to probably 50s and 60s. I am always impressed when I visit a place in Tuscaloosa that can draw both college students and adults. You could tell it was some visitors' first times as well as several usual clients. There is nothing intimidating about the visit. Just walk right in and go to the counter to order your wine by the glass or ask to take part in the tasting. 

The tasting this week was small vineyards from Italy. I follow Carpe Vino on Facebook so I see each week what types of wines they are going to have at the tasting. I really like Italian wines, and Italy in general, so this one caught my attention and I asked Wes if he would go with me. The small vineyards have a gold label (see in the picture below) that tells you the wine is from one of the region's smaller vineyards. My friend who works here says these are always a real treat! The wines came from all over Italy and were all very different. We had three whites and three reds. From a Prosecco (light and bubbly) to a Super Tuscan (a stronger red), we were able to taste sweet,light, dry, but all really good wines. We bought a bottle of one of the reds that was from the southern heel of Italy.

Carpe Vino is located in downtown Tuscaloosa on Greensboro Ave between Mugshots and Epiphanys.You can also stop by and just buy bottles of wine. I think it is always nice to buy wine from someone who can answer questions and offer suggestions for what you might like.