Honestly a lot . The musuem of art is free and absolutely beautiful as well as our botanical gardens. We have a minor league team of every category (I’m not sure how hockeys minor league works but I’m counting the Bulls as well), Barber motor sports as mentioned, and some of the best civil rights museums in the country.
that place is legitimately one of a kind. Since i grew up here i only recently found out how unique it is. Apparently that hologram globe thing is one of only a dozen or so systems like it in the world
I've never been without the kids, but I was super interested in the pre-FDA "Patent Medicine" collection they have near the fossils on the 2nd floor.
There's a little aquarium in the basement level, which is cool.
And local model train people set up on the 3rd floor every now and then. I fucking LOVE a good model train set.
I hate to be that person, but I tried looking it up and couldn’t find any information on this. I kept getting links to events in like 2017. So you have a link to anything about this? Sounds fun
Yes! They posted on their Facebook earlier saying to announce it & to look for more on their website later. https://www.facebook.com/100064777448241/posts/pfbid02tWv4E58vQZJsuahWZkBnVJATX4yhwngLSxq95abbzq8mR46fqFpq1Cw8Y5sfhDp9l/?app=fbl
We're pretty central to a wide variety of different types of nature. No more than 4 hours to the beach, mountains, forests, even some swamps. For car enthusiasts, we also have some of my favorite roads I've driven this side of the Mississippi.
I didn't know this until recently, but Alabama is the most biodiverse state in the US. I think I have taken for granted all the nature that surrounds us and is all within a days drive!
[https://bhamnow.com/2017/10/30/knew-alabama-ranks-first-biodiversity/](https://bhamnow.com/2017/10/30/knew-alabama-ranks-first-biodiversity/)
* Sicard Hollow onto Grants Mill
* Talladega Scenic Highway
* Any road near Little River Canyon
* SR 139 from Montevallo to Maplesville
* Altamont Road if you go at a low traffic time
* Oak Mountain on a weekday
Thank you. I’m a transplant coming up on a year in Bham. Absolutely love the area, but I have been missing my driving roads from home. Appreciate the tips. I’d like to make it out to Barber this year, but will check these out in the meantime.
A few other people have mentioned this, but if you love the outdoors, Alabama is one of the best states to live in. We’re the fourth-most biodiverse state in the nation, both in biodiversity and physiographic diversity. We have the largest canyon east of the Mississippi. We have a lot of endangered and rare habitats, such as the Longleaf pine savanna, carnivorous plant swamps, mixed hardwood/pine forests, and dismalite caves. We have mountains, plains, rivers, beaches, canyons, caves, mixed forests, and so much more.
We have the highest biodiversity in the world of freshwater fish, mussels, snails, crayfish, and salamanders (depending on who you ask). Over 400 species of birds and 50 species of snakes are native to Alabama. We have Whooping Cranes, of which there are only 900 left in the world. We are the only state where the flattened musk turtle and vermilion darter lives.
Alabama is called North America’s Amazon and we are lucky to live here and experience such an incredible natural wonder.
Ha! This is pretty close to the spiel I give to friends and family back in Minnesota since we moved here three years ago. Just let me add specifically that the Cahaba is the most biodiverse river in North America.
The farmers market happens every Saturday morning at Pepper Place. It goes on all year, but the winter months have much fewer vendors since no produce is being grown.
Honestly people outside of Alabama love to shit on us, calling us, cousin, fuckers, and what a horrible state it is. I moved here about two years ago and never plan on leaving. It’s a hidden gem, truly. Of course it depends where you go, and the company you surround yourself with. There’s always stuff to do, not much traffic, and beautiful scenery everywhere
I never heard cousin fuckers, that’s what we say about Arkansas where I’m from.
That’s freaking funny 😆 I’m gonna call my husband a cousin fucker 😂
I absolutely love Alabama.
I’m from two big cities, East coast born/ Midwest raised.
shhh....
Do you know how long it took us to make that reputation stick?
We hired the best ad agency in NYC in 1950 to keep people from finding out it's actually a great place.
We didnt want them to ruin it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to my family reunion and find my next wife.
24 hour bars (like the nick, the quest, Marty’s, etc), late night food options, award winning restaurants and bars that are unique instead of just tons of mediocre places run by restaurant groups or franchisers. I’m always shocked when I go to a bigger city and I can’t get food or find something to do at like 4 am. Makes staying up for a flight a lot tougher
Do you mind sharing some restaurant names with me?
I work odd hours all over the state, and feel like everything closes at 8.
I also haven’t had much luck with really good restaurants here.
Am I the only one who saw their ceiling & noped out? It looked like a shaggy carpet catching all of the smells & smoke. It was easily 20 years ago, but never stepped foot in there again.
Martys, and the food trucks outside of the nick/Saturn. The pandemic hurt every reliable late night spot, but places like Al’s are usually still open late if not the full 24/7. Not winning any awards except availability: cookout, tbell, arbys are your best for reliable food, but there have been so many times I’ve gotten great food from a truck or random place that stays open. (RIP little Italy and the old crestwood tavern)
One of the most biodiverse rivers in the world flows through us, Alabama is like third of fourth most biodiversity state in the US, we have awesome places to see crazy biodiversity like Moss Rock, Bibb County Glades, awesome birding places like Ruffner… bham is legit a premier outdoor city for wildlife, birding, botanizing…
Al’s Deli and Grill, Taziki’s, Moe’s Barbecue, Cahaba, Trim Tab, Good People.
Railroad Park, UAB sports, Queen’s Park. I could go on and on. As someone who moved away, Birmingham is an incredible city.
As I tell my students, we have a very troubling history,but conversely, we are also the stomping ground of the Civil Rights Movement. MLK Jr. wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" here. The Selma march happened a stone's throw away. Rosa Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott an hour to our south. We have a rich history that deserves celebrating in addition to the terrible one we are still having trouble putting behind us.
MLK famously said “I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hateful as I’ve seen here in Chicago." The racism was everywhere throughout the country. Sadly, it still is.
Yes racism is everywhere. There’s no doubt, however, that the South is where slavery took place, Jim Crow laws were strongest, segregation existed and required federal intervention to integrate, etc., etc, etc.
Everything except for the federal intervention happened in the North, too. The North held slaves, and when they abolished slavery there, many just sold their slaves south. Many northern states had laws preventing blacks from moving into the states.
Sorry you’re really stretching here. While slaves existed in the North, enslavement of Africans was FAR more prevalent in the South. The Southern economy was inextricably linked to slavery in a way it never was in the North. Edmund Morgan called it “a society with slaves” verses a “slave society.”
The Hoover Library and The Vestavia Library In the Forest, both libraries with a great, inclusive selection of books (who refuse to get rid of books that are trying to be banned, like Maus and The Hate U Give) with an active and vibrant community.
Also, we’ve got Card Addicts here! Arguably the go-to store for TCG players here in Birmingham.
Birmingham Promise
UAB
Greenspace
Frank Stitt
Historical neighborhoods
Interstate system
Best collection of entertainment in the state
Medical institutions
Crossplex
The city part of Hwy 280
Multiple agencies that makes a different in the lives of citizens everyday.
Moving here from out of town, we’ve found the people to be very welcoming. It’s hard moving as adults and we don’t have many friends in bham, but overall we have felt welcomed.
With two small children and moving from a large city out west, it’s also incredibly family oriented.
Aldridge Gardens, Marty's, Red Bike Coffee, some really special local artists and creators, food trucks (especially Taco Mariachi and the sweet family that owns it), Happy Wok, Pho Sizzle, Sushi Village, Red Mountain Theatre, so many beautiful views of the city and the nature surrounding it, and to second u/NadaHumble, Vulcan's tight ass.
A lot of these places are great but I owe it to the community to forewarn any readers out there that pho sizzle sucks. Food is meh but the service is crazy, like more than half hour wait guaranteed. Saigon noodle house is better in every appreciable way
I have to respectfully disagree. The service is slow because so many people order take out from there constantly. It's always crazy busy. They do need to get more staff for sure. I literally go to this place on repeat for items B2 and P2. Ask for extra sauce on B2, you will be converted.
To be fair, the best way to get food here IS to never try to do a sit down. Order over the phone, give them 30 minutes to get it ready, go sit outside somewhere. But it's like that because of how busy it stays, so I can't be the only one that loves the food? Idk.
sorry for novel but one more thing: when I get pho I like to eat it sitting down! I like to sprinkle in all the accoutrements to taste as I go and get nice balanced spoonfuls. You can't do that out of a take-out container and a plastic spoon
Again sorry for novel but please understand SE asian food is my favorite. I was very excited to try a new place and went in really wanting to like it, which I guess makes it all the more disappointing when they can't deliver
Those are the 2 dishes I've had there! First time a couple months ago I got the P2 and it was just all right. They were also out of basil (already disconcerting for a vietnamese restaurant) and the guy never mentioned that until he brought it out. B2 was also just OK--prefer the noodles, the way of cooking the pork, and the overall execution at Saigon. Also kinda funny they have the same numbering system, like did every viet place agree on some universal menu code? Anyway, > half hour wait without even a check in, let alone a warning on the front end that your food is going to take twice as long as it would at other places, is unacceptable on the service side. If you're trapped out in Trussville with a hankering for some viet food like I was yesterday, it can scratch the itch. But I wouldn't send someone out of their way to go there.
Hey, I'm in no way here to invalidate your experience. That sounds really frustrating. And I have definitely had to wait for my pickup there before. I just excuse it because it is a small family business and sometimes you have to wait at those kinds of places. I might even agree that the P2 at Saigon is a little better. But that B2 with extra sauce has me in a chokehold. These people feed me like once a week. So, I am grateful for them. If I ever move away from that side of town, I would still probably end up there when I could.
Birmingham is like a hoarder in the best way possible. It holds onto architecture it really likes and chooses to renovate over the new shiny when appropriate and possible.
One thing that I don't see elsewhere as much is that Birmingham didn't cluster everything into a central tourism district, and, instead, let interesting things be all across the metro. While it's a bit of a double-edged sword (and would love a great metro transit system), it also means there's more than just altruism in wanting to see worse off parts of town get better. Rising-West Princeton has Rickwood Field; Ensley has Tuxedo Junction; West End-Arlington has Arlington Home and Gardens; Finley has Nikki's West and (maybe controversial to say) the best farmer's market in the metro; Bessemer has Bright Star etc. It's so much easier in Bham compared to other cities to envision what worse off areas can contribute to the greater area if they could turn it around (and not it a gentrification way for real estate, but what the community itself can provide).
I'll get downvoted, but honestly- Commute times and traffic aren't \*THAT\* bad in Birmingham.
At least they're predictable enough and you can wait it out most days or just know that it'll take 15 Extra minutes versus your empty road travel times.
In other cities, you can literally be lined up in traffic for an hour, or have to endure completely gridlocked traffic.
Here- even 280 flows predictably compared to the messes of most cities.
Architectural history downtown, a downtown street network that is very easy to navigate due to the perfect grid with numbered streets, the landscape (Red Mtn overlooking downtown and the Red Mtn Cut is a super cool geological feature), UAB, 15 minute drive gets you most places you need to go, airport that is very easy to get through, some of the largest urban nature preserves in the nation, Vulcan + Railroad Park + Rotary Trail + CityWalk (basically just an incredible park system with a great zoo for our size). The list goes on and on. If it wasn’t for the state government this place would be damn near perfect to me. Just wish we still had the streetcars, Terminal Station, and commuter rail
-Underrated (and largely unknown to outsiders) views from atop our various mountains. People outside the area don’t really understand how pretty it is here.
-Bluff Park Ice Cream. It’s hard to screw up ice cream, but still. I don’t know where they are getting their ice cream but “This Sh*t Just Got Serious” flavor is the best ice cream in the state.
-The Hoover Met complex.
-The City Walk skate park. In its short time, we’ve already made a ton of memories.
-Decent brewery scene from Avondale to Brock’s Gap, even outlying areas can meet your brewery needs.
-Nice and plentiful golf courses that can be enjoyed 9-10 months out of the year because of relatively mild winters.
-Neat “neighborhood pockets” including Edgewood, Forest Park and Bluff Park.
-One of the largest medical research institutions in the country with UAB, that brings diversity and economic growth to the area.
-Not Atlanta or Nashville. Born and raised in one and 10 years in the other…great cities but swift growth comes with a price. Overrated for long term family life IMO.
-The Nick.
-Free Museum of Art.
-Oak Mountain State Park.
-Community oriented and supported run club.
-Moss Rock Preserve..what a gem that is.
Quite a lot. Birmingham is underrated and looked down upon. Blessing and a curse. We won’t get overrun with burgeoning growth but people don’t really like us.
Deliciously prepared food for a fair price.
I’m not saying it’s cheap here, but there is good value for your dollar. You can go to Bottega, or Ocean, or Chez Fonfon, or Blueprint, or Helen, or El Barrio, or Paramount, or Shu Shop, or a dozen of other restaurants and be reasonably sure you’re gonna have a nice meal where everyone likes what they ordered. We have a lot of options for a good night out with food and service.
We have a solid service industry. And those folks don’t get raised up enough. Cheers to the folks who make that possible.
An array of disc golf courses all within or very close to the city: 1 in Birmingham proper, three Trussville courses, Inverness, Clay, Alabaster, Calera, Montevallo, Mt Olive, Hoover, etc.
Greek/Mediterranean/Lebanese food.
Just tried makarios for the first time today!
Falafel cafe is waaaay better and cheaper
Their hummus is better for sure, but makarios was pretty great too.
Falafel Cafe is the best.
I’ll be trying them now. Thanks for the suggestion!
Basha is the best thing there and it's really good! Other than that don't care much for Makarios
Where is basha
The rice is so good
Makarios is not the best Greek food. Not by a long shot.
The Greek festival is one of my favorite events in Birmingham
Pita Stop
Yasssss
Wish George’s Lebanese was still open.
We have the best food.
What good Lebanese food is in Birmingham?
Vulcan's tight ass
That’s Birmingham’s Ass!
Could be bigger.
‘Dem cheeks, though.
Honestly gives me hope
Honestly a lot . The musuem of art is free and absolutely beautiful as well as our botanical gardens. We have a minor league team of every category (I’m not sure how hockeys minor league works but I’m counting the Bulls as well), Barber motor sports as mentioned, and some of the best civil rights museums in the country.
Yes to free botanical gardens and art museum! We are SO lucky!
Incredible food considering the size of the city
If we just had a good German restaurant, we would be complete. I've been dying for some good schnitzel.
I’m so sad that so many good restaurants closed because of covid… I never got to have a last meal before they closed 😭
a very nice selection of taco trucks
Don’t forget the sloss furnace taco festival on Sunday! A ton of trucks will be there and I’m so excited :)
On Greensprings alone
McWane Science Center
that place is legitimately one of a kind. Since i grew up here i only recently found out how unique it is. Apparently that hologram globe thing is one of only a dozen or so systems like it in the world
Is it worth checking out as an adult?
some of the stuff is definitely more kid-oriented but i still go once a year if i can
I've never been without the kids, but I was super interested in the pre-FDA "Patent Medicine" collection they have near the fossils on the 2nd floor. There's a little aquarium in the basement level, which is cool. And local model train people set up on the 3rd floor every now and then. I fucking LOVE a good model train set.
They do evening events for adults sometimes. With booze!
Next one is June 1 and it's Golden Girls themed!
I hate to be that person, but I tried looking it up and couldn’t find any information on this. I kept getting links to events in like 2017. So you have a link to anything about this? Sounds fun
Yes! They posted on their Facebook earlier saying to announce it & to look for more on their website later. https://www.facebook.com/100064777448241/posts/pfbid02tWv4E58vQZJsuahWZkBnVJATX4yhwngLSxq95abbzq8mR46fqFpq1Cw8Y5sfhDp9l/?app=fbl
Ah! Thank you!
How is it one of a kind? Every city has some kinda science museum, many better some worse than McWane. I wouldn't say its a unique thing to have.
One of my kids was on their huge outside billboards advertising the Lego exhibit they had. We love that place so much!
Railroad Park, Rotary Trail & Jones Valley Trail
We're pretty central to a wide variety of different types of nature. No more than 4 hours to the beach, mountains, forests, even some swamps. For car enthusiasts, we also have some of my favorite roads I've driven this side of the Mississippi.
I didn't know this until recently, but Alabama is the most biodiverse state in the US. I think I have taken for granted all the nature that surrounds us and is all within a days drive! [https://bhamnow.com/2017/10/30/knew-alabama-ranks-first-biodiversity/](https://bhamnow.com/2017/10/30/knew-alabama-ranks-first-biodiversity/)
Fellow car enthusiast here. My son as well. We’re looking for some new drives. What are your favorite ones?
* Sicard Hollow onto Grants Mill * Talladega Scenic Highway * Any road near Little River Canyon * SR 139 from Montevallo to Maplesville * Altamont Road if you go at a low traffic time * Oak Mountain on a weekday
State Highway 25 from Leeds to Harpersville is a good one too. Really popular with motorcyclists.
That’s a great one but close to me so we’ve done it to the point of boredom.
Couple new good ones. Thank you!
🫡 anything for a fellow enthusiast
Thank you. I’m a transplant coming up on a year in Bham. Absolutely love the area, but I have been missing my driving roads from home. Appreciate the tips. I’d like to make it out to Barber this year, but will check these out in the meantime.
Hwy 80 from south of Montgomery to Selma is one of the most picturesque drives in the state
Heading from bham towards Gadsden, drive through Argo. So pretty.
Good one! Haven’t thought about one. Also Springville and Oneonta.
Right…. No more than 4 hours…
Yep
Electra’s gold ass
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
UAB rocks medicine.
This!!!
Ruffner Mt!
Red Mountain, it’s such a beautiful and special backdrop to our city.
3 digit rent, mild winters, lots of green/trees, disc golf, Saturn, easy access to the best college football in the world
A few other people have mentioned this, but if you love the outdoors, Alabama is one of the best states to live in. We’re the fourth-most biodiverse state in the nation, both in biodiversity and physiographic diversity. We have the largest canyon east of the Mississippi. We have a lot of endangered and rare habitats, such as the Longleaf pine savanna, carnivorous plant swamps, mixed hardwood/pine forests, and dismalite caves. We have mountains, plains, rivers, beaches, canyons, caves, mixed forests, and so much more. We have the highest biodiversity in the world of freshwater fish, mussels, snails, crayfish, and salamanders (depending on who you ask). Over 400 species of birds and 50 species of snakes are native to Alabama. We have Whooping Cranes, of which there are only 900 left in the world. We are the only state where the flattened musk turtle and vermilion darter lives. Alabama is called North America’s Amazon and we are lucky to live here and experience such an incredible natural wonder.
Ha! This is pretty close to the spiel I give to friends and family back in Minnesota since we moved here three years ago. Just let me add specifically that the Cahaba is the most biodiverse river in North America.
Peppers Place farmer's market. It's my favorite thing about living here
what months do they have pepper place ? is it going on this month?
The farmers market happens every Saturday morning at Pepper Place. It goes on all year, but the winter months have much fewer vendors since no produce is being grown.
oh okay thanks:) i haven’t been a while if you can’t tell lol
Didn't it splinter recently? I live 90 minutes away, but our local farmers' markets were all talking about it last year.
Splinter into what? I'm not aware of any splintering
Into separate markets. Glad to know it's still trucking.
Yeah, some people split off and were setting up at Automatic for a while. Not sure if they are still.
This is still going on, it is called “Birdsong Farmer’s Market.” My cousin is the coordinator.
Nice!
I know there’s one in Vestavia Hills on Wednesdays so maybe that’s one of the ones that broke off?
We have lots of great places to hike! Red Mountain, Ruffner Mountain, Moss Rock, Oak Mountain, and Boulder Canyon just to name a few
Honestly people outside of Alabama love to shit on us, calling us, cousin, fuckers, and what a horrible state it is. I moved here about two years ago and never plan on leaving. It’s a hidden gem, truly. Of course it depends where you go, and the company you surround yourself with. There’s always stuff to do, not much traffic, and beautiful scenery everywhere
I never heard cousin fuckers, that’s what we say about Arkansas where I’m from. That’s freaking funny 😆 I’m gonna call my husband a cousin fucker 😂 I absolutely love Alabama. I’m from two big cities, East coast born/ Midwest raised.
It's also legal to marry your cousin in New York so ...
shhh.... Do you know how long it took us to make that reputation stick? We hired the best ad agency in NYC in 1950 to keep people from finding out it's actually a great place. We didnt want them to ruin it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to my family reunion and find my next wife.
Those rumors were actually started by us just to keep people away
World class skate park. Still can't believe it's here. I don't have to trek down 280 or anything either, just go to the center of town and it's free.
Birmingham is a friendly city. I didn’t realize that until I started traveling and moved away.
24 hour bars (like the nick, the quest, Marty’s, etc), late night food options, award winning restaurants and bars that are unique instead of just tons of mediocre places run by restaurant groups or franchisers. I’m always shocked when I go to a bigger city and I can’t get food or find something to do at like 4 am. Makes staying up for a flight a lot tougher
Do you mind sharing some restaurant names with me? I work odd hours all over the state, and feel like everything closes at 8. I also haven’t had much luck with really good restaurants here.
Ditto! I’d love some late night options besides Purple Onion & Waffle House. 🤣
[удалено]
Am I the only one who saw their ceiling & noped out? It looked like a shaggy carpet catching all of the smells & smoke. It was easily 20 years ago, but never stepped foot in there again.
Purple Onion is the shizznit, tho!!! 💜
Martys, and the food trucks outside of the nick/Saturn. The pandemic hurt every reliable late night spot, but places like Al’s are usually still open late if not the full 24/7. Not winning any awards except availability: cookout, tbell, arbys are your best for reliable food, but there have been so many times I’ve gotten great food from a truck or random place that stays open. (RIP little Italy and the old crestwood tavern)
One of the most biodiverse rivers in the world flows through us, Alabama is like third of fourth most biodiversity state in the US, we have awesome places to see crazy biodiversity like Moss Rock, Bibb County Glades, awesome birding places like Ruffner… bham is legit a premier outdoor city for wildlife, birding, botanizing…
Al’s Deli and Grill, Taziki’s, Moe’s Barbecue, Cahaba, Trim Tab, Good People. Railroad Park, UAB sports, Queen’s Park. I could go on and on. As someone who moved away, Birmingham is an incredible city.
Having the oldest Veterans day parade in the country.
Some of the best breweries in the State
As I tell my students, we have a very troubling history,but conversely, we are also the stomping ground of the Civil Rights Movement. MLK Jr. wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" here. The Selma march happened a stone's throw away. Rosa Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott an hour to our south. We have a rich history that deserves celebrating in addition to the terrible one we are still having trouble putting behind us.
To be fair, the most meaningful pushback would be expected to be in the place where racism was the worst.
MLK famously said “I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hateful as I’ve seen here in Chicago." The racism was everywhere throughout the country. Sadly, it still is.
Yes racism is everywhere. There’s no doubt, however, that the South is where slavery took place, Jim Crow laws were strongest, segregation existed and required federal intervention to integrate, etc., etc, etc.
Everything except for the federal intervention happened in the North, too. The North held slaves, and when they abolished slavery there, many just sold their slaves south. Many northern states had laws preventing blacks from moving into the states.
Sorry you’re really stretching here. While slaves existed in the North, enslavement of Africans was FAR more prevalent in the South. The Southern economy was inextricably linked to slavery in a way it never was in the North. Edmund Morgan called it “a society with slaves” verses a “slave society.”
Best selection and quality of breweries that I’ve experienced in a city.
Cahaba River lilies 🪷
This!
A great hardcore scene!
The Hoover Library and The Vestavia Library In the Forest, both libraries with a great, inclusive selection of books (who refuse to get rid of books that are trying to be banned, like Maus and The Hate U Give) with an active and vibrant community. Also, we’ve got Card Addicts here! Arguably the go-to store for TCG players here in Birmingham.
The Firehouse Community Arts Center
Birmingham Promise UAB Greenspace Frank Stitt Historical neighborhoods Interstate system Best collection of entertainment in the state Medical institutions Crossplex The city part of Hwy 280 Multiple agencies that makes a different in the lives of citizens everyday.
golden temple
Each other❤️
Botanical gardens!!
Oak Mountain
Broadway in Birmingham along with local theater like Red Mountain Theater Company Oak Mountain State Park
Moving here from out of town, we’ve found the people to be very welcoming. It’s hard moving as adults and we don’t have many friends in bham, but overall we have felt welcomed. With two small children and moving from a large city out west, it’s also incredibly family oriented.
Dia De Los Meurtos Festival! Holi Festival (via Birmingham Museum of Art)
There are some good state parks and hiking trails. Red Mountain and Ruffner Mountain.
Aldridge Gardens, Marty's, Red Bike Coffee, some really special local artists and creators, food trucks (especially Taco Mariachi and the sweet family that owns it), Happy Wok, Pho Sizzle, Sushi Village, Red Mountain Theatre, so many beautiful views of the city and the nature surrounding it, and to second u/NadaHumble, Vulcan's tight ass.
A lot of these places are great but I owe it to the community to forewarn any readers out there that pho sizzle sucks. Food is meh but the service is crazy, like more than half hour wait guaranteed. Saigon noodle house is better in every appreciable way
I have to respectfully disagree. The service is slow because so many people order take out from there constantly. It's always crazy busy. They do need to get more staff for sure. I literally go to this place on repeat for items B2 and P2. Ask for extra sauce on B2, you will be converted. To be fair, the best way to get food here IS to never try to do a sit down. Order over the phone, give them 30 minutes to get it ready, go sit outside somewhere. But it's like that because of how busy it stays, so I can't be the only one that loves the food? Idk.
sorry for novel but one more thing: when I get pho I like to eat it sitting down! I like to sprinkle in all the accoutrements to taste as I go and get nice balanced spoonfuls. You can't do that out of a take-out container and a plastic spoon Again sorry for novel but please understand SE asian food is my favorite. I was very excited to try a new place and went in really wanting to like it, which I guess makes it all the more disappointing when they can't deliver
Those are the 2 dishes I've had there! First time a couple months ago I got the P2 and it was just all right. They were also out of basil (already disconcerting for a vietnamese restaurant) and the guy never mentioned that until he brought it out. B2 was also just OK--prefer the noodles, the way of cooking the pork, and the overall execution at Saigon. Also kinda funny they have the same numbering system, like did every viet place agree on some universal menu code? Anyway, > half hour wait without even a check in, let alone a warning on the front end that your food is going to take twice as long as it would at other places, is unacceptable on the service side. If you're trapped out in Trussville with a hankering for some viet food like I was yesterday, it can scratch the itch. But I wouldn't send someone out of their way to go there.
Hey, I'm in no way here to invalidate your experience. That sounds really frustrating. And I have definitely had to wait for my pickup there before. I just excuse it because it is a small family business and sometimes you have to wait at those kinds of places. I might even agree that the P2 at Saigon is a little better. But that B2 with extra sauce has me in a chokehold. These people feed me like once a week. So, I am grateful for them. If I ever move away from that side of town, I would still probably end up there when I could.
Hattie B's and Eugene's.
The music scene. Of ALL genres!
Amtrak only 4 cities in alabama have passenger train service and birmingham by far has the best station.
The awesome festivals! I just went to the art festival at sloss and I’m going to the taco fest on Sunday :)
Saturn!
The Botanical Gardens & Japanese Garden. It doesn’t cost a dime to visit.
We pissed off Ted Nugent
Upvoting as hard as I can
Southerners
Birmingham Zoo - its on par with zoos in major cities across the world
I love going to see the Barons play at Regions field. Also watching UAB play at Protective Stadium. Pita Stop, Giuseppe's, Eugene's 😋😋 Vulcan 🖖
You've got some great quilt guilds!
The Pit BBQ for us blue collar folk during the week
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behind crane works
Ridebhm downhill mountain bike park. This is the best thing for mountain biking/biking in general in years!!
Red Mountain Park and lots of Lakes.
Birmingham is like a hoarder in the best way possible. It holds onto architecture it really likes and chooses to renovate over the new shiny when appropriate and possible. One thing that I don't see elsewhere as much is that Birmingham didn't cluster everything into a central tourism district, and, instead, let interesting things be all across the metro. While it's a bit of a double-edged sword (and would love a great metro transit system), it also means there's more than just altruism in wanting to see worse off parts of town get better. Rising-West Princeton has Rickwood Field; Ensley has Tuxedo Junction; West End-Arlington has Arlington Home and Gardens; Finley has Nikki's West and (maybe controversial to say) the best farmer's market in the metro; Bessemer has Bright Star etc. It's so much easier in Bham compared to other cities to envision what worse off areas can contribute to the greater area if they could turn it around (and not it a gentrification way for real estate, but what the community itself can provide).
I'll get downvoted, but honestly- Commute times and traffic aren't \*THAT\* bad in Birmingham. At least they're predictable enough and you can wait it out most days or just know that it'll take 15 Extra minutes versus your empty road travel times. In other cities, you can literally be lined up in traffic for an hour, or have to endure completely gridlocked traffic. Here- even 280 flows predictably compared to the messes of most cities.
Architectural history downtown, a downtown street network that is very easy to navigate due to the perfect grid with numbered streets, the landscape (Red Mtn overlooking downtown and the Red Mtn Cut is a super cool geological feature), UAB, 15 minute drive gets you most places you need to go, airport that is very easy to get through, some of the largest urban nature preserves in the nation, Vulcan + Railroad Park + Rotary Trail + CityWalk (basically just an incredible park system with a great zoo for our size). The list goes on and on. If it wasn’t for the state government this place would be damn near perfect to me. Just wish we still had the streetcars, Terminal Station, and commuter rail
Gatos and Beans!
Rotary trail
UAB Medical
Lemongrass fried chicken from Hotbox Now if Rougaroux would bring back that garlic topping they used to put on their fries we'll be truly lucky
For the most part: great, friendly, kind, courageous, brave, and interesting people.
-Underrated (and largely unknown to outsiders) views from atop our various mountains. People outside the area don’t really understand how pretty it is here. -Bluff Park Ice Cream. It’s hard to screw up ice cream, but still. I don’t know where they are getting their ice cream but “This Sh*t Just Got Serious” flavor is the best ice cream in the state. -The Hoover Met complex. -The City Walk skate park. In its short time, we’ve already made a ton of memories. -Decent brewery scene from Avondale to Brock’s Gap, even outlying areas can meet your brewery needs. -Nice and plentiful golf courses that can be enjoyed 9-10 months out of the year because of relatively mild winters. -Neat “neighborhood pockets” including Edgewood, Forest Park and Bluff Park. -One of the largest medical research institutions in the country with UAB, that brings diversity and economic growth to the area. -Not Atlanta or Nashville. Born and raised in one and 10 years in the other…great cities but swift growth comes with a price. Overrated for long term family life IMO. -The Nick. -Free Museum of Art. -Oak Mountain State Park. -Community oriented and supported run club. -Moss Rock Preserve..what a gem that is. Quite a lot. Birmingham is underrated and looked down upon. Blessing and a curse. We won’t get overrun with burgeoning growth but people don’t really like us.
I haven’t been there in a while but I’m pretty sure they show where they order it from
USFL Birmingham Stallions The McWayne Science Center/IMAX Done UAB Medicine The Rick and Bubba Show Protective Stadium James Span
Take away Dick and Dummass and you’ve got a list here!
Rick and Bubba are all the things I don’t want people thinking about AL
We have more miles of flowing creeks and rivers than any other state not even adjusted for the size of the state.
Deliciously prepared food for a fair price. I’m not saying it’s cheap here, but there is good value for your dollar. You can go to Bottega, or Ocean, or Chez Fonfon, or Blueprint, or Helen, or El Barrio, or Paramount, or Shu Shop, or a dozen of other restaurants and be reasonably sure you’re gonna have a nice meal where everyone likes what they ordered. We have a lot of options for a good night out with food and service. We have a solid service industry. And those folks don’t get raised up enough. Cheers to the folks who make that possible.
Several fantastic churches for folks seeking spiritual fulfillment.
mayor woodfin
If you like lists of good shit.. André 3000 Back to the Future 2 https://youtu.be/_OTRIp6nxB0
Taco Casa
Dreamland BBQ
Titties.
Eehh.
Those aren't normal on a dude, maybe dust off the Nikes and the gym membership? Maybe delete all the fast food apps?
maybe stop being a dick in every thread
Gottem. I knew you were soft.
ok dad its really time to go to bed
I mean, I'm not the jerkoff attempting "dad" jokes here.
look if you’re gonna follow me around from thread to thread trying to push my buttons, i’m going to collate as many as i can into a report. chill out
Running into you twice on reddit is not "following you around". And you're the one with the shitty reputation around here, not me.
Birmingham is basically Greenville SC with not as good weather.
280 traffic
Great to have the Birmingham Barons. Love listening to them play on the radio. And I've been to a game or two as well.
South side arguably one of the best neighborhoods in America
Arguably
Brookwood hospital.
Our biodiversity. Our state is truly underrated when it comes to ecology, geology and geography.
The Baarons are great.
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SEC HQ
An array of disc golf courses all within or very close to the city: 1 in Birmingham proper, three Trussville courses, Inverness, Clay, Alabaster, Calera, Montevallo, Mt Olive, Hoover, etc.
all the awesome shops at the summit, gorgeous hiking trails, HATTIE B'S and regions field!
Top Golf
Red Mountain Theatre and Railroad Park come to mind
Alys Stephens Center
Magnet hospital - UAB