Birmingham Restaurant Week: The Silvertron Cafe.

by Rachel
The Silvertron Cafe sits inconspicuously in the Forest Park neighborhood of Birmingham, along Clairmont Road.




My family and I have come to adore Silvertron over the past couple of years, and when we rave about it to others, we get one of two responses: either excited agreement, or “I’ve never heard of Silvertron, where is it?”

…which would have been our own reaction five years ago.

However, it’s been a favorite of those in the know for the past twenty-five years, and with good reason.

Their expansive and widely-varied menu offers up something (or, in my case, a dozen somethings) for everyone, and the fabulously generous portion sizes are sure to feed you tonight AND tomorrow night.

But they don’t skimp on quality for quantity – they offer both. The owner, Marco Morosini, adds his seasoned and highly-acclaimed touch to each menu item.

Another great perk that Silvertron offers is their constantly varying menu. They display their specials on the wall as you come in,


As well as offering fun event nights like Monday Night Pasta and Tex-Mex Tuesdays.

We always bring our kids along, and I’ve never felt uncomfortable doing so, despite the high-end tastes that Silvertron offers. Their dining room is open and airy, leaving plenty of room between tables. The atmosphere is casual and inviting, with a wide array of diner demographics.


The wait staff is always friendly and overly helpful to our burdened-with-kids state. Last time we visited, our waiter chased for a block to bring us our leftovers that we’d accidentally left on the table. This visit, the staff only had good humor in Ali’s efforts at making herself at home, depositing her shoes underneath my chair.



The kid’s meals are more than enough to feed two (or more) children off of one plate – they use the same platter-sized plates that they use for entrees, and fill them to the brim with kid goodness.

And then, because every kid needs help filling in the cracks after dinner, you can let them finish the meal off with a Kid’s Ice Cream Sunday, made to order:



This week’s Birmingham Restaurant Week Menu offers some fabulous choices to let diners sample what Silvertron is all about.

For the appetizer course, you have the choice between Tomato and Mozzarella Salad or Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese Bruschetta.

I had the opportunity to taste the bruschetta at the Preview Party Thursday night, and it was fabulous. The Eggplant and Goat Cheese were warm and rich, and the toast was perfectly done, not hard and dry like many bruschettas tend to be.

Since I had already tried the bruschetta, I chose the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad when we visited Silvertron the next night.


It is amazing. The balsamic reduction is the perfect flavor to highlight the softness of the Mozzarella and bring the whole salad together.

For the entree course, there are three choices: Chicken Tacos with Caribbean Sauce, Tagliata with lemon-mustard mayo, or Mango-chipotle Tilapia.

When given the choice, I always opt for fish. However, since the Tilapia is fried and served over Mashed Potatoes (which sounded fabulous, but was probably a few more calories than I wanted to consume that night), I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something completely new for me: the Tagliata.


Besides being gorgeous, it was wonderful. The roasted vegetables had a great spiced flavor without losing their natural tastes, and the beef medallions (which I ordered rare) were tender and juicy. The mustard sauce was a surprising combination, but fit perfectly with the meal. I found myself sopping up every last bit of it.

The dessert options include a Bailey’s Parfait, Homemade Roasted Sweet Potato Pie, or Chocolate Chip and Espresso Bread Pudding.

Always a sucker for the chocolate, my choice was easy. I was a little hesitant because sometimes bread pudding isn’t sweet enough for my needy taste buds, but this one is perfect.


The bread pudding is moist and flavorful, and the powdered sugar and chocolate syrup only helped guarantee that it would be sweet enough, causing me to, once again, scrape my plate clean.


The Silvertron Cafe
3813 Clairmont Avenue, 35222
Open Monday – Friday 11:00 AM – 9:45 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM – 9:45 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM – 8:45 PM.

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Rachel is a Birmingham-Based Blogger who writes at Grasping for Objectivity and runs this networking site for all Alabama Bloggers. She and her family love eating out, especially at local establishments where the food is divine and kids are welcomed with open arms.

Birmingham Restaurant Week: Nabeel’s Cafe.

by Rachel
Growing up in an intensely Greek family (think “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” collides with “Sweet Home Alabama”), Nabeel’s Market was a regular stop for us.

The tiny storefront in Homewood with gigantic glass cases full of authentic Mediterranean olives and cheeses was an integral part of the preparation for every family get-together. They would slice and scoop giant portions of feta cheese and Kalamata Olives, then package them simply in doubled-plastic bags sealed with a twist tie.

They had three tables in the deli where they served one type of sandwich, but I suspect that the tables and chairs were more of an excuse for the socially-centric Mediterranean population of Birmingham to congregate and solve the world’s problems than to sell a lot of sandwiches.

In 1994, the original owner of the market sold it to John and Ottavia Krontiras, John from Greece and Ottavia from Italy. Their desire was to keep the market, but also expand it into a family-oriented restaurant.

Coming from an international executive job, John told me that he didn’t even know how to fry an egg when he bought Nabeel’s, but he had vision and determination.

As the adjoining salon became available, they expanded their restaurant into it. Then the florist on the other side of the salon closed, and they expanded again, enabling them to bring their dream to fruition.

John and Ottavia’s goal to create an atmosphere for families to slow down, enjoy each other, and eat home-cooked, authentic Mediterranean food was most definitely achieved in my life. My childhood trips to Nabeel’s Market quickly morphed into teenage trips to Nabeel’s Cafe. I remember eating there on a special night, just my Mom and I, for my fourteenth birthday. Then five years later, she and I had another special Nabeel’s meal together, only this time the occasion was that it was the week before I got married. On that trip, my Mom gave me my wedding present – a laboriously documented collection of our family recipes, many of which were Greek, and some requiring ingredients from Nabeel’s Market. There couldn’t have been a more fitting and sentimental place to receive that priceless gift that I still use constantly.

Ten years later, Chris and I regularly take our two kids to Nabeel’s Cafe, enjoying the family atmosphere from the other side of the equation. Although we love everything we’ve ever eaten there, we both agree that they have the absolute best hamburger in town (and we’ve tasted them all!!) – the Bifteki. The Bifteki is an juicy, gigantic Greek Hamburger that is mixed with a blend of Greek spices, stuffed with a generous portion of Kefalograviera Cheese, and topped with Tzatziki Sauce.
They also serve it with their fabulous dressing on the side, which we pour over our burgers to add even more Greek flavor.


(Nabeel’s also helps make our homemade burgers Greek masterpieces – we mix their dressing into the beef, giving it wonderfully tart, sumptuous Greek flavor.)

We jumped at the opportunity to visit Nabeel’s during Birmingham Restaurant Week. Of all of the BRW menus I’ve looked at, Nabeel’s is one of the most thorough, offering four courses and including a beverage of your choice.

For only $20, you will receive pita bread with your choice of Tzatziki, Hummous, or Taramosalata Dip (I went with the Tzatziki, a wonderful blend of Greek Yogurt, Cucumbers, and a generous amount of Dill), along with an unbeatable Greek Salad, Spinach Lasagne, Tiramisu, and soda, Mint Tea, or wine.

The Spinach Lasagne was divine, with layers of ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, spinach, pasta, and fresh tomato sauce.


It was both creamy and hearty, full of a richness of flavors that totally masked the fact that it is quite low calorie and healthy!

Chris ordered the Gyro Salad with extra meat, which was just how he likes it: so much meat that you could hardly even see the salad:



Ali opted for the PB & J.


My favorite part of the kid’s menu is that it is so affordable - $1.95 for a Grilled Cheese or Peanut Butter & Jelly - with Nabeel’s gourmet fries, no less - is the best kid’s deal in town. I couldn’t be happier, and neither could she.

Then the Tiramisu came.


This was the only part of the meal that I wished we hadn’t brought the kids along, because I really, REALLY wanted the Tiramisu all for myself.

…but instead, it made for several happy customers.



So happy, in fact, that once I let Noah have one bite, every bite I attempted to get for myself thereafter got this reaction:


(Mental Note: Go back and get more Tiramisu on date night when the kids are at the Grandparent’s.)
Besides the family atmosphere and the inexpensive yet quality kid’s menu, the fact that Nabeel’s is located directly across from Homewood Park makes it an even better family destination – after all, you need somewhere to let the kids run off their energy after allowing them to indulge in coffee-soaked, chocolate-covered Tiramisu.

Nabeel’s Cafe and Market
1700 Oxmoor Road, Homewood Alabama 35209
Open Monday – Saturday, 10:30 AM – 9:30 PM

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Rachel is a Birmingham-Based Blogger who writes at Grasping for Objectivity and runs this networking site for all Alabama Bloggers. She and her family love eating out, especially at local establishments where the food is divine and kids are welcomed with open arms.

Visiting Pisgah – Gorham’s Bluff.

When people start listing off the great destinations in our state, Pisgah is not usually on the top of the list.

But if you’re looking for a stunning panorama and a cozy place to retreat to, it should be.

My husband and I made our first trip to Pisgah when we stayed at Gorham’s Bluff for our tenth anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Part Bed and Breakfast, part cottage community, it is completely fabulous.

The views down into the valley are stunning:

And the Bed and Breakfast is delightfully eerie on a foggy day…

And the perfect southern mansion on a clear day.

Thanks to the excellent service of Executive Chef Keith Izydore, the meals provided are worth the trip by themselves.

We enjoyed the Full American Package, which is all three meals (which I highly recommend, since once you get to Gorham’s Bluff, you're at least 20 miles from any other eating establishment.)

Our lunch was a gourmet boxed lunch that we enjoyed in our cottage,

and we ate our dinner and breakfast in the Bed and Breakfast’s main Dining Room.

Although we would have stayed at the Bed and Breakfast had their been a room available, we ended up in a cottage, and we were so glad we did – having our own space really helped us relax and retreat.

All of the vistas are spectacular,

as is the architecture of the houses.

There are also plenty of nature trails, some even going down into the bluff where a waterfall can be found:

Pisgah is near Scottsboro, Alabama, and a little over two hours from Birmingham. If you’re looking for a gorgeous place to take a weekend trip, I highly recommend it!

What great Alabama vacation secrets do you know?

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I was not compensated in any way, or even requested to write this review. My opinions are always my own.

The Newest Alabama Blogger.

My baby, Noah James, was born last Sunday, December 19th:

He has a very thrilled and proud big sister:

If you'd like to read more about him (and his rather dramatic arrival), you can click here.

I’ll be around, but possibly scarce for the next few weeks as my sleep is diminished and my free time is spent napping. If you’d like to guest post during this time, I’d love to have you!! Just email me at rachel@alabamabloggers.com.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas – I sure did!!!

Pure Magic: The Bright Star

Originally Published at Grasping for Objectivity on November 22, 2010

With a nickname like The Magic City, you would expect there to be many magical places in the Birmingham area. And there definitely are – the top of Vulcan, The Patio at The Club, Argyle Road overlooking the city at night, and Sloss Furnaces, to name a few.

But my pick for the most magical place in the metro area can be found right outside of Birmingham in the city of Bessemer – The Bright Star.

Owner Jimmy Koikos and niece Stacey Craig

There’s no other way to describe the experience of The Bright Star other than magical, because something transporting happens to me when I walk through the door – I literally feel like I stepped back into time – into a much more glamorous, romantic, and formal era.

The Bright Star has been in the same location since 1915 (and has been open since 1907, making it the oldest restaurant in Alabama), and still has the same murals on the walls that were painted that year by transient European Artists. The many dining rooms are all beautifully antique in gorgeous hardwood paneling, mirrors, and stained glass.

The amazing setting, plus the music playing softly as I walk into the restaurant immediately takes me somewhere else in my mind – an elegant, cultured, and sophisticated world that only exists in novels and movies.

But, despite the fact that it is a Greek-owned restaurant and I have family ties to it (My great-grandfather worked at The Bright Star after immigrating from Greece), I almost missed it.

I had always thought of it as too far out of town and “just another old Birmingham restaurant”. It wasn’t until our precious former neighbors, Darrel and Julie, gave us a gift certificate for The Bright Star for Christmas several years ago that we experienced it for ourselves, and learned about the magical place that it was.

And there’s definitely more to it than just the atmosphere – the food can literally be called the best in the state, as it is the only restaurant in Alabama to have won a Prestigious James Beard Award. Their Beef Tenderloin and Greek Style Fresh Snapper (Both of which they cut and prepare themselves) are dreamlike – I almost always get one of the combination platters so that I can have them both. But everything I’ve ever had there has been absolutely shockingly delicious!

I talked to co-owner Jimmy Koikos about his experiences at the restaurant. His Great-Great Uncle opened it in 1907, and then sold it to Jimmy’s Dad in the 1920’s. Jimmy started working at the restaurant when he was 13 years old, because his Father went on a three month trip to Greece and left Jimmy and his brother Nicky in charge. And, except for his time at The University, Jimmy has been working here ever since.

Jimmy and his brother and co-owner, Nicky, can always be seen in the restaurant, and make an amazing effort to know their customers. I asked Jimmy what percentage of their clientele were regulars, and he said that of the 4,000 people they serve a week, he knew 35-40% of them by name.

And besides the amazing way they treat their customers, their employees are just as happy. They have employees that have been working for them for 27, 32, and 45 years!

Many celebrities have frequented the restaurant over the years, including one that got his favorite private booth named after him, Bear Bryant:


(And yes, if you really want a magical night, you can reserve any of their private booths for your dinner.)

Although our trips to The Bright Star are usually reserved for dates, I went for lunch last week and took my Mom and Ali along. It was Ali’s first visit – and I swear she felt the magic, too.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated nor asked to write this post. I simply wanted to share the most magical place in our city with all of you, and hope that if you live nearby, you will experience the magic for yourself.

p.s. – When you go to The Bright Star, ask to be seated in Darla’s section. She’s the best waitress in town – you won’t regret it!!

Where do you find to be the most magical place in your city, restaurant or not?

New Years Eve, Alabama-Style.

If you want to go to a huge party for New Years Eve this year but don’t want to go all the way to Times Square, there’s a great option right here in Alabama!

Instead of watching a Crystal Ball drop (which is SO last year), Mobile will be dropping a giant Moon Pie at midnight!

And, of course you can’t drop a Moon Pie without serving RC Cola, which will be on hand in abundance.

The 350 pound, 12 foot Electronic Moon Pie has now been installed over Mobile in preparation for it’s big Debut:

The celebration is free to attend, and will also feature a Mardi-Gras Style parade in the afternoon and a street party in the evening. The street party will have two stages of live entertainment, headlined by the O’Jays, the singers of the infamous “Love Train”.

There will also be an elaborate laser and fireworks show at midnight to accompany the Moon Pie drop.

Oh, and if you’re wondering “Why a Moon Pie??”, it’s because it is the most favored treat to be thrown at Mobile’s Mardi Gras parade, the oldest in the nation. And, as such, the Moon Pie has become an unofficial symbol for the city.

For more information, head to http://www.mobilenewyear.com/.

blue light special art show

The blue light special art show is an absolute can’t-miss for Christmas shopping – I did over half my Christmas shopping there last year!!

This art show is a conglomeration of the works of over 30 local high-end artisans. They will have work from their regular collections, as well as highly discounted items including discontinued items, slightly imperfect items, and atypical items. It’s a great way to get amazing works of art for rock bottom prices!

The forms of art there will include pottery, jewelry, glass art, fiber, mixed media, basketry, drawings and paintings, soaps and lotions, and more.

Plus you can help fight hunger with Empty Bowls: Purchase lunch served in handmade bowls—prepared by Chefs partnering with Cahaba ClayWorks benefiting First Light Women’s Shelter.

Your $25 (tax deductible!) lunch gets you an original, hand-made bowl with soup of your choice prepared by Chef Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club, Laney’s Country Cooking and Chef Sean Butler of Food Studio B.

The dates are Saturday, December 11th from 9-5 and Sunday, December 12th from 10-4.

The location of the sale is at Cahaba Clayworks in Leeds -

7575 Pkwy Dr.
Leeds, AL 35094

Admission to the show is $2, a portion of which goes to charity.

Exploring (New) Birmingham: Railroad Park and The Shops of Grand River

Originally posted on November 3rd, 2010 at Grasping for Objectivity in my Subjective Life.

When I was a little girl, my impression of Birmingham’s downtown area was a jumble of closed up, falling apart, and run-down buildings. My Mom would tell me of their grandness when she was a child, and I would daydream as to what it must have been like to dress up in my Sunday best to go shopping downtown.

Because of this, my childhood assumption was that all downtowns were dead or dying like Birmingham’s was. I was amazed to visit vibrant city centers like Atlanta and Chattanooga and discover that in other cities, people not only went downtown, but actually lived downtown. I became, and stayed, very jealous of other cities’ awesome urban-ness.

So it absolutely thrills my heart that Birmingham is finally, but very rapidly, changing. We have real things in downtown now – Ali and I often visit our awesome children’s science center, The McWane Center, the historic but falling down buildings are being refitted and turned into lofts quicker than I can keep up with, and new and very-Atlanta-looking condominiums are popping up all around.

I hope that Ali’s assumptions about downtowns are completely different than mine were.

The newest addition to downtown’s growing appeal is Railroad Park. Located right in the middle of the city between 1st Avenue South and 1st Avenue North, it is a beautiful, crisp, fresh urban park. It is comprised of 19 acres of ponds, streams, playgrounds, picnic benches, walking and biking trails, and beautiful green areas.

We visited Railroad Park for the first time on Saturday, and it endeared me even more to our newly reviving downtown.

Ali loved running in the grass…

And on the long benches.

The playground was very clean and enclosed for plenty of safe playing,

And the streams and ponds were beautiful – and made even more so by the railroad tracks and downtown skyline behind them:

There were also “biking bowls” (for lack of a better term??) and a skate park across the street for those more daring than my child will probably ever be.

They also advertise a Dining Car on their website at which we planned on eating, but it is either only open during the week or not quite open yet, or we were just too dense to be able to find it. However, there IS a Dominoes across the street that gladly sold us a Pizza Picnic.

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Ali and I also visited another new addition to our city on Friday – one that I have been ever-so-anxiously awaiting the arrival of: The Shops of Grand River.
Located in Leeds (which is much closer than most people think – it’s the very next exit off of I-20 after 459), it’s a brand new and quite large outlet center – something that Birmingham has lacked for a long time (sorry, Watermark, but you never really satiated my needs for outlet shopping).

They opened last Thursday and have a great selection of stores – all of my favorites, for sure. At first, I wasn’t sure about the internal format – I was afraid it would be hard to get around, but once we arrived, I loved it – it felt very much like a mall with two open-air hallways:

I was also surprised that the stores were already running some great deals – I figured since it was opening weekend, they might not have sales yet, but I picked up several things for Ali and Noah at highly discounted prices.

One store I was especially excited to visit was Stone Soup – run by my Aunt Tena of Earthborn Pottery (that I’ve talked about many times before), it is a conglomeration gallery of many local artists of all different types. And it was huge!!

The selection was an awesome mix of paintings, pottery, furniture, mixed media, glass art, and all sorts of other exciting artisan-level pieces at great prices – I will definitely be going back there for some Christmas shopping.

Ali found her favorite, a centipede:

Ali and I also checked out the food court, which was really great, except that half of the eateries weren’t open yet. But once they all open, there will be a good selection.

I was also very happy to see that, although the sidewalks were prepared for the arrival of my Nemeses…

There were NO kiosks installed yet.

Maybe they’ll let us have a happy, peaceful holiday shopping season before implementing Kiosk Predators.

Despite all of the walking we did, even Ali was a fan – when it was time to go, she begged me for more - “But I want to stay at The New Mall for FOREVER!!”
Both Railroad Park and The Shops at Grand River are great additions to Birmingham and the surrounding area – I’m thrilled to see our city growing and changing!

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Disclaimer: No one paid me or asked me to write these reviews - I just enjoyed our outings and wanted to make sure that all you local people knew about the exciting additions to Birmingham.