Recently, I have wondered how one could possibly go wrong eating a hot pressed sandwich with melty cheese, roast pork, ham, pickles, and a few other choice toppings. I am sure it’s possible, just not at Kool Korner, located in the Publix shopping center in Vestavia Hills.

IIldefonso Ramirez, the shop’s Cuban-born owner, arrives each morning and personally roasts enough pork, eye-round, and chicken for the day. He opened the original Kool Korner Grocery in Atlanta in the mid-1980s and reigned as the cuban sandwich king through the 1990s. The Vestavia location opened in June 2009 and he runs the shop with his son Guillermo and grandson Will.

For more on my experience here, check out the January 2010 issue of Birmingham Magazine and its Buzzwords podcast.

Details:
Kool Korner Sandwiches
790 Montgomery Highway #134 [map]
822-4406
Open Monday to Saturday
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
KoolKornerSandwiches.com

Dan is the producer of ‘Ham Sandwich. Read about his cooking adventures as Skip on The Gourmetro and learn about him on aisle-9.net.

I have been silent about Za Za Trattoria for too long. It was selfish, really, to have sat on such a fabulous new restaurant, but you’ve got to understand how I might want to keep those bready bits of pizza and fabulous BYO brunches to myself for a little while? Yes? No? Well, here we go anyway.

I lost count of how many time I’ve eaten at the trattoria in the last five or six weeks, but let’s suffice it to say that I have been thrilled with everything they’ve served so far. From their focaccia-like pizzas to, surprisingly enough, their grits (which are the best I’ve had: neither too cheesy nor greasy, with a true corn taste and milky, smooth texture), Brian, Geoff, and Braxton present high quality products simply. The sausage cornbread, the salads, especially the caponata and peach/arugula. As they are both Chez Fon Fon alums, Frank Stitt should be proud of their elegant and economical approach to local food.

Their daytime service is strong, as evidenced by formidable lines at peak times, but the dishes really shine at supper and Sunday brunch. I have never sat around a table of food lovers and heard such uniform praise (most typically in ecstatic moans, smiles, and pointing). Surrounded by an eggplant-based caponata salad, sausage cornbread, grits, frittatas and breakfast pizzas, fresh fruit, and prosecco (which we were lucky enough to have on hand), it was an unparalleled meal.

Tips: Get to the Za as early as you can at mealtimes to make sure you can get exactly what you want (and to avoid long but swift-moving line); Order a “local” latte (made with Higher Ground espresso and Wright’s Dairy milk); BYO wine and beer while you can – that feature will likely end when their beer/wine license comes through.

AL.com’s Bob Carlton wrote a great post on Za Za a few weeks ago. Read it.

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Za Za Trattoria [map]
207 20 St
Birmingham, AL 35203
205/202-5612

Dan is the producer of ‘Ham Sandwich. P.S. He loves Za Za’s macaroni and cheese. Those massive hunks of pancetta aren’t there for show, folks. Read about his cooking adventures as Skip on The Gourmetro and learn about his work on aisle-9.net.

It was a stroke of luck that there weren’t any Saw’s BBQ ribs left in my fridge this morning because I certainly would have eaten them. Cold. What I am about to write cannot be overstated: Saw’s BBQ ribs are the best I have had in Birmingham.

Available at retail for some time, Mike Wilson’s tangy Saw’s BBQ Sauce can now be found at the source. Located on Oxmoor Road in Edgewood in the former Broadway Barbecue space, Saw’s is a cozy, slighly smokier version of Miss Myra’s in Cahaba Heights.

So far, I have tried the ribs,  chicken and white sauce, pulled pork, turnip greens, and the macaroni and cheese. Saw’s ribs offer a stark contrast to many of the other options in the city. I visited the restaurant twice, about two weeks apart, and found the ribs consistent in their tenderness, tanginess , and heft. Saw’s serves up a rib plate of four ribs and two sides, $9, of which I gladly took two ribs and one side home. The chicken and white sauce and pulled pork share the ribs’ supple juiciness.

The quality and depth of flavor of the main dishes overshadow the sides. The turnip greens are my side of choice thus far, doused with Saw’s sweet and acidic sauce. The mac’n'cheese is a bit disappointing for its blandness.

Other than the bland mac’n'cheese, the only recommendation I’d have for Saw’s is that they beef up their buns. The white sauce rendered the chicken bbq sandwich soggy and inedible almost instantly. To repeat: delicious sauce, wonderful chicken, but the bun could use some work. That said, Saw’s is off to a great start. Check them out here:

1008 Oxmoor Road
Homewood, AL 35209
205.879.1937

Dan is the producer of ‘Ham Sandwich. He’s never eaten ribs cold, but he would. Read about his cooking adventures as Skip on The Gourmetro and learn about his work on aisle-9.net.

After what seems to have been a quick construction, the restaurant Avo and the Dram Whiskey Bar are now open. I arrived late Friday evening (the bar closes at midnight) and whet my palate with a sip of their bacon-infused bourbon. Last night Kim and I stopped back to check it out. Dram has a neat, angular style with a Colorado ski lodge feel. By my estimates the patio seats 30 to 40 and should be quite the popular spot in Mountain Brook Village as the weather improves. The food and drink were better than expected in most areas.

Smelling of bacon and tasting squarely of bourbon, the bacon-infused Smokehouse cocktail  is a bit of an enigma. There is an ambient smokiness, which I found quite pleasant, but now that I have tried it I won’t be rushing back for more. The Blackberry Winter–Knob Creek with fresh blackberry puree–was slightly sweet and decidedly Knobby. The Sazerac was mild and reminded me of New Orleans. The sassafras wash is a nice touch.

For the food, the twice-fried duck fat fries were serviceable. They had the richness you’d expect, but came to the table cool. The rosemary ketchup rocks for its sweet, herbal kick. The Dram Burger has potential, but ours was lacking. The biggest issue: the bun was cold and clammy. The burger itself came out medium-well instead of medium and had a fresh meaty taste. Greasiness was an issue but the cheese probably didn’t help. Onion rings were well-executed.

Overall, the bar has a lot going for it: interesting drinks, good food, and a great location. There is no real neighborhood competition to speak of. The service was attentive, and the food issues can be dealt with easily. The unprotected blue flames on the patio are odd and somewhat scary. I’m not sure if they’re decorative or supposed to provide heat. Either way, they seem just close enough to catch someone on fire. There isn’t really much on the internets about Dram or Avo yet other than a brief post from Inspiration earlier this week. I am looking forward to more from Dram and plan to check out Avo this week (or next Sunday for brunch).

Dram Whiskey Bar (and Avo Restaurant)
140 Village Circle
Mountain Brook, Alabama
205/871-8212 (Avo)
205/871-8055 (Dram)

Dan is the producer of ‘Ham Sandwich. He sometimes longs for breezy walks down Broadway with a slice of pizza larger than his face. Read First Bite for first impressions to new restaurants (or at least restaurants that are new to us). We aren’t crazy about the idea of reviewing restaurants, but it’s likely we’ll be critical from time to time. First Bites will have followups.

Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Spinach

I am just going to go out there and say it: the food at Bambinelli’s Italian Cafe, the new neighborhood Italian spot that opened in English Village last week, is surprisingly good. I honestly expected little of an Italian place moving into Ciao’s old digs, where my experiences were mediocre at best. But I am not going to dwell on Ciao, as it is always sad to see a local restaurant shuttered.

According to my waiter, the cafe had a soft opening a few days before Thanksgiving (a bit sooner than AL.com suggested a few weeks ago). I went for some exploratory dinners this past Monday and Tuesday. Both times, we sat by the roaring fireplace in the dining room next to Joe Muggs. I’m a fan of the fireplace. Some curtains or throw rugs would help in there because even with only 10 or 12 people, it got loud very quickly (lots of echo). The interior still a bit austere.

The menu is lengthy and covers all the usual suspects–pizzas, pastas, parmigianas–along with some distressing Americanized bits. I haven’t been for lunch yet but am looking forward to one of my guilty pleasures–one of the dishes that reminds me of growing up on Long Island–the chicken parmigiana sub (though we called them heroes). Now back to the food I have eaten.

Fried Homemade Calamari

Fried calamari usually helps me form a good first impression, since they’re easy to botch. Good calamari, for me, usually heralds a good dinner. Bettola is still my favorite Birmingham squid spot. Apparently these are prepared in-house, and mine came perfectly cooked–tender with well-spiced breading. The marinara sauce is a bit sweet for my taste.

Then came an actually fresh complimentary salad. There’s no pallid bowl of limp lettuce, still-frozen julienned carrots, a couple of sad onions, and an even more depressed tomato here. It might be a spring lettuce from-the-box mix, but whatever. It’s fresh.

4-Cheese Gnocchi

Pasta with Spinach and Cannellini beans and the 4-Cheese Gnocchi were next. Both were perfectly good dishes, though I had a few reservations. The pasta is something I make for myself quite frequently but hardly ever see on a menu. It’s rustic comfort food. Theirs is a bit garlic-heavy and possibly too pricey (at around $12) for a plate of pasta and beans. And for the 4-Cheese Gnocchi, not many places offer the little dumplings, and with good reason. They are difficult to prepare, and frozen ones typically suck (read: bland, tough). I haven’t met the Bambinelli’s chef yet, but whoever they are, they made respectable gnocchi. (Deb from Smitten Kitchen has an excellent commentary on the travails of her gnocchi experience). The cheeziness dialed back, but that’s just me. There is one other gnocchi option that I am eagerly anticipating.

Pepperoni Pizza

We left in good spirits, satisfied and sated. Upon returning the next night, I was set on pizza. Having most recently lived in New York, I am particular about my pizza and have found most local options lacking (except, again, for Bettola, whose pizza I love). At the last minute I inexplicably added pepperoni. It seemed like a good to do at the time. After the salads and a round of fried calamari (just as good as the pervious night), my pizza arrived.

Of the three major pizza components–crust, sauce, and cheese–the crust is my make-or-break feature. It can’t be too thick or too thin. Too doughy or too brittle. I prefer aged dough. Thin, chewy, and pliable are the characteristics I look for, and I was pleased by my Bambinelli’s crust. It’s just under what I’d consider too thick and had a did well with the chew-factor. I would order it again (only without the pepperoni. I am just not really into meat pizzas).

My frequent dining partner K Black ordered Chicken Marsala. Based on experience, I shy away from that dish when eating out. The chicken always seems to be dry, and the sauce goopy. This was neither. The chicken was juicy and the dish wasn’t oversauced. Even with my pizza, I was a bit jealous.

The waiter for the second expedition explained that the cafe was still in the “soft opening” phase, which makes sense. The service was a bit rough and the kitchen timing could have been better (the second night the calamari and entrees came out within minutes of each other). If I were in the kitchen, which I am not (and shouldn’t be), I’d dial back some of the flavors (in these cases, the garlic and the cheese). Nevertheless, it’s a great start for a good neighborhood restaurant. (If they start a half-price wine night, you’ll know where to find me. Oh, right. Speaking of which, their wine list is quite good too).

Bambinelli’s Italian Cafe

2031 Cahaba Road

Mountain Brook, AL

205/871-2423

Dan is the producer of ‘Ham Sandwich. He sometimes longs for breezy walks down Broadway with a slice of pizza larger than his face. First Bite is for first reactions to new restaurants (or at least restaurants that are new to us). We aren’t crazy about the idea of being restaurant critics, but it’s likely we’ll be critical from time to time. First Bites will have followups.