Typically, when given a choice I’ll pick quality over quantity. Luckily enough for me, one does not have to make that decision at Bob’s Lunch. A hungry diner can go in, sit down, have a chat with co-owner Rodney Moore, and within a few minutes begin eating a freshly cooked local Vermont hamburger. We knew we were in for a busy afternoon so we all opted for the Belly Buster, a hulking 1 pound burger with cheese and bacon. Intrepid diners who finish the burger, pickle, and fries are subsequently memorialized for their fortitude (foolhardiness) on a handwritten list. We three completed the burgers within a reasonable period and joined the somewhat immortal ranks. We were not, however, better for it, since we came back to American Masala Farm to muck the barn.

Anyway. If you’re up near Salem, New York around lunchtime, go to Bob’s and have a normal-sized burger. They are delicious and voluntarily on their way to becoming transfat free. Good job!

Skip is the producer of The Gourmetro. Mucking a barn isn’t so bad, just don’t eat a 1-pound hamburger first. Read about his culinary travels through the South as Dan over at ‘Ham Sandwich.

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.

First of all, if someone could buy me these plates, that would be great. I think food would taste much better, therefore I would cook more and have more recipes to blog about.

Katie, Nick and I made the trek to NYC this weekend for some fun, and as per usual, it was amazing (minus the 6 hour bus ride and 7 total hours of sleep). First stop: Coronet, for pizza ACTUALLY as big as your face. It was everything drunk food (err, or completely sober) should be – greasy and full of carby goodness.

Saturday we finally experienced the glory that is the Shake Shack. Sadly, Dan & Co. didn’t get there in enough time to wait in line and still make it to our 1 pm tour. I don’t even really like burgers, but I gotta admit, they were pretty amazing. Maybe not mind-altering, but coupled with a black & white shake, a damn good lunch.

Dinner was at Boca Chica, a South American restaurant near Arlene’s Grocery, where we were seeing a show later. Very cute, good size, and we got the U-shaped booth smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. (I’m also a big fan of the curtain sectioning off the entrywas from the rest of the restaurant, and therefore keeping the cold out. Perhaps this is everywhere in New York and I’m just too podunk to realize it.) We started off with some white sangria, which was very different than I had experienced before. It was more margarita than sangria, not that I’m complaining. AND we got plaintains and mole as our free beginning carb. WOW. I could have just had a giant plate of that plus the sangria and been one happy eater.

But alas, had to order an *actual* dinner. I ordered a corn souffle with chicken, raisins, and tomatoes. I’ve never had a souffle in non-dessert form, but the flavor combo sounded yumcious, so I went for it. Aaaaaaaand it was amazing! It was creamy and sweet, and there were golden raisins, but none of these so-called tomatoes. Whatever, it was great. I was afraid it was going to be grainy like polenta – which I’m not a fan of, since it’s basically grits – but it was more like corn pudding, which I adore. Plus, it came with black beans, white rice, and a crunchy little salad that complemented everything quite nicely.

On our sleep-deprived walk to the subway on Sunday, we stopped by Sanuk (sp? I couldn’t find a link), an organic high-end grocery for pain au chocolat and some intense juice. It’s open 24 hours…as Vito said, “You’ll never know when you’ll want a pomegranate after coming home from the bars at 3 am.” Well said.

We wandered around the city quite a bit, stopping at a Farmer’s Market where we saw some crepes, which made us sad we had wasted our hunger on pastries, good as they were. Per Vito’s suggestion, we headed to Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes, aka the lunch of champions. (N.B. Apparently said bakery was on Sex & the City, which makes my inner snob/wannabe non-tourist cringe.) There was a line outside the door, as the bakery is about the size of my bathroom, plus there was a Cupcake Bouncer, regulating which of us peons could enter. AWESOME. Standing in line you could smell the cakey goodness wafting through the vents…and we salivated, watching them whip up more frosting. The line moved fairly quickly, and we grabbed our dozen cupcakes and bounced. My only complaint is that the cupcakes weren’t really labeled – granted, there were only combinations of vanilla & chocolate, but still. There should have been more selection, and I would have liked to seen some labels.

We went across the street to Bleeker Park and entered sheer cupcake bliss. Uberthick frosting, and not the gritty overly confectioners-sugared kind. Twas a beautiful thing.