Birmingham, AL
Birmingham is a small southern city that packs in a lot of charm. I spent. a long weekend here a few years back and on my recent road trip from New Orleans to New York, I knew I wanted to make a pit stop back in Birmingham.
Railroad Park and Sloss Furnaces
Railroad Park, is a 19-acre green space in the middle of downtown. Juxtaposing nature with industrial views it makes for an eerily beautiful scene. The park highlights Birmingham’s industrial heritage and many of the park’s features were constructed using hand cast bricks and old cobblestones that were unearthed while building the park. Go during sunset for some spectacular views of the Birmingham skyline.
Sloss Furnaces operated from 1882 to 1971, producing iron and contributing to the industrial growth of the city of Birmingham. Now defunct, the 32-acre blast furnaces are open to the public for free self-guided tours from Tuesday through Saturday. It is so unique and steeped in history that it is listed as a National Historic Landmark. The site occasionally hosts events and concerts, music festivals, workshops, and exhibitions.
Botanical Gardens
This beautiful and massive botanical garden is definitely worth a visit. My favorite section was the Zen garden with Japanese style architecture. Pack a picnic and have lunch here.
Eat
Brick and Tin is a great option for lunch. Their atmosphere is hip while still being warm and their ingredients are locally sourced and sustainable. Try one of their paninis on fresh-baked bread with a side of soup. They are delicious! Before you leave, grab a cookie (or two) from their bakery. I recommend the flourless chocolate!
Drink
The first time I went to Birmingham, I kept hearing locals talk about this chocolate peanut butter beer that was made in super small batches and was nearly impossible to get due to its popularity. Chocolate peanut butter happens to be my favorite so I was determined to find this white-whale of beers. I must have popped into every package store in the city of Birmingham. They all told me the same thing: yes they had it but they had run out sometime in the last week. Finally, on the way out of town, I decided to try one last shop and…bingo! Beer Engineers’ chocolate peanut butter beer was definitely worth the extensive search. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and on this road trip, I was so excited to try and find it again. I was crushed to, find out that Beer Engineer is no longer in operation.
I did read that another Birmingham Brewery, Back 40 Beer Co., makes a pretty tasty peanut butter Porter. I will definitely be giving that a try the next time I’m in Birmingham.
Just outside: Gip’s Place
It took a little bit of work to find Gip’s place which is located about 20 miles outside of Birmingham. It’s tucked away in the residential neighborhood of Bessemer, Alabama, with very little signage. Started in the 1950s by Henry Gibson, as a place to bring musicians together, it is one of the last standing authentic roadside juke joints in America. Gip’s place is about as intimate a music setting that you can get with music and dancing that goes late into the night, a true family atmosphere, and a BYOB policy. When we were there, we were treated to a set by Gip himself. Unfortunately, Gip has since passed away but his family keeps up the tradition and keeps the doors of Gip’s place open.
