In dark restaurants customers spend the entire experience literally in the dark. Servers wear night vision goggles (although some may be vision impaired) and the diner must rely on their other senses to guide them through the tasting. Diners say that they taste things in a different way. The trend has spread to Europe (especially Germany where they are called Blindekuh - blind cow) and LA where the meals are often accompanied by concerts and poetry reading that are also enjoyed in the dark.

Thanks to Taste TV and Million Dollar Dinner foodies in San Francisco will soon be eating in the dark. These dinners are by reservation only and last two hours. Do not be late as no one will be seated after 8 p.m. The experience is $95 a person and are held at Fort Mason Center.

For more information click HERE.

For many, a trip to Auburn for the big game is not complete without a visit to Chuck’s Bar-B-Que in the neighboring town of Opelika. The central Georgia/Alabama area has a barbecue style that is distinct to this region. It originated in the 50’s at a place in Columbus, GA called Smokey Pig by Buck Ferrell. Buck is the uncle of Chuck’s owner, Chuck Ferrell. Chuck’s Bar-B-Que has become the standard barer for the Smokey Pig style of cue.

So what is unique about this style of barbecue found exclusively in the villages of Auburn, Opelika, and Phoenix City in Alabama and Columbus and LaGrange in Georgia? Well, there is a lot involved. First off, they use a very specific cut of pork called a CT butt. Essentially it is a Boston butt that has had the bone and the fat cap removed. Therefore it is a leaner roast usually weighing between 2½ to 4 pounds.

Secondly, Chuck’s uses a wood fire of oak, hickory, and occasionally pecan rather than the usual bed of coals. This creates a hotter fire so the barbecue is done faster. It is an intense cooking method that requires constant attention. Ferrell prefers to oversee this himself. “I like to cook the product. I have some guys that work for me that can cook it just probably as good as I can. But for some reason, I just don’t think nobody can cook it as good as I can; so if I’m there, that’s what I like to do is cook,” he told The Southern BBQ Trail.
The finished product is a roast that is a little bigger than a softball with a good deal of char on the outside. Chuck’s offers the pork three ways, chopped, chipped, or sliced long ways. The most popular is the chipped (or finely chopped) because of the quality of sandwich it produces. The busiest days of the year are during Auburn home games and it is not unusual for Chuck’s to sell 2,000 chipped pork sandwiches on those days.

The final originality that signifies the Smokey Pig style is the sauce. It is a combination of ketchup, mustard, and cider vinegar with a few spices thrown in. The mustard sauce is used not just on the barbecue but it is also the sauce for their uncommon coleslaw as well which garnishes each sandwich. It even flavors the Brunswick stew which is another house favorite, often topped with a little chopped pork for good measure.

One last bit of business when visiting Chuck’s, it is not uncommon for folks there to greet you with the phrase, “War Eagle.” Don’t ask any questions, just say it back to them and go your way.

Chuck’s Barbecue
905 Short Ave.
Opelika, Alabama
(334) 749-4043.

The restaurant is just a mile or so off of Interstate 85. The town of Opelika is about 45 minutes east of Montgomery, AL and an hour west of Atlanta, Georgia.

Fast forward two decades and the Original Oyster House was known far and wide for their fantastic seafood and “mix it yourself” cocktail sauce. Every musical act that visited Mobile made a point of visiting there. Likewise with the plethora of NFL coaches and players that invade the Azalea City each year for the Senior Bowl. Even the occasional B-list Hollywood star like Steven Segal had found their way to the two-story restaurant overlooking the bay.

And why wouldn’t they? The OOH was famous for their award winning seafood gumbo. Accordingly its location on the Mobile/Baldwin County line made it the perfect meeting places for friends and family that lived on either side of the bay. If you live in the area long enough you will eventually have a birthday party there, a fact as sure as death and taxes.

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast causing flooding to the west in New Orleans and to the East in Mobile. A 12 foot storm surge ravaged downtown and the adjacent causeway. The surge all but eradicated the first floor of the restaurant leaving only enough structural support to keep the second story from falling through. The building was a total loss.

On November 1, 2005 the new Original Oyster House opened just a mile or so down the Causeway from its predecessor, in the building that formerly housed the Cock of the Walk catfish restaurant. This newest incarnation was built completely off the ground. The owners were able to relocate everything including their commitment to excellence as they have now won 1^st place in the Mobile Register’s annual Readers’ Choice awards in five different categories for the fourth straight year.

As for the old location - it is has been refurbished and currently holds Oysterella’s Oyster Bar. Sure the name is wacky but the food is adventuresome and half the visitors to town won’t even know it is not the same place that ate at all those many years ago.

Original Oyster House
3733 Battleship Parkway
Mobile, Alabama
(251) 626-2188

Thanks to the manmade drama in New Orleans following Katrina, the national media largely ignored the devastation in Mississippi. It was actually the Magnolia state, not the Big Easy, that took the brunt of the storm. The property damage in New Orleans, though widespread, was superficial compared to that of the Gulf Coast. The storm surge in New Orleans was around ten feet, the storm surge in Waveland, MS was 32 feet. Not a single edifice in Waveland survived Katrina. The entire town ceased to exist overnight. Flood waters recede but complete annihilation is a little harder to come back from.

Mississippians are resilient folk and they began their recovery effort the very next day, all by themselves. Despite far more extensive destruction, the Gulf Coast’s recovery is slow but astoundingly sure. The casino industry is back on its feet. The jewel of the area, the Beau Rivage reopened last year and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is about to open. And now with the new restaurant at the Island View the good people of Mississippi have something they can really hang their hats on.

The new restaurant is a magnificent tribute to the area with thousands of hand-blown glass bubbles hanging from the ceiling and a 4000 bottle wine tower that partially conceals an 80 seat private banquet room. The menu features “coastal Creole” cuisine a mixture of the New Orleans style food found just to the west and the local seafood and produce found in the Gulfport area. The restaurant is guided on a daily basis by General Manager Jason Lonigro a veteran of the Crescent City restaurant scene, and Chef de Cuisine Steve D’Angelo who worked in New Orleans and Las Vegas prior to opening his own place in Bay St. Louis, MS six years before Katrina destroyed it.

The name of this new world class eatery in the heart of Katrina country? Emeril’s Gulf Coast Fish House and it is owned by Chef/Proprietor Emeril Lagasse whose family weekend home in Pass Christian, MS was also destroyed by Katrina. Alden Lagasse, Emeril’s wife, was born in Gulfport and played a large part in her husband’s decision to build there.

Here is hoping all of the best to Chef Lagasse and the people effected by Katrina from the flood devastated streets of New Orleans to the decimated fishing villages in Alabama. God speed.

With that in mind the good people at Learn Great Foods have devised a new industry — agri-culinary tours. Imagine starting your day watching the classic operation of a grist mill, harvesting shitake mushrooms by hand, then venturing to the dark rich earth of an asparagus farm, sampling an artisan cheddar at the dairy, and ending the day with an al fresco meal prepared from all of the ingredients you have sampled all while sipping a glass of wine handpicked for you by the vintner.

Tours include herb gardens in the Little Traverse Bay area of Michigan, the 2 Busy 2 Cook retreat in Mt. Carroll, IL, a cheese extravaganza in New Glarus, WI and even a visit with an organic farming guru in Sabula, Iowa.

Learn Great Foods will let you custom design you gastronomic getaway or you can attend one of the their many standard Midwestern tours.

According to Learn Great Foods, “By touring area farms, you’ll get an up-close look at the workings of a sustainable farm and also have the chance to ask local farmers and vintners questions about growing techniques. Tour destinations include organic beef and dairy farms, fruit/vegetable farms, wineries, creameries and local coffee roasters. This interactive experience will be one you won’t soon forget!”

All farm tours are followed by a hands-on cooking class, where a celebrated chef will use that day’s fresh-from-the-farm bounty to help you make innovative culinary creations.

Feeling more adventurous? They have three foreign tours scheduled this year for the Yucatan Peninsula and four in Argentina.

For more information visit their website.

J. Oliver Wintzell first opened his six seat oyster bar in downtown Mobile, Alabama in 1938. Other than the raw oysters he shucked, Wintzell’s other commodity was his personality. Wintzell was famous for his sayings. Everyday the oysterman would have a bit of wisdom for his customers. Eventually someone suggested that he write his thoughts down and post them for folks to read. Today the walls of Wintzell’s Oyster House are plastered with the thought processes of its late founder. Employees and regulars alike say that after all these years they still find things on the wall they have never read before.

J. Oliver was a wannabe politician as well. He ran for public office many times yet failed to ever seriously contend for a seat. After one unsuccessful political attempt he took out an ad in the local paper thanking the 200 or so people who voted for him and offering them a special at his restaurant. The ad also went on to invite the 40,000 or so who voted against him as well.

Dignitaries and celebrities who visit Alabama’s port city make sure to have their mugs photographed for the wall at Wintzell’s although it is hard to squeeze them in amid the nuggets of J. Oliver’s peculiar musings. For example:

• Ideas are funny little things that won’t work unless you do.
• People who are too sharp cut their own fingers.
• Chiseler is a guy who gets into a revolving door behind you and comes out first.
• A nickel isn’t supposed to be as good as a dollar, but it goes to church more often.
• He who spends time on his knees has no trouble standing on his feet.
• A woman will always make up her face when you are waiting for her parking space.
• Before our highways became choked it was good to be alive; today it is a surprise.

Although Wintzell’s currently has four locations in the Mobile area with more on the way, the original downtown location is still going strong. In addition to the signature “oysters - fried, stewed, or nude,” they have great seafood of all kinds including shrimp, catfish, crab claws, and West Indies salad. They make a pretty mean steak, too, which is even better topped with a half dozen fried oysters.  Their happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. and features $1 draft and raw oysters for a quarter a piece.  For dessert, make sure you try their one-of-a-kind bread pudding, which has taken the award for best dessert in Mobile many times.

If gyros are your thing, then Ali Baba’s on North 14th and The Pita Pit on “O” Street are just a couple of the dozens of gyros stands in town. Inna’s Pirogi offers Eastern European cuisine, the Green Gateau is a classic European Sidewalk Café and Dish is a contemporary metropolitan meeting place with a multi-ethnic menu. Other world cuisines represented include Ethiopian, Cambodian, Sudanese, Pan African, Brazilian, and German.

The Haymarket District serves as the cultural epicenter of Lincoln and is brimming with bars, bistros, bakeries, and specialty shops. Among the noteworthy Haymarket refectories is The Oven which specializes in Tandoori cooking and Northern Indian cuisine. The Tandoor is a special clay oven which uses an open flame and is used to cook yogurt-marinated chicken, shrimp and fish to assure the tenderness of the meat. The Tandoor is also used to bake handmade breads. Also featured is Moghul cuisine, which is known for vast array of its lamb dishes. The Oven features an amazing wine selection. How good?  Ask Wine Spectator, who gave it their Award of Excellence.

Also in the Haymarket is Fireworks, which bills itself as “A Celebration of Wood-Fire Cooking.”  Fireworks combines all that is Lincoln: handcrafted beers, great cuts of beef, and a menu that reflects the diverse culture of the city. The 50 seat private banquet hall known as the Brewery Room at Fireworks provides a view of the neighboring Brew House via a glass wall. The varied menu includes Korean wraps, Southwestern Crab Cakes, Backdraft Brisket, wood fired pizzas, and, of course, the steaks that Nebraska is famous for.

As you can see there is a lot more to Lincoln than just wagon trains and touchdowns.