Maureen HoltBy Anne Ruisi
A three-course kosher dinner and live music will be among the highlights of the Levite Jewish Community Center’s second annual J’la Gala fundraiser on Aug. 6.
“Only at the J” is the theme for the event, which will begin at 5 p.m. at the LJCC.
“I hear only-at-the-J stories all the time,” Executive Director Brooke Bowles said in a story about the gala on the LJCC’s website, bhamjcc.org. “People have such great memories about learning to swim with Coach John and growing up in our youth lounge and starring in a theater production in Pizitz Auditorium. Fundraising efforts like this gala will help us extend these experiences to everyone regardless of their financial situation.”
Chef Maureen Holt of Southern Graze, who prepared the meal at last year’s gala, will again prepare the kosher dinner in the LJCC’s kosher kitchen, overseen by a rabbi.
This year’s menu will begin with two appetizers: summer bruschetta with red onion, tomatoes and basil; and charcuterie on a stick with pickled okra, olives and red sweet pepper. A watermelon and cucumber salad will be served, followed by the main course, pan-roasted lemon chicken breast with basil pesto, served with chive Yukon gold mashed potatoes and a squash and zucchini ragout with eggplant, sweet onion and blistered cherry tomatoes.
A dessert station and champagne wall will feature chocolate trifle, lemon pie with lemon curd and a graham cracker crust, and strawberry and basil ice pops.
Guests also can enjoy signature cocktails, and there will be silent and live auctions, with the live auction managed by C. King Benefit Auctions.
Tickets are $125 and availability is limited. The LJCC noted that last year’s gala was sold out and raised $111,000.
The proceeds will help fund a wide range of programming for children and adults.
While the LJCC is the only Jewish community center in Alabama, membership is open to anyone, and a large percentage of members are not Jewish. The center’s website notes, “The J provides a safe and welcoming space for children and adults of all ages and backgrounds to learn and thrive.”
Birmingham Restaurant Week kicks off July 20, with more than 50 locally owned restaurants, food trucks, bars and coffee shops participating in the 10-day event.
Added to the Summer Edition of BRW this year is a Food Truck Pop-Up Park, and the popular BRW Preview Party and Wineology will be returning. Spire is presenting the event.
The event, which lasts through July 29, gives patrons the opportunity to indulge in two-, three- and four-course meals at a prix-fixe on special menus priced from $5 to $50 per person. They can return to some of their favorite restaurants or visit new ones.
The event also allows local chefs to showcase recipes that put Birmingham on the foodie road map. It promotes local restaurants, and, most importantly, raises money to battle food insecurity in the area.
“Birmingham’s culinary and beverage industry has been through a rough couple of years of heartbreak with nationwide labor shortages, product shortages and inflation,” said Bill Stoeffhaas, co-founder of BRW and owner of Style Advertising, the organizer of BRW. “Birmingham Restaurant Week 2023–Summer Edition has a goal to promote locally owned restaurants and provide assistance to them where we are able to. Without our restaurants, the vibrancy of our culinary community will diminish. So, we’re making sure the people in our community know about all of the great new places to eat and even offer them some deals at the places they already frequent.”
Diners can search participating restaurants and see their special menus on the BRW website at bhamrestaurantweek.com. Users can view participating businesses by neighborhood, meal, price point, service or other desired option to aid in planning their BRW culinary plan of attack. Menus will be added by July 15.
Current participants include Adored Sweets (bakery and sweets truck), Davenport’s Pizza Palace in Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, Dread River Distilling Co., Dreamland BBQ, Elysian Gardens, Fat Charles BBQ, Gumbo to Geaux Food Truck and Catering, Michael’s Restaurant, Nawlins Style PoBoys, Nori, Ovenbird, Pandy’s SnoBiz, Parkside on Fifth, Pasteles La MoreliAna Pastries & Desserts, Rojo, Rusty’s BBQ, Slice Pizza & Brew in Lakeview and Vestavia Hills, Smoke Bistro, SOCU Southern Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Stephen’s Hotdog Wagon, The Fig Birmingham, The Gardens Cafe by Kathy G, Treats So Sweet, Umami, Uptown Cantina and Vino, with more to come soon.
The Preview Party will be held at the Sloss Furnaces Visitor Center, at 20 32nd St. N. in Birmingham, on July 18 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for foodies to learn and taste more about what restaurants involved have to offer.
BRW’s Food Truck Pop-Up Park will take place July 20-July 22 at 32nd Street South and Sixth Avenue South. Wineology is the event’s finale. The wine flight tasting and food pairing event will be held Aug. 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Urban Parc, at 1006 20th St. S. in Birmingham.
Wine will be provided by United-Johnson Brothers of Alabama while Sysco Foods will provide hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $30 per person for the Preview Party and Wineology. They will be available at bhamrestaurantweek.com/events.
“At Spire, we know just how important restaurants and other businesses in the food and beverage industry are in this community,” Joe Hampton, president of Spire Alabama said. “We couldn’t be happier to continue our partnership with Birmingham Restaurant Week, support our local restaurants and provide the community with a way to connect through enjoying great food and drink.”
The summer edition will benefit Community Kitchens Birmingham, which operates two kitchens, one in Woodlawn and one in Southside, where more than 44,000 meals are prepared each year. Community Kitchens also offers services such as education and advocacy to support the homeless in Birmingham.
The winter edition of BRW donated $2,500 to Magic City Harvest for its efforts to lower food waste and hunger. Over the past 14 years, Birmingham Restaurant Week has donated more than $100,000 to local nonprofits and community organizations, including FeedBHM, Manna Ministries and Firehouse Ministries.
So many restaurants signed on for Hoover Restaurant Week this year that it had to be stretched to last for three weeks.
Hoover Restaurant Week itself kicks off July 14 at 7:30 a.m. at Veteran’s Park with Good Morning Alabama, sponsored by WBRC and including special host Russell Jones. That part of the event, which highlights local family-owned restaurants offering special menu items or special pricing, runs through July 23.
The first week of July was dedicated to the BBQ and Burger Showcase, in which patrons were encouraged to try BBQ and burger restaurants in Hoover and post it about it on the Hoover Restaurant Week Facebook page to be entered to win a restaurant gift certificate.
The second week featured a Bartender Challege, East vs. West, which was sponsored by Sweet Home Spirits.
This year’s restaurant options include Biscuit Belly, CakEffect, The Craft Burger, I Heart Mac & Cheese, Jambo Grill, Johnny Brusco’s Pizza, K & J’s Elegant Pastries, Tortuga’s Pizza, Tre Luna Bar and Kitchen, Clean Eatz, Hunan Cuisine, Jake’s Soul Food Cafe, Kabob-Licious, Kilwins, La Conchita, Magic Milkshakes & More, Moe’s Original Barbecue, The Pita Cafe, Teriyaki Madness, Beef’ O’ Brady’s, Farrelley’s Southern Bar and Kitchen, Merck’s Tavern, Saw’s BBQ, Silver Coin Indian Grill, The Electric, The Whole Scoop, and Unagi Bento and Sushi.
“Hoover’s restaurant scene has exploded in the past decade,” David Cohen, president of Hoover Restaurant Alliance, said in a statement. “Family-owned restaurants in Hoover always offer something new and delicious, and it’s all a short drive from anywhere in the metro.”
Visit hooverrestaurantweek.com to learn more about this year’s restaurants and deals.
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