9 Noteworthy Alabama Restaurants | Listen

Hound and Harvest | Huntsville, Alabama

Bowls built on grits, pearled barley, and brown rice showcase the healthy-food philosophy of this “backyard bistro.” But equal focus is on flavor. “We want to help people eat better, but if it doesn’t taste good, that doesn’t work,” says co-owner Garrett Hardee. Hence offerings like the bestselling hot tamale supreme: spiced-right black beans, salsa, plant-based chorizo, and cheese grits drizzled with avocado crema. Also foundational is an inclusive welcome. “We’re in an old home; we want diners to feel like family, so we have items for vegans, meat eaters, gluten-free folks, everyone.”

Kinsmith | Montgomery, Alabama

Part of downtown’s Trilogy Hotel and housed in a carefully restored 1851 Greek Revival house that most recently served as the city waterworks office, Kinsmith’s intimate dining room is gilded with a jazz-age feel, evoking F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, who once called Montgomery home. Today, it hosts a flood of both residents and visitors, who sop up green goddess dressing with white truffle tater tots and dive into gumbo-fied risotto with shrimp and blue crab.

CoastAL | Orange Beach, Alabama

As Orange Beach’s only restaurant snuggled right up to its sugar-white sand, expansive Gulf views and balmy sea breezes are the claims to this eatery’s fame. It’s huge, seating 1,000 diners in a space open to 800 feet of beachfront, around a bar, and on a lawn. The atmosphere isn’t all that’s fresh. Alabama-farmed oysters are popular, and grouper that was swimming hours earlier shines in coconut-crusted grouper bites, tartar-and-and-slaw-smothered grouper sandwiches, and sautéed grouper resting on andouille-studded grits with sweet corn reduction. All items pair well with boozy bushwackers made from the beloved Flora-Bama Lounge recipe.

Corner Office | Auburn, Alabama

Just like the name says, this coffee-and-sandwich shop occupies a corner space in an office building. Despite a corporate-cafeteria aesthetic, the vibe is warm. And the menu is populated with morning and midday meal standards that have been given a promotion, like salty-sweet maple bacon cronuts (a croissant-donut merger), meatloaf patty melts elevated with boursin, and roasted beet hummus with green tomato chow chow. Boost any item’s ROI with the addition of a fried egg or crisped pork belly.