The local tourism bureau, Visit Tuscaloosa, does a fine job highlighting the best T-Town has to offer, including a list of Black-owned restaurants you should try this year.

We combed through their picks and explored what each restaurant has to offer, so take a look at the list below, try them out and report back.

Archibald’s & Woodrow’s BBQ

Serving some of the best ribs in Alabama, this remains one of the area’s favorite barbecue joints, for good reason. From Bob Carlton’s BBQ ribs tour: “Archibald’s BBQ was established by grandparents George and Betty Archibald. Now being run by the third generation, the grandkids. The meat and sauce is still the same, cooked on hickory wood; George Archibald Sr. and his wife, Betty, first started selling barbecue pork out of a little cinder-block building just outside the back door of their red-brick home in 1961.” Oft-cited as some of our state’s best food, let alone best barbecue, put a slab your Southern food bucket list — either the original Northport location (1211 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.) or Archibald’s & Woodrow’s (4215 Greensboro Ave.).

READ: Tuscaloosa’s Oldest Restaurants

Catfish Heaven

Opened in 1993, this beloved restaurant (at 2502 21st Street) specializes in whiting fish, catfish fillets and catfish nuggets. A few years into business, they added hot wings to the menu, helping to create a local favorite over the next 30 years. “On March 23rd 1993, three young men came together to create their dream,” their website says, “a restaurant, at 2502 21st street in Tuscaloosa, located in the Historic West End only a few minutes from the University of Alabama.”

Catch a Taste

“Serving with love and devotion,” this Alberta eatery (at 2816 University Blvd. East) specializes in “great food for great people.” Originally a popular food truck, they went brick-and-mortar in 2021, with owner DJ Grant’s popular items that include the Big Catch (Polish sausage, five wings, fries and a drink), the Catch Fries (seasoned ground beef topping with crinkle cut fries, bell peppers and onions) and the beef wrap (ground beef, bell peppers, onions, cheese in a flour tortilla). Keep an eye on the food truck’s location via Facebook.

Jurline’s Soul Food Cafe

Is there anything more delicious than a heaping plate of chicken, collard greens and mac and cheese? At Jurline’s Soul Food Cafe (2117 26th Avenue in Tuscaloosa), we don’t think so. That’s why they established a local soul food restaurant in Tuscaloosa, AL. “Our mission is to create a cozy and welcoming spot where our customers can enjoy home-cooked comfort food,” their website says. The menu changes day to day but includes soul food favorites like fried pork chops, neckbones, pig feet, fried chicken and delicious sides. They also serve breakfast at a great price.

King’s Kitchen

Open for more than two decades at 501 Hargrove Road East in Tuscaloosa, King’s Kitchen serves made-from-scratch food with a comfortable atmosphere that feels (and tastes) like home. “Want to get your hands on some tasty comfort food? If you’re from Alabama, you know that southern food is some of the finest food there is,” their website says. “Come to King’s Kitchen to get your fill of scrumptious Southern food. We serve everything from fried chicken to catfish. When you eat with us, you’ll feel right at home.”

KSV Restaurant

Located at 2451-2535 Culver Road, touting “the best country cooking in Tuscaloosa,” this restaurant serves daily classic Southern food staples like hamburger steak, pork chops, mac & cheese, candied yams, cornbread and other favorites. The restaurant is named after owner Joe Taylor Jr.’s three daughters Katrina, Shannon and Valerie.

Reggae Flava

A veteran-owned family business located at 2322 4th Street (as well as the food truck) “provides delicious, gourmet Jamaican cuisine,” their Instagram page says. Look for specialties like jerk chicken, curried goat and Jamaican cocktails, plus special events like their Reggae Crawfish Boil or weekly occurrences like Blues and Brunch every Sunday (including a chef’s special Waffle BLT). Opened by husband and wife veterans Romeo and Tamara Tomlinson in 2017, the business initially started out as a small food truck in Woodbridge, Va., with most of the cooking being done in the couple’s kitchen, according to the website.

Thomas Rib Shack

The downhome-style barbecue restaurant, located at 2931 15th Street on the West End of Tuscaloosa, touts itself as a place where “good food meets great times,” where you can find “food like grandma used to make.” They make and serve baked chicken quarters, catfish, fried pork chops, hamburger steak, green beans, collard greens, cornbread, stew, peach cobbler and other soul food favorites like beef livers, chitlins, neckbones, oxtail and gizzards. But the most-ordered items remain the pork sandwiches and pig’s feet.

READ: 10 underrated restaurants in Tuscaloosa

Urban Bar and Kitchen

Located at 2321 University Boulevard, this restaurant has the following mission statement: “We aim to inspire our community by connecting people to real food, using the best products, and providing the best service to create a respected brand.” A visit to their website poses the question: What should you order on your first visit? “Well that depends on what you’re in the mood for,” the site answers. “Our ‘Cowboy Burg’ is pretty spunky … Can’t go wrong with a basic ‘Popcorn Shrimp’. If you’re seeking something a little less basic, our ‘Creole Surf & Turf’ is really popular … The ‘After Eden’ is a nice fruity blend & you can’t go wrong with chicken tenders!”

The Veganish Market

Owned by a local entrepreneur Yazmyn Rozier, this new market (at 2128 University Blvd., Suite B, Tuscaloosa) offers many gluten-free, dairy-free and plant-based items. You’ll find plant-based ice cream, smoothies and mock-tails on the menu. “The idea behind Veganish was to not only create a menu that caters to the vegan community but also the vegetarians, pescatarians, flexitarians and those transitioning into a plant-based lifestyle,” the website says.

READ: 10 new Tuscaloosa restaurants to try in 2023