6 must-try dishes in Alabama’s Black Belt

From Greensboro to Eufaula, and several towns in between, off-the-beaten-path restaurant gems are scattered all throughout Alabama’s Black Belt.

It’s hard to chose our favorites, but from our statewide collection of 68 must-try Alabama dishes, we have selected six delicacies that you should eat when you’re traveling through that part of the state.

(And, yes, while Montgomery is in the Black Belt, too, we’re going to save our list of must-try dishes in The Gump for another day.)

These date-filled Egyptian shortbread cookies are staples on the menu at Abadir’s, a pop-up bakeshop in Greensboro, Ala.(Photo by Sarah Cole; used with permission)

Maamoul from Abadir’s in Greensboro

Sarah Cole grew up in Demopolis, in Marengo County, where her Egyptian mother immigrated when she was 28 and met and married Cole’s father, an Alabama man who was the produce manager at a local grocery store. Two years ago, after living in Pittsburgh, Cole and her partner, Robert Fitzpatrick, moved back to the Black Belt, to Greensboro in neighboring Hale County, where she started her one-woman pop-up bakery Abadir’s. Operating out of an 1890s Victorian cottage in downtown Greensboro, she makes seasonally-influenced, locally-sourced cookies, cakes, tarts and sandwiches that reflect her Middle Eastern heritage. One of Cole’s “kitchen staples,” as she calls them, is maamoul, a date-filled Egyptian shortbread cookie with a crispy edge, a cake-like texture in the middle and a dusting of powdered sugar on top. Making them brings back sweet memories of visiting her Aunt Elise in New Jersey. “She’s the chef in the family,” Cole says. “She would always have cookies, and the maamoul was one of the things that she would have.” You’ll find Cole’s treats at pop-ups and farmers markets around the Black Belt, and they are available for pick-up by ordering from the Abadir’s website. She hopes to open a restaurant in downtown Greensboro in 2023. — Bob Carlton

To place pick-up orders and to see a schedule of upcoming events, visit the Abadir’s website here or follow Abadir’s on Facebook and Instagram.

Liveakos Pizza at the Alabama Grill in Greenville

The Alabama Grill had been shuttered for nearly 20 years before Resa Bates and Allan Bloodworth gutted, rebuilt and reopened the iconic building in downtown Greenville in 2019. Upon the restaurant’s reopening, Bates and Bloodworth wanted to pay homage to the restaurant’s original owner, Mack Liveakos, a Greek immigrant who moved to Greenville and opened the Alabama Grill in 1947. So they came up with their Greek-style Liveakos pizza, a light but filling pie topped with Roma tomatoes, roasted garlic, spinach, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, grilled red peppers, grilled red onion, mushrooms, capers, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and a red sauce. We think Mr. Liveakos would surely approve. — Bob Carlton

The Alabama Grill is at 109 West Commerce St. in Greenville, Ala. The phone is 334-371-4745. For more information, go here.

The display case at The Donut King in Eufaula, Ala., tempts customers with glazed, cinnamon, chocolate-covered, strawberry-flavored, sprinkled, cream-filled and jelly-filled doughnuts, as well as doughnut holes.(Haley Laurence/[email protected])

Doughnuts at The Donut King in Eufaula

Mention doughnuts in Alabama, and people from all over the state will bring up The Donut King. The sweet shop in the small town of Eufaula has a mighty big reputation. Locals love it, of course, but people traveling through town on their way to the beach make it a priority to stop at The Donut King for a dozen or so to go. Definitely try the glazed doughnuts – they’re fresh, fluffy and melt in your mouth. — Haley Laurence

The Donut King is at 350 South Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula, Ala. The phone is 334-687-4580. For more information, go here.

Mickey Burger at Hancock's Bar-B-Que in Selma, Ala. — The Mickey Burger at Hancock’s Country Bar-B-Que in Selma, Ala., is dressed with ketchup, pickles and coleslaw and topped with a slice of melted cheese. (Bob Carlton/[email protected])

Mickey Burger at Hancock’s Country Bar-B-Que in Selma

One thing we’ve discovered in our Alabama travels is that some of the best barbecue joints in the state serve some of the tastiest burgers, too. And the Mickey Burger at Hancock’s Country Bar-B-Que on County Road 46 in Selma ranks right up there near the top of our list. It’s a burger that goes back to the mid-’60s, when Ed Hancock bought a fast-food joint on the other side of the Alabama River. “It was made on the same principle as the Big Mac,” Hancock’s son, Mike Hancock, says. “It was a three-layer bun.” Years later, when he opened what is now known as Hancock’s Country Bar-B-Que, he brought the burger with him. These days, the Mickey Burger is served on a traditional bun (without the middle layer), but everything else is the same – a bed of coleslaw, a slice of melted cheese, dill pickle and a little ketchup. Trust us, Mickey D’s ain’t got nothin’ on the Mickey Burger. — Bob Carlton

Hancock’s Country Bar-B-Que is at 72 County Road 46 in Selma, Ala. The phone is 334-872-5541. For more information, go here.

Lannie's Bar-B-Q Spot in Selma, Ala. — The legendary pulled pork sandwich at Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot in Selma, Ala., is served between layers of white bread, doused with a house-made sauce and topped with a crispy fried pork skin.(Photo by Art Meripol, from the book “Alabama Barbecue: Delicious Road Trips”)

Pulled Pork Sandwich at Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot in Selma

Lannie’s Bar-B-Q spot is a Selma landmark that goes back to 1944, when the late Lannie and Will Travis started barbecuing hogs in a cinder-block pit next to their house in the Queen City’s Tuxedo Park neighborhood. Three subsequent generations – from Lannie and Will’s children to their grandchildren and great-grandkids – have stoked the fire since. These days, Floyd Hatcher and his brother, Alfonsa Hatcher, two of the grandchildren, prepare Lannie’s legendary pulled pork sandwiches, which are soaked in a fiery sauce, topped with crispy barks of pork skin and served between two slices of white bread that can’t begin to hold it all together. That crunchy pork skin is what takes it to the next level. “It comes along with the food, but the same (people) come in and ask me about them,” Floyd Hatcher says. “That skin makes it for ‘em – the skin and the sauce.” — Bob Carlton

The original Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot is at 2115 Minter Ave. in Selma, Ala. The phone is 334-874-4478. A second location, Lannie’s Bar-B-Q #2, is at 205 Medical Center Parkway in Selma. The phone is 334-872-8573.

The Summer Salad with Rosemary Grilled Chicken is one of the favorites on the menu at The Pecan on Broad in Camden, Ala.(Photo courtesy of The Pecan on Broad; used with permission)

Summer Salad with Rosemary Grilled Chicken at The Pecan on Broad in Camden

In December 2018, Ryan Dunagan and Chris Bailey bought the former Williams Pecan building on Broad Street in downtown Camden and started renovating it to become The Pecan on Broad, an upscale market that specializes in beautifully presented Alabama products, and an eatery. Visitors come from all over to enjoy daily lunch specials and Saturday brunch in a stylish setting at The Pecan, or to grab something from the to-go cooler — such as the summer salad with rosemary grilled chicken, topped with strawberries, feta cheese and a house-made pepper jelly vinaigrette. The market also sells an assortment of ice cream from Cammie’s Old Dutch creamery in Mobile, as well as a selection of wines and craft beers. — Michelle Matthews

The Pecan on Broad is at 110 Broad St. in Camden, Ala. The phone is 334-882-8000. For more information, go here.

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