Alabama chefs tell us one restaurant where they could eat for the rest of their lives

Chefs spend so much time in their own restaurants that it is a rare treat when they get to go out and let someone else do the cooking.

And when they do, you can rest assured that they’re going somewhere they can depend on for an excellent meal and attentive service.

So, as we launch the first in what will be an ongoing Q&A series that we’re calling “Ask an Alabama Chef,” we reached out to some of our favorite Alabama chefs, restaurateurs and pitmasters and posed the question:

“If you could eat at only one Alabama restaurant (other than your own) for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?”

Here’s what some of them had to say:

Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur

Legendary Alabama pitmaster Chris Lilly of Decatur’s famed Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q is a barbecue man through and through.

But if he had to pick one restaurant to eat at for the rest of his life — other than his own, of course — it wouldn’t be a barbecue joint.

“I’d select a restaurant with a diverse menu but at the opposite end of the smoked meat spectrum,” Lilly says. “The restaurant would have a sushi bar, ultra-fresh seafood, pasta and a hot grill.

“My choice would be Big Fish in Orange Beach.”

Owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Leck and Jana Lilayuva, Big Fish Restaurant serves such hand-trimmed, fresh-from-the-Gulf fish as amberjack, red snapper and triple tail, as well as what those in the know say is the best sushi on the beach.

Crystal Peterson of Yo’ Mama’s in Birmingham

Crystal Peterson, who co-owns Yo’ Mama’s soul food restaurant with her mother, Denise, doesn’t have to think twice when she’s asked her favorite place to dine other than her own.

“Helen,” Peterson says, referencing the contemporary Southern grill that chef Rob McDaniel and his wife, Emily, opened three years ago in downtown Birmingham, about three blocks west of Yo’ Mama’s.

“I mean, everything is flavorful; it’s fresh,” she adds. “Their menu is something that I could eat every day.”

She just doesn’t get there as often as she would like.

“If I had the money to go there every day, I would,” Peterson says. “I don’t have $80 steak money every day.”

(While Helen does indeed have an $80 bone-in ribeye on the menu — as well as a $115 dry-aged Kansas City strip — you can also get a Certified Angus Beef filet for $55.)

Linda Smelley of The Historic Waysider Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

When she has time to get out of the kitchen at Tuscaloosa’s Historic Waysider Restaurant, Linda Smelley gets on I-59/20 and makes the short drive to Bessemer to eat at another iconic Alabama restaurant with strong Crimson Tide ties, The Bright Star.

Smelley says she likes the variety of dishes she can get at The Bright Star, from the vegetable plate at lunch to the Greek-style snapper and tenderloin at night.

Her only regret is that she doesn’t get there more often to see her old friend Nicky Koikos, one of the co-owners of The Bright Star.

“I don’t get up there quite as much as I want to,” Smelley says. “I used to go all the time. But I’ve been working so many hours since the pandemic that I’m just worn out after I get off work. I know Nicky is embarrassed that I’m not there.”

Eric Rivera of Ravello Ristorante in Montgomery

Eric Rivera, who was the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association’s Chef of the Year for 2022, is the executive chef and co-owner of the new-ish Montgomery Italian fine-dining restaurant Ravello Ristorante.

Prior to moving to Montgomery, though, Rivera worked in Birmingham as the executive sous chef at Todd English P.U.B., and later oversaw both the café and the dining room at Birmingham’s Historic Redmont Hotel.

So, when asked to choose one restaurant where he would be content to eat for the rest of his life, Rivera chose Bamboo on 2nd, the Asian fusion and sushi restaurant that has become a Magic City favorite since it opened in downtown Birmingham in 2015.

Rivera’s endorsement of Bamboo on 2nd is simple and to the point: “Because of their incredible sushi and hospitality.”

Rob McDaniel of Helen in Birmingham

So, we know Yo’ Mama’s Crystal Peterson is a big fan of Rob McDaniel’s cooking at Helen.

But what about McDaniel? What is his go-to Alabama restaurant?

It is, he says, Frank and Pardis Stitt’s bustling French bistro Chez Fonfon, which is famous for its energetic atmosphere, exceptional service and an ever-reliable menu that features roasted Poulet Rouge half-chicken, croque monsieur with pommes frites, and the most celebrated burger in Alabama, the Hamburger Fonfon

“It’s always consistent, welcoming and exactly what I’m wanting when I enjoy a meal there,” McDaniel says.

NOTE: Our “Ask an Alabama Chef” series will appear periodically on AL.com. To suggest a question or recommend a chef, email [email protected].

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