Who Are the Hometown Tourists?

And where did we go for our first outing?

My husboo Ricky and I live in Birmingham, Ala. And despite the fact that we have about a million choices we find ourselves doing the same old things over and over. We eat at the same restaurants, we shop at the same stores, and we visit the same places over and over. They’re nice and comfortable and familiar. We love them. They make us happy.

But the Magic City is constantly changing and growing, and frankly there’s plenty that we’re missing out on. That’s why we’ve decided to be tourists in our own hometown. We want to get out of our comfort zones, explore, and try some new things. And we’re going to share it all with you. 

Be forewarned, we like food and cocktails, so we’ll probably be sharing a lot about restaurants and bars. But we’re not completely one dimensional! We love art, music, the outdoors and many more things too. So come along and join us while we act like tourists in our own hometown.

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It’s Sunday afternoon about 1:30, and we’re hungry. It’s the familiar marital refrain of “Where do you want to eat?” followed by “Where to you want to eat?” That’s when I had the idea for this Substack. I love food and writing and trying new things, so why not combine the three. I sprung the idea on Ricky. He made a sad face (like he always does), but then he agreed to it (like he always does). 

We decided to try The Refinery in Birmingham’s Lakeview neighborhood. It’s a small place not too far from where we live that we’ve driven by approximately 1,234,965 times. In my lexicon the word “refinery” refers to a part of the oil production process, so I found the name both puzzling and intriguing. As it turns out, the owners John D. Conner and Heath Bostick want to evoke a more refined dining and drinking experience in Lakeview, which has a number of bars and casual restaurants not many of which can be considered “refined.”  

And “refined” might be a stretch for this place with several TVs playing NFL football and servers wearing shorts and leggings, but it’s definitely a step up. The back wall and bar are Sylacauga marble and the small seating area has a banquette with high stools and tables in addition to the bar and a couple of other tables. There is also a patio that takes in part of the street which I imagine is a holdover from COVID. A big, gold toned light fixture hangs from the ceiling and a mirrored wall reflects a lot of light. Velvet drapes muffle sound and artfully arranged law books and other objet fill the shelves above the bar. The bar stools are worn and comfortable.

Let me take a minute to say that I see tons of old law books like the Southern Reporter used as decoration because they are pretty. Having worked in the legal field for quite some time, I wonder if anyone has ever bothered to look in one. They’re filled with case law…pages and pages and pages of tiny type and lofty language. And I just think it’s odd to use volumes of case law – the basis for all of our country’s judicial proceedings – as a mere decoration. I also feel quite certain that I’ve completely overthought this decorator choice.

We sat at the bar and were greeted pretty quickly with waters and menus. We each ordered an Old Fashioned from the bar menu, which featured a number of fruity, frufru drinks alongside some classics. We requested Woodford bourbon when asked. The bourbon selection seemed pretty extensive as did the tequila and vodka choices, but it took me a while to see the gin. The first I spotted was a lone bottle of Tanqueray on a low shelf, and I finally spotted some more hidden behind the vodkas. I guess the usual crowd aren’t fans of the juniper juice. 

There was a wine “cellar” in the hall and I saw coolers with Whiteclaw and Red Bull, but I didn’t see any beer taps or beer coolers. They might be there, but I didn’t see them. And we only saw one person who appeared to be drinking a draft beer…through a straw…

The bartenders were cordial without being intrusive, and we never wanted for anything. The drink came back quickly and was yummy – perfect for a cold, rainy afternoon. I could see that the bartender used a mixture of plain and orange Angostura bitters before giving it a stir, which I like.

There was music playing in the background – a dance mix that featured everything from Michael Jackson to Meghan Trainor – and it was loud enough to get you to bob your head or tap a toe, but not so loud you had to holler at your companion. A steady stream of people came and went while we were there, but it was never crowded. Of course, it was also the middle of a gloomy Sunday afternoon. 

The food menu features a pretty typical mix of bar appetizers, burgers and sandwiches, quesadillas, salads, and a few plated entrees. But here’s the thing – Ricky is gluten intolerant, so that makes eating out a challenge sometimes, and this time was no different. You can only eat so many bunless burgers and breadless sandwiches in one lifetime.

The Refinery has no gluten-free alternatives to its flour tortilla chips (we asked), breads (some of which are made in house according to the menu), or crackers. Not even a corn tortilla chip. That meant we didn’t try any of the appetizers which featured a spinach artichoke dip, a street corn dip, jalapeno poppers, mini corndogs, and such. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though, because we decided to split a side salad instead. 

The salad was cold cold cold. Even the bowl was cold. And I’m here to tell you, what takes a salad from ok to great is really cold ingredients. This one consisted of mixed greens topped with kalamata olives, red onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese. We opted for the house balsamic vinaigrette, which came on the side, and it was a good choice.  

Despite there being no gluten-free appetizer choices, there were a fair number of gluten free entrees – ribeye steak, pork chops, wings, salmon, and, of course, more salad. Ricky opted for the rice bowl topped with chicken, and I chose the chicken wings with waffle fries. 

The rice bowl was beautifully presented and had a grilled, sliced chicken breast on top of rice surrounded by a medley of zucchini, squash, and onions. The rice had been cooked in broth and was very flavorful, as was the whole dish – perhaps too flavorful. Ricky likes spicy food and really likes black pepper, but he said the spice on this dish, which he surmised to be a mixture of black and red pepper, was not for the faint of heart and almost too much for him. 

My plate consisted of three whole wings (meaning the flats and drums were still connected) that had been deep fried and were piping hot! I mean I could feel the heat radiating off them! The waffle fries, however, had apparently had to wait on the wings a bit, because they were just sort of warm. But is there really a bad waffle fry? The wings came with a traditional Buffalo sauce that was tangy and vinegary but not too “hot” and spicy as well as a white barbecue sauce that was good but more mayonnaise-y than vinegary. 

On the whole The Refinery was a pleasant experience, and I’d definitely go back for drinks with friends and to try some other things. While the food seems good and maybe even very good, we got the distinct impression that The Refinery is probably more bar than restaurant, and we haven’t even been there at night.

But under the heading of things that separate the wheat from the chaff and make a place feel like you could be a regular, The Refinery had complementary Ghirardelli chocolates on the bar as part of the Christmas decorations along with a Snoop Dogg elf on the shelf. And honestly that’s about as refined as we get too. 

Here’s how we rated The Refinery on a scale of 1 to 5 martinis, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best:

Atmosphere: 🍸🍸🍸

Food: 🍸🍸🍸

Service: 🍸🍸🍸🍸

Bathrooms: 🍸🍸🍸🍸

Gluten free and vegetarian options are limited, and vegan options are nearly nonexistent.

Photos by Audrey Atkins