5 Comments

1. Great food & Service as always. Chef Hastings really knows how to pair flavors together for a true dining experience. This was an anniversary dinner so splurging was required! Started with the Hot & Hot Tomato Salad which is always refreshing and the Short Rib Pappardelle which had a hardy rich broth. Our entrees: Ancho Rubbed Iberico Pork Chop came with an Arepa Cake with blistered peppers that had a very rustic campfire taste that paired great with a Pinot Gregio. The Cobia fish was flakey & buttery & was great paired with a local IPA from Cahaba Brewery recommended from our waitress
   The desserts were The Torta Della Nonna which I asked the waitress to recommend a dessert wine that wasnt too sweet. The wine she paired it with made the almond ice cream have a black currant wash of flavor at each bite. Excellent! I do not care for dessert wines but I wanted to try it. The Peach Cobbler & Blackberry Ice Cream tasted like a southern comfort dish you would get at your Grandmother’s house.
   When our waitress heard it was our anniversary she sent use a small pour of champagne. It was nice she wanted to help us celebrate. If you want to broaden your palette with the best local ingredients & have a true dining experience. You need to visit!

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2. We celebrated my hubby’s birthday at the Chef’s Counter, which we really enjoyed seeing the controlled chaos created by an excellent chef & sou chefs! We loved the food (Tomato Salad app, Red Snapper/Scallop entrees, fabulous & inspired cocktails & superior wine selection! The only thing we weren’t thrilled with is not being able to see our server, given the nature of bar seating. Still an excellent fine dining experience!

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3. Hastings has outdone himself, this time.

   So, my girlfriend and I decided to go back to Hot and Hot (our third visit) for our 3 year anniversary on Saturday night- June 22nd. The bar in this city when it comes to fine dining has been set so high, meeting and then exceeding one’s expectations is the arms race- who can do it the best?
   With Hot and Hot, and with Ovenbird, we’ve learned having a high expectation is both valid and warranted, but we never expected the entirety of the meal to be THIS IMPRESSIVE.
   Allow me to elaborate and share our experience:
   As a wine blender, step one for me before ordering anything is the wine choice. We were pleasantly surprised to see extremely good choices by the glass- and with Murder point raw oysters being available, the choice was clear- a glass of Picpoul de pinet each. A perfect pair for oysters and obviously placed on the menu for this reason. And the oysters were PERFECT. Of course how can you go wrong with murder point, Alabama raws… but there’s good, and then there’s these. Imagine an oyster so delicious, nothing else is needed.
   Ordering our second course and the entrees is where everything went from incredible to extraordinary. A chance for our server, Kevin, to go above and beyond. And he went beyond and then the clouds… and then space.
   As I was making my selections, I initially thought to pair the duck with blueberry with the tempernillo. It is my favorite varietal of red and I expected it would work well with the duck. However, our incredible server KEVIN quickly acted and instead suggested a different option- an off menu Cab blend. Seeing my skepticism, instead of explaining the cab further, he quickly went and grabbed a splash instead. He didn’t ask. He didn’t hesitate. He just did it. And that’s the single best way to do it- a wine I’ve never had? I’ll need to see for myself. One SMELL of this blend was all I needed to know the perfect pairing he had concocted. The cab- A post and Beam from Napa- had smooth, blueberry notes, shockingly perfect for a duck with a blueberry Gastrique.
   We chose the Crudo for our second course- again pairing with the picpoul perfectly. Fresh, delicious, and a perfect Segway into our main courses.
   The duck was quite literally divinity on a plate and the accompanying Pave was cooked so perfectly, I was questioning my sanity. My girlfriend went with the amberjack and we were blown away by the flavor and the texture of the fish. Once again- cooked so perfectly! I wouldn’t usually include an empty plate in the post, but I want to emphasize the notion that if I felt it appropriate to do so, I would have licked the plate. The amberjack was simply stunning and the duck was the best I’ve had in my life.

   All the while, we received the absolute best service we’ve had in birmingham, and that is saying A TON. Never camping, but extremely attentive, Kevin (and his accompanying S.A) made our anniversary perfect down to the smallest of details. The steps of service were so perfect and spot on, it was even part of the discussion with my girlfriend during the meal.

   Lastly, dessert. You can see I went with the incredible blueberry Leche- completing the theme built by our server, Kevin. It was so delicious and so perfectly sized, I’m thrilled we chose to order two desserts instead of sharing 1 as we tend to do.
   But THAT in itself was also due to the meal. The portions are perfectly sized, allowing this to be possible. Instead of being so full and miserable that we couldn’t enjoy dessert and the rest of our night, the amount of food per course was perfectly balanced and portioned.

   The reality is this: “Hot and Hot” would have a Michelin Star in its name if the damn trail respected Birmingham enough to come here. I can’t stress enough how important it is to try this restaurant and see for yourself how impressive an experience you will have.
   If you’re a foodie, respect wine and food, and want your mind blown, this is your spot.

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4. Our first time at their “new” location in Pepper Place. The atmosphere is aligned with the trendy industrial/loft motif that so many other restaurants in Birmingham seem to emulate. While the new location is certainly upscale and nice enough, I really do miss their old location off Highland Avenue with its eclectic features like glass block, hexagon tiled floor and curved architecture. Two things that haven’t changed by the move to the new location are the excellent service and the amazing food! Following a round of pre-dinner cocktails and an appetizer of their well-loved H&H tomato salad, I had an entree of oven roasted snapper and the hubby had soft shell crab. Everything about our experience at Hot and Hot this evening was superb!

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5. Location with free parking….A+
   Atmosphere……A+
   Service…. A+
   Bar tender/ Drink mix…..A+
   Food.. …very eclectic style on the eyes. So many interesting dishes. My opinion, my palate… I enjoyed interesting foods but, I would have enjoyed it more it there may have been a touch of seasoning.

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