Hungry Hungry Huntsville

What Huntsville restaurants would you add to this lineup?

The Michelin Guide recently shared its list of iconic Southern foods as well as some of the best restaurants serving them, and two Alabama eateries were among the ranks.

🍝 Decatur folks… talk to me.

Has anyone eaten at Mother’s Italian Kitchen yet?

I’ll drop the menu link in the comments, but the new concept food photos caught my eye. The restaurant is built around authentic Italian recipes passed down through generations of the Locascio family, with Chef Michael Locascio bringing his classical training and international experience into the kitchen. Think house-made pastas and traditional Italian dishes meant to feel like sitting down at somebody’s family table.

Now here’s where I need the local food jury.

Is it good?
Is it “drive across the river” good?

Growing up in North Alabama, restaurants hold memories for me as much as menus. I still think about going with my family to our favorite places like BB Perrins and Shelley’s Iron Gate.

So let’s hear it 👇

Decatur roll call:
what are the

• Best restaurants right now
• Restaurants you still miss
• Hidden gems people from Huntsville should be driving over for

Bonus points if it involves pasta, garlic bread, or something covered in cheese because y’all know that’s my love language.

(Menu in comments.)
📸 from Mother’s Italian Kitchen FB page

🚀 HUNTSVILLE FOOD QUESTION

You’ve got $20 to spend and you’re starving.
Where are you going?

One of our moves? A Big Papa Gyro combo + dip 🫓
A warm gyro wrap piled high with meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, feta, and tzatziki… plus we love adding a side of hummus or baba ghanoush to round it out. Simple, filling, and always hits the spot.

Now it’s your turn.

👇 What’s the best below $20 meal in Huntsville?

Has anyone been here?

Over by the batteries, ladies’ clothing, and produce section is where you’ll find Pita Mediterranean Street Food.

Pita recently opened inside a Huntsville Walmart, and the food served at the location includes tasty, handmade dishes offered at a solid value. 😋

Their bestselling menu items include gyros and shawarmas, Dhara Patel, whose family owns the restaurant, says. “We don’t have anything premade,” she adds. “It’s all made fresh. I love working here. Good food, good customers, good feeling, you know?”

Read more about it in the comments below. ⬇️

Alright Huntsville… REAL TALK. Chime in!
Where are you going for BRUNCH this weekend? 🍳🥞

We’re building the *Rocket City Brunch Map* for Hungry Hungry Huntsville and want to hear from the locals.

👇 Drop your favorite brunch spots below.

We’ve already got a running list started that we’ll put in the comments. Some we’ve visited, some we haven’t yet… but that’s the fun part.

🍇🥯🍾🧇🥞🥐
Tag the restaurant if you want so we can all discover some new spots and follow them!

Sometimes the best meals start with a scroll.
A few weeks back I saw a photo of a bologna sandwich while scrolling socials and suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about it. It wasn’t just a bologna sandwich to me.

That craving was fulfilled this week during our daytime walk… which turned into a library visit… which turned into lunch and Conversation at BawBaw’s BBQ in Athens.

Ryan ordered the brisket sandwich and I of course secured the Buster Burger!

🍔 A thick slab of pit-smoked bologna with crispy blackened edges and melty cheese, tucked inside a soft Wonder Bread bun with a swipe of mayo. It’s The kind of sandwich that tastes like childhood lunches and backyard cookouts… but shows up looking like a gussied up Southern celebrity. We added beans, slaw, and finished things off with banana pudding.

Everything was as awesome as it looks, but what I loved very most was the story. Bawbaw’s is tucked inside an old church on Madison street downtown, and we ended up chatting with the owners and learning about the new North Alabama pitmaster — a cotton farmer turned barbecue man. He hand built the wall behind the counter and there are nods to his cotton farming roots ♥️

After nearly two decades of food writing and deep personal loss, I’ve learned food is always about more than what’s on the plate. It’s about the stories, the people, and the memories tied to a place. And honestly, some of the best ones happen when I’m not on assignment and the conversation just flows naturally.

I’m really loving the small-town pace of stopping, talking to people, and hearing those stories again. That kind of human connection can feel like a lost art sometimes, especially after years in Nashville. That’s why I’m excited to start sharing more North Alabama spots and organizing some Hungry Hungry Huntsville meetups — highlighting hidden gems and the stories behind them. 🍖

✨📍 Bawbaw’s BBQ
310 Madison St
Athens, Alabama