We didn’t want to make the long drive to Destin in one day and arrive exhausted, so I checked back with the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa where we had stayed several years before about another press visit for a night or two. The hotel is one of several listed on the Robert T. Jones Golf Trail and is an absolutely fabulous place to stay. All the hotels have top-notch golf courses along with fabulous hotels, restaurants, and gorgeous views of the grounds. With a Scottish influence in the decorations and decor along the a bagpiper who pipes every evening on the grounds, you might think you have actually been transported to Scotland.
Front of the gorgeous resort
We made our way to the lovely hotel and were once again impressed with how beautiful the grounds are at this resort. Golfers will go crazy while staying at one of the gorgeous hotels on this golf trail. Scottish influence is felt all over the hotel, from the lovely decorating to the fabulous Bagpiper who pipes every evening.
Bagpiper at the Resort
We relaxed in our room and had a quick bite in the lovely dining room downstairs, then fell into bed since we had a wonderful tour scheduled with Birmingham Taste Tours. We couldn’t wait to starting tasting some of the lovely local specialties! We rolled out of bed early the next morning and headed to the hotel where we were to meet to being the tour. We had received an email that we were the only members of the tour group so we could start a little early if we wanted. And we were all ready so we agreed to an early start!
We are amassing quite a list of wonderful foodie and restaurant tours on our blog. This is a great introduction to a city as you walk around, see the area, and sample the quite lovely local dishes. We enjoyed every minute of our day. We met up with our friendly and knowledgeable guide, Annie Reynolds from Birmingham Taste Tours. She was a wonderful guide and filled us in on the area as we walked around sampling a variety of delicious food.
Here’s what they have to say about this fabulous tour:
We are a privately owned company that offers a 3 hour walking food, drink, and historical tour to visitors and locals alike. Customers will sample eclectic tastings from Birmingham’s most authentic locally owned restaurants while walking through our neighborhoods.
We will show how Southern culture and cuisine go hand in hand through colorful stories of our city and the people who helped shape it. We will pay homage to the culinary masters who put Birmingham on the map and will give a nod to the new chefs who are taking the traditions of their predecessors and putting their own unique and modern spin on our ever growing food industry.
After reading about the tour online, we couldn’t wait to start tasting the delicious offerings and learning about Birmingham. They included at least five stops at completely different restaurants. I’m not sure exactly where we went from stop to stop, but the food was marvelous! We headed to the local hotel to meet our tour guide and immediately loved everything about her. She began our walking tour, telling us all about the area and the foods and restaurants we would be seeing.
We began our tour with fresh, lovely shrimp and grits at El Barrio and it was the perfect introduction to our morning of tasting a wide variety of wonderful food.
Fabulous food!
Fabulous shrimp and grits to begin our tour.
Annie knew all about the city and explained how boiled and different flavors of peanuts have been around since the beginning of the city. The Alabama Peanut Company has tons of different peanuts!
Entrance to the Peanuts restaurant.
She had us sit down and then stood in line to get our different peanuts to sample. I have had boiled peanuts before but these were different and scrumptious!
Plate and napkin for our peanuts.
Peanuts to sample!
These peanuts are not like any others that you eat, they are soft and chewy and delicious. Now it was time for a sandwich! Small, fresh and wonderful, this sandwich and salad were perfect!
Fresh and wonderful!
But it was time for something sweet so this waffles and chicken hit the spot!
Waffles
And to finish our wonderful food sampling, we had a freshly made pop tart and then a marvelous, warm tart.
Sweet pop tarts
Marvelous apple tart
We absolutely adored every bite that went into our mouths and the wonderful food was just the right amount since we were trying so many different things. If you are planning a visit to Birmingham, be sure to schedule one of their wonderful taste tours to sample a variety of lovely cuisines and to see the city as you stroll around. You will love it as much as we did!
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