Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week

When Forrest and Christin Brown couldn't find ice cream in downtown Tuscaloosa for their three kids, they had an idea to change that. This summer, their ice cream business approaches its one-year anniversary.

The heart of Downtown Northport is City Cafe, which has been pumping since 1931. But just up the block, on the corner of Main Avenue and 5th Street, a younger anchor has spent the last 13 years quietly reshaping Saturdays downtown.

Jerica and Scott Whittle's Turbo Coffee is a family-owned space built around unique, seasonal drinks and the fresh, house-made food to go with them.

When Melvin Cannon decided to open his own restaurant after more than two decades in some of Tuscaloosa's best-known kitchens, he had no interest in joining the pack downtown.

For nearly 50 years, Tuscaloosa's home for healthy foods has been Manna Grocery and Deli. There, shoppers can find clean, fresh, and often locally sourced ingredients to take back home, or stop in for a bite to eat in-house.

Dozens of locally owned and loved restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and more are rolling out special dishes and discounts later this month as the newly extended Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week returns.

For many in the Tuscaloosa area, the first thought when someone mentions a sit-down meal is the Avenue Pub - practically a knee-jerk reaction after it has dominated the downtown scene for more than a decade.

A still-evolving food hall in the center of Tuscaloosa County has something for everyone at one of its five restaurants and can quickly accommodate groups of any size.

We're previewing Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week with features highlighting some of the best spots in the Druid City. Today features Jake's Soul Food Cafe on McFarland Boulevard, where Caribbean cuisine and southern classics combine.

We're previewing Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week with features highlighting some of the best spots in the Druid City, starting at Sugo Italian Restaurant where, after a year of success, Christian Williams still wants every dish to feel like "the most important meal ever."