Fabulous Food in Huntsville

Today over at Hip Homeschool Moms, I shared Caramelized Onion Chicken Salad – a recipe that can be whipped up in minutes from previously made “foundational crockpot chicken.”

See the pictorial for these yummy sandwiches: HERE

Today my husband and I headed over to the beautiful Huntsville Botanical Gardens for a wonderful event from the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce called Fabulous Food. And fabulous it was!

This was my first time visiting the Botanical Gardens, and I was impressed with what a lovely location it was. Even with autumn in full swing, and leaves beginning to fall, the gardens were gorgeous. I look forward to visiting this place again soon, to take in all of the natural beauty.

The event took place in “The Arbor.” It is a quaint facility that to me had a bit of a Tuscan feel to it. My first impressions, were that this would be such a nice place to hold an event or even a wedding. Mind you, I just moved from Alaska. “Quaint” and “lovely” are not terms that are used for most places up there, rather you would see “rustic,” “spartan” or “utilitarian,” so this was certainly a change of pace from what I had grown accustomed to over the past few years.

After a couple announcements, we began making our way around the room. There were several restaurants represented here, even including a hotel – The Westin, and they brought a sampling of their catering fare: deliciously delicate “Strawberry Michelles” which were slices of strawberry in a sour cream & brown sugar glaze with whipped cream & mint leaf. What a great way to start!

Next on the list was Apple Lane Honey Glazed Hams. Let me say, that if I didn’t know my husband LOVED my cooking, I might have been a little “miffed” at his reaction to tasting their ham.

Their banana pudding was delicate and creamy without being overpoweringly sweet. ‘Nana Pudding – what a classic southern dessert!

Tortora’s Italian restaurant served up several dishes including their Tuscan Chicken pasta, and of course they had traditional Italian pizza.

In the mood for some amazing potato salad and smokey meats? Granville’s Gourmet Ribs and Barbecue has just what you are looking for. Meaty ribs prepared with a signature rub and smoked with hickory and red oak make for such rich flavor, both my carnivore husband and I were very pleased.

Another thing my husband was very thrilled with, was Firehouse Sub’s new “Captain Sorensen’s” Sauce. When we traveled across the continent this summer, Firehouse Subs was a place we stopped for lunch, because they have a variety of sandwiches and a rainbow of sauces to choose from. They are a definite step up from fast food when you are looking for a sandwich on the road like we were.

Landry’s served up ahi tuna that was broiled and seasoned along with one of their melt-in-your-mouth desserts – a heavenly cinnamon bread pudding. Simply elegant.

As if one plate of barbecue wasn’t enough, my husband was doubly in heaven as there was a second round of barbecue represented, this from Dreamland. Both restaurants’ versions of BBQ ribs were delicious, but completely different from each other. It was really impossible to pick which we would like more.

Driving around town, there have been a few times that I saw the sign for this restaurant, and was very curious as to what sort of place. Honestly, bowls of ramen noodles popped into my mind. Well, Nothing But Noodles might sound humble, but their pasta dishes are hardly “ramen” – they are full of rich flavor, like their Chicken Pomodora Pasta.

But of all the fares we had to sample today, I had to save my favorite for last. Now I enjoy “sweets” but I almost never go to a bakery and buy any. Why? Because I like sweet, but I don’t like SWEET! Most of the time when I try baked goods, I find that the things that are prepared are so sweet all you can taste is the sugar. Well, Mason Dixon is a whole different story. Today Ashley Ramirez had a delightful sampling of goods for us to try – goods that were gluten free, and some even “paleo.” I sat there and looked at the table for a while, and honestly couldn’t decide where to start. Cranberry tarts? Apple cinnacakes? Mini Pecan pies? Well, I decided to go for her flourless chocolate torte.

You ever take a bite of something and it was so good it forced your eyes to close, and momentarily left you speechless? Yeah. That’s what happened to me when a bite of these hit my tongue. Needless to say when all of the participants cast their votes for their favorites today, Mason Dixon got mine.

Being new to Huntsville, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this event today, and how grateful I am that I received an invitation to it. My husband and I enjoy going out for the occasional “date night” but over the years we have rarely ever gone to a restaurant more than once. Most evenings we enjoy our time together, but leave disappointed and think about “where do we try next time?” To me, Huntsville is a foodie’s dream. I have been so impressed with what I have seen and tasted here, and we have only been here a few short months.

If you are planning an event in the Huntsville area, and are looking for ideas for caterers, I can honestly say every one of the establishments represented today would make an excellent choice. And trust me, I am very hard to impress.

Note – this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.