Peach cobbler is sliced Chilton County peaches baked under a buttery biscuit or batter topping, served warm with vanilla ice cream, the canonical Alabama summer dessert.
Where to eat it: 10 restaurants across 3 cities.
Peach cobbler has been a Southern garden dessert since the 1800s, with the rise of Chilton County peach country south of Birmingham through the 20th century making the version using Chilton peaches the canonical Alabama version. The Chilton County Peach Festival in Clanton runs every June and Durbin Farms Market on US-31 anchors the day-trip drive from Birmingham. Niki's West runs the cafeteria version year-round; Big Bad Breakfast does a brunch peach cobbler.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs
Tip from the editors. Use slightly firm Chilton County peaches; very ripe peaches break down too much during baking and the filling becomes watery.
Niki's West on Finley Avenue West Birmingham has run the meat-and-three from a cafeteria steam table since 1957, opposite the Alabama Farmers Market.
Why locals love it: Tourists rarely cross the rail tracks to the Acipco-Finley district to find this 1957 cafeteria; locals queue for the catfish.
Tip: Get there by 12:30 for the fried catfish and turnip greens; weekday lunch is the peak.
Big Bad Breakfast on Highway 280 Birmingham serves John Currence's canonical Southern brunch with Conecuh sausage gravy and the buttermilk biscuit weekends.
Order: Conecuh sausage gravy and biscuit
Continental Bakery on Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Birmingham runs European-bakery brunch with the canonical sourdough, croissants and a Sunday patio crowd.
Order: Continental sourdough toast with eggs and jam
Soby's anchors the Main Street dining scene in Greenville: Carl Sobocinski's 1997 New Southern flagship in a former dry-goods store, with she-crab soup.
Signature: She-crab soup, Spicy pimento cheese, Fried green tomato Benedict
Tupelo Honey runs scratch-made Southern on the North Main corner: fried chicken biscuits, shrimp and grits, sweet potato pancakes. Asheville-born group.
Signature: Fried chicken biscuit, Shrimp and grits, Sweet potato pancakes
Henry's runs counter-service barbecue on Wade Hampton: chopped pork sandwich and a side under fifteen dollars, four South Carolina sauces on the table.
Try: Chopped pork sandwich and a side under fifteen dollars
Mrs. Wilkes has run from a Jones Street basement since 1943, $35 communal Southern home cooking at ten-person tables. Sweet potato souffle, cash or check.
Try: Communal-table Southern lunch
Sisters of the New South on Skidaway Rd in Eastside is the cafeteria-line soul-food kitchen plating oxtails, fried chicken, and stewed greens at lunch.
Why locals love it: Out on Skidaway in residential Eastside; off the tourist trail; cafeteria-line service.
Tip: Lunch only; arrive by 12:30 to beat the office crowd. Oxtails go fast on Fridays.
The Olde Pink House occupies a 1771 Georgian mansion on Reynolds Square. Formal upstairs dining and Planters Tavern walk-up basement, Balish 1992 restoration.
Vic's runs in a restored 1859 cotton warehouse on Bay Street, river views from the upstairs dining room. Classic Lowcountry with white-tablecloth service.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, She-crab soup
Order: Shrimp and grits with the Carolina shrimp sauce, plus a she-crab soup to share.
Tip: Ask for an upstairs window seat at reservation time for the Savannah River view.
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