25 years + full bellies

Last Friday was my 25th birthday and Jesse took me out to a wonderful dinner at the historic Bright Star in Bessemer - "Alabama's Oldest Restaurant."  It began in 1907 and moved to its current location in 1915, and is stilled owned and operated by the original family. They are famous for their steak, which has been voted the best in the state of Alabama. It's in a beautiful old building that has been well maintained through the years, leaving you with a fancy mom-and-pop kind of feel. Literally everything we ate was delicious and truly tasted homemade.

We were seated by one of the owners, who was welcoming and obviously proud of his establishment.  He walked us toward the back and seated me in "Sandra Bullock's chair."  Apparently the Bright Star is her father's favorite restaurant, and in 2010 Sandra (we're on a first-name basis now) took him and many of their friends here for Father's Day.

celebrity birthday treatment? why not?

After the owner heard it was our first time at the restaurant, he brought us each a small cup of their gumbo before our waitress had time to bring us drinks. The roux was dark and made it deep and delicious.

We order stuffed mushrooms and fried green tomatoes for appetizers, then split the dinner sampler entree which came with a crisp Greek salad.

(this dish was supposed to have the shrimp and remoulade on top, but we separated it since I'm allergic)

Their famous steak with Greek sauce, grilled chicken, and red snapper.

Surprisingly the chicken was our least favorite, but we had so many more options we didn't mind.

We were so stuffed we had to order our desserts to go. I mean, it was my birthday.. I had to have dessert! Jesse ordered their famous Lemon Box Pie, and I ordered Baklava Cheesecake. We debated on the bread pudding, but decided against it. Our waitress surprised us with a complementary sample though, and it was warm and gooey and amazing, without being soggy or too sweet. I mean, she pretty much forced me to eat it. (Just kidding... you guys know it doesn't take much.)

We were really impressed with the Bright Star. We really enjoyed our meal and appreciated the genuine friendliness of the staff. It is a little bit more expensive than our normal eating out, but I would recommend it for a special occasion. 

The next day we ate our desserts. Jesse's lemon pie was light and fluffy, topped with whipped cream, and was also not as sweet as you would expect, letting the lemon shine through. And my Baklava Cheesecake... oh my! A creamy cheesecake-like center rolled in baklava and drizzled with honey - it was magical.  And I'm pretty sure we ate 4 times off of one dessert!