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Things to Do in Birmingham This Weekend
Birmingham’s rich history and enduring culture offer residents access to some of Alabama’s best food, bars, museums, and entertainment. Our Union at Cooper Hill team has put together a list of our favorite restaurants and activities so residents can skip the fluff and get right to the good stuff.
Top 5 Restaurants In Birmingham
Café Dupont
Sitting inside a quaint, redbrick two story in downtown Birmingham, Café Dupont is known to be one of the city’s most revered eateries. First opened in 1994 by chef Chris Dupont, the restaurant draws inspiration from the “slow food movement,” a philosophy prioritizing fresh, local ingredients and the farmers who cultivate them. This means that the menu at Café Dupont is heavily influenced by Chris’ connections with local farmers throughout Alabama and the surrounding states.
Patrons are treated to an intimate ambiance that is perfect for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. The menu changes daily and features farm-to-table heavy hitters like the grilled ribeye, smoked duck breast, and braised Mississippi rabbit. These entrees can be paired with handmade cocktails and internationally renowned wines. There’s no doubt— the culinary team at Café Dupont goes above and beyond every time.
Bongiorno Italian Restaurant
When it comes to Italian cuisine, there’s nothing better than a family owned and operated restaurant. That’s because tradition is at the heart of the culture and recipes for sauces, pastas, and other dishes have often been passed down from generation to generation.
At Bongiorno Italian Restaurant in Crestline Village, you will find exactly that— a family run trattoria that honors tradition at every step of the way. It was founded in 1988 by Guiseppe Magnolia who moved to Birmingham from New York, bringing with him years of experience from the famous and fast paced food scene.
The Bongiorno menu is built around homemade pastas, seafood, entrees, calzones, and pizza. Fans of Bongiorno highlight the baked lasagna, the seafood fettuccine, the meat lover’s pizza, and the “Veal Lorenzo” topped with crab, shrimp, mushrooms, and marsala cream. YUM. After the meal, top it off with a dessert wine or a very tasty strawberry tiramisu.
Golden Rule BBQ
Golden Rule BBQ holds the unique title of being one of America’s oldest barbecue joints. Going all the way back to 1891, the Golden Rule has been serving Alabama-style pit BBQ for over 100 years! It’s an impressive feat that has everything to do with their commitment to serving up the highest quality barbecue. The menu is short, sweet, and complete with classics like baby back ribs, smoked turkey, and the pulled pork sandwich, all of which are topped with homemade BBQ sauce. Golden Rule has also perfected the tried-and-true sides like mac n’ cheese, coleslaw, and potato salad.
The legendary restaurant is sits inside an unassuming building just off Highway 78 on the east side of Birmingham and is marked with a big, red sign and American flag. Inside, the old school atmosphere and friendly service provides the perfect lowkey environment for enjoying a hearty meal. Lucky for residents of The Union at Cooper Hill, the original Golden Rule location is just a short drive from the community.
Iron City Pizza Company
The phrase “Trust In The Crust” is emblazoned across the homepage of the Iron City Pizza Company website. It’s a fitting slogan for a pizzeria that uses fresh, local ingredients to create Birmingham’s tastiest stone-fired pizzas.
Situated south of downtown in Five Points, Iron City Pizza offers an assortment of original pizza combinations. With a base of rich, flavorful tomato sauce, the “Red” options include the “5 Points 5 Meats” topped with pepperoni, sausage, salami, capicola, and bacon, the “Rickwood Roasted Red Pepper” layered with pepperoncini and jalapeno for an added kick, and the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” for the always controversial prosciutto and pineapple pizza pairing. Highlights from the “White” (made with a base of olive oil) pizza menu are the “Legion Field of Shrooms,” the “Buffalo Rockin’ Blue Bird,” and the “Peerless Pickle Pizza” garnished with house-made dill pickles.
Finish the meal with Iron City’s famous layered tiramisu and you’ll be filled to the brim!
Little Donkey
Nick Pihakis came up with the original concept for Little Donkey— a Mexican restaurant infused with intrepid accents of down-home Southern cooking. Local legend and restaurateur, Joshua Gentry got wind of the idea and decided to join the team. Over 10 years later, the Little Donkey is considered one of Homewood’s most cherished restaurants and has even opened a second location in Montgomery.
The Little Donkey is special for many reasons. The ambience is casual yet elevated, providing an effortless atmosphere that syncs with the menu and flavors. On top of this, everything, including the salsa and tortillas, is prepared in house daily by their dedicated team. For a taste of Mexican-Southern fusion try the fried chicken sandwich glazed with chipotle crema, the gulf shrimp tacos, or the beef brisket fajitas. Pair this with one of their famous cocktails and you have yourself one heck of a meal.
Top 5 Things To Do In Birmingham
With over 25 gardens, The Birmingham Botanical Gardens offers visitors a serene environment to slow down and bask in the endless wonders of nature. Each garden tells a unique story, centered around a particular theme. For example, the Japanese garden is designed to put you in a meditative state, complete with a shrine-like teahouse and a bamboo grove with 34 different bamboo species. There are also multiple areas like the Kaul Wildflower Garden where native plants take center stage— signature dogwood blooms, black-eyed Susans, and wild geraniums. You’ll also find English-inspired gardens like the Dunn Rose Garden where visitors can walk along brick paths lined with modern roses of all colors that stay in perpetual bloom.
The calendar stays active at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, including gardening classes from seasons pros, flower arrangement workshops, and a movie night series called “Flicks Among the Flowers.”
After years of developing his passion for motorsports, Alabama businessman and real estate mogul George Barber decided to realize his dream of owning the world’s largest motorcycle collection. He put some elbow grease into it, and by 1994 had created the Barber Motorsports Park, a sprawling 880-acre park that features a museum, a racetrack, and walkways.
The museum houses Barber’s exceptional collection of cars and motorcycles which are taken care of by a team of local experts who keep them in pristine condition. The 16-turn road course is used to test and showoff those vehicles. Visitors are often impressed by the care given to maintaining the vehicles, as well as the immaculate landscaping and overall attention to detail.
Located just east of the city, the Barber Motorsports Park is only 20 minutes away from The Union at Cooper Hill. As one of America’s most well-loved racetracks, this is a must-see for motor heads of all kinds.
Back in the days when Birmingham was rapidly developing around its booming iron and steel industry, industrialists of all kinds flocked to the city to make their mark. One of these was businessman Rick Woodward, a West Virginian native and MIT graduate with a passion for baseball. As his name and notoriety grew, so did his vision. On August 18th of 1910, through grit and determination Rick Woodward opened the doors of Rickwood Field, a minor league ballpark that became the city’s central baseball hub. For decades, it was the home of The Birmingham Barons.
Today, Rickwood Field is known as America’s oldest baseball park and stands as a stunning relic, revealing the history behind our country’s favorite pastime. Functioning as a museum in the 21st century, visitors can enjoy self-guided tours or more comprehensive tours with history and baseball buffs who elucidate the ballpark’s legendary timeline.
At McWane Science Center, they like to say that curiosity has no age limit. That’s because the exhibits here are designed to fascinate every visitor that walks through the door.
McWane houses permanent exhibits like the Rushton Theater, an area devoted to the study of electricity, the Alabama Dinosaurs exhibit, filled with real life fossils and skeletons, and a lower-level dedicated aquariums featuring both marine and freshwater species. On top of this, McWane has a colossal IMAX Dome that hosts screenings in surround sound and high definition. It’s an immersive experience that brings the science to life.
The center also hosts special, temporary exhibits that keep things fresh for visitors and team members alike. Be sure to check their website and calendar for updates. McWane is also the ideal place to host gatherings like birthdays and corporate meetings. You can contact the staff for more information.
“They just don’t make ‘em like they used to” is a cliché phrase that can be applied to a wide range of objects, from armoires to cars, and grandfather clocks to guitars. The same can also be said of theaters. At the beginning of the 20th century, flashy vaudeville venues were a staple of every major downtown area. They were social centers where people could see and been seen in full regalia, all while enjoying entertainers that traveled throughout the American circuit. Opening its doors in 1914, The Lyric Theatre was Birmingham’s premier theatre for vaudeville, plays, and musical performances.
Now, after a multimillion-dollar restoration, and with over 100 years of entertainment history, The Lyric Theatre is shining bright as ever. At every show, visitors are treated to a stunning interior the blends royal blue seating and curtains with ornate golden décor. The calendar is consistently filled with local and national touring acts who bring their talents to The Magic City.