dining at the best restaurant in america…wearing ‘trash’

The hub and I have been going on early mid-week dates for the past couple of months. Usually it’s something quick and local. Last night Matt upped the anti with reservations at Highlands Bar & Grill – ya know just the best restaurant in America per the James Beard Foundation. Nbd.

For the non foodies James Beard awards are basically the Oscars for restaurants, and Highlands won the big prize in May of this year after years of being nominated. Sorta like Leonard Decaprio finally winning for The Revenant. Located in downtown Birmingham, AL, it was just a little over an hour and half drive from our house. We decided to take work off early and embark on a mini road trip.

The chef, Frank Stitt, is a world renowned chef born right here in Cullman, AL. He’s a master of elevated southern cuisine – the perfect balance of refined, yet not fussy food. This is a breath of fresh air after experiencing many campy ‘southern’ restaurants in Chicago that served some decent cornbread and thought they were revolutionary. His cookbook, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table, was a wedding gift, and is of the only cookbooks that I actually use. I highly recommend it – you can buy it here.

You might think I would shy away from wearing my thrifted threads on such a fancy occasion, but you’d be wrong! I relish the opportunity to make my closet of ‘trash’ shine! Since it’s officially Fall, and this is a southern occasion, I broke out the plaid.

I wore this conservative no brand black and white printed dress ($8). It’s not maternity, so I said a prayer that the seams were strong as a stretched it over my 6 month bump. Luckily, there were no wardrobe malfunctions. My shoes are the only thing not thrifted.

For some interest, I added another pattern – a vintage tan blazer ($1, yes I purchased this for a mere dollar). I kept the accessories simple – brown Fossil cross body bag ($40), a gold bracelet ($6) and pearls…I lied these were also not thrifted, but I had to wear pearls, right?

Matt is wearing Hunt Shop too! I used to thrift items for Matt, but after many many rejected finds, I’ve stopped trying. However, this sweatshirt material blazer was one of the VERY few winners. I didn’t even ask him to wear it tonight. He wore the little lapel pin that I bought for him from a local artist at the Huntsville Fashion week finale. How charming is this place?? A little early for our 5:30 reservation (omg we are old), we enjoyed a drink at the bar. I finally found a mocktail that makes me miss real cocktails a little less. Matt had the pecan old fashioned. I stole a sip, and it was like buttah.Traditional yet stylish decor.I bet Matt wishes I looked at him like I look at shrimp. For starters, we had the stone ground baked grits and Gulf shrimp and crab meat Louis. The grits were rich and creamy, and mushrooms were to die for. This is one of the dishes that’s been on the menu since it opened in 1982, and I can see why. The Louis was light and flavorful.We shared the Lamb shank and duck breast for our main course. Both were very hearty. The Duck was classic with a red wine sauce that had the perfect amount of sweetness. The shank was almost like a stew without the liquid – rustic and flavorful.For dessert we had the traditional creme brûlée with fresh berries and pistachio cookies. Shocker – it was wonderful!

The entire meal classic and executed impeccably with service that left nothing to be desired. By 7:30, we were done dining and on our way back to Huntsville. The early bird special ain’t so bad.

Speaking of early bird, I have one more fun fact for you. There was a gentleman and his wife sitting next to us (on the same side of the table) who obviously knew many of the employees and patrons. The maitre d’ told us that he is 100 YEARS OLD and has been coming here every Wednesday since it opened. Every Tuesday he visits their sister restaurant and orders crab cakes. Goals.

I don’t think we can make it every week, but we’ll definitely be back to try all the things.

Wall of fame. Oddly, they didn’t ask me to sign a menu. Maybe one day when I become a famous thrift blogger…