I know we've talked a good bit about the tournament location & the bidding process, but who all is actually planning on coming to Birmingham for the tournament this year?

I posted a lot of recommendations in another thread recently, but I'm happy to give you guys some recommendations for places around town if you want them.

I'm not confident we'll see a run from my Blazers, but should be some entertaining basketball.

Sure I'll take a few eating suggestions

(03-06-2017 12:07 AM)Doots4Dawgs Wrote:  Sure I'll take a few eating suggestions

Here's the list I posted a couple weeks ago. Probably more than you need, but better to have too much info than not enough IMO.

Breweries:
-Good People (oldest B'ham brewery, downtown by the baseball stadium). Not walking distance to BJCC, but it's the closest one to the arena. It is however, walking distance to Bartow if you're going to the women's games.
-Avondale (small inside bar, but very large outdoor space). Located on a neighborhood st with a lot of restaurants
-Trim Tab (slightly more artsy)
-Cahaba (just moved to cool, brand new space & has free skiball). Also in Avondale area.
-Ghost Train (I haven't been there, but it's the newest brewery)

Here's some other places I'd recommend:

Restaurants:
-Uptown district (mostly chain places, but it's right next to the BJCC for convenience. Has Todd English Pub, Texas de Brazil, The Southern, Cantina Laredo, Mugshots, Your Pie, & Octane)
-Paramount (barcade with solid burgers)
-El Barrio (great mexican place with good margaritas)
-Bamboo on 2nd (sushi)
-Slice (pizza)
-Post Office Pies (pizza, next door to Avondale Brewery)
-Fancy's on 5th (burgers & oysters near Avondale Brewery)
-Melt (grilled cheese near Avondale Brewery)
-Five (american food
-5 Points Public House (gastropub)
-Babalu Tacos & Tapas
-Skycastle (gastropub)
-The Pizitz Food Hall (brand new concept downtown. Food Hall with 12 different restaurants. Here's the website: http://www.thepizitz.com/food-hall/ )
-Hattie B's Hot Chicken (branch location of the popular Nashville restaurant)
-Jack Brown's (chain, but good burgers and beer)
-John's City Diner
-Roots & Revelry
-Chez Fon Fon

Bars:
-J Clyde (huge craft beer selection)
-Black Market
-Blue Monkey (martini lounge)
-Carrigans (craft beer & craft cocktail place)
-Collins Bar (craft cocktails. You just tell the waiter what flavors you like in a cocktail and they make custom drinks)
-Atomic Lounge (just opened so I haven't been, but it's getting a lot of talk. Decor is a 1950s living room)
-Parkside (solid bar in the Avondale area)
-Pale Eddies
-The Marble Ring (speakeasy place in the Avondale area. You enter through a phone booth inside a hot dog restaurant)
-Dave's (hole in the wall bar in 5 points. Very casual place with a couple dart boards in the back)
-Garage Cafe (large patio with an eclectic collection of antique decorations. Cash only)

If you're looking for party bars:
-Tin Roof
-Innisfree
-Sidebar
-Nana Funks

That's probably way more info than you wanted! Birmingham has a great lineup of fine dining places, but I haven't included those here. I can post those as well if anyone is interested.

Bolded the Pizitz Food Hall. I highly recommend checking it out. It just opened two weeks ago and has a good variety of food types from local places. It's on the 1st floor of an old department store building downtown that just finished a $60M renovation.

Thanks Ill see how these line up with a hotel location!

(03-06-2017 12:20 AM)Doots4Dawgs Wrote:  Thanks Ill see how these line up with a hotel location!

These places are mostly in the downtown/close to downtown areas.

Win or lose I'll be at about half the games due to work schedule.

Taking off of work on Friday, and headed down as soon as I drop my daughter off at school (7:15 am).

I'm bringing my 4-year-old son who has memorized all of our players numbers and names

We are meeting some of my other family members who will be in The 'Ham already.

Thanks for all recommendations. I'll pass them around to MT fans.

Do of you uab guys like to shoot? My wife's idea of a nice day is burning a couple hundred rounds of 38's and 9's. I have been eyeing the indoor range at the hoover tactical store. Any of yall have experience with it?

(03-06-2017 10:36 PM)Thegoldstandard Wrote:  Do of you uab guys like to shoot? My wife's idea of a nice day is burning a couple hundred rounds of 38's and 9's. I have been eyeing the indoor range at the hoover tactical store. Any of yall have experience with it?

I've shot there once, very nice for an indoor they used to do mag tests on your ammo so no steel/ap stuff allowed. It's nice as long as someone is offing a 44mag+ next to you that you feel the concussion of. If time there's a new outdoor range over by the Talladega Speedway that the CMP runs CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park

(03-06-2017 10:36 PM)Thegoldstandard Wrote:  Do of you uab guys like to shoot? My wife's idea of a nice day is burning a couple hundred rounds of 38's and 9's. I have been eyeing the indoor range at the hoover tactical store. Any of yall have experience with it?

Been there a couple times, but tbh I haven't been to enough ranges to know if one is actually "good" or not . Was the only person there when I went so it was nice and quiet

(03-06-2017 12:16 AM)hooverblazer Wrote:  Bolded the Pizitz Food Hall. I highly recommend checking it out. It just opened two weeks ago and has a good variety of food types from local places. It's on the 1st floor of an old department store building downtown that just finished a $60M renovation.

And I live here. I'll buy anyone who comes by a beer.

Can anyone UAB fans with young kids steer me to some things for my son to do ? (he's 4 about to be 5 in a coupla weeks)

I took him to the zoo last year.

I don't get to have him by myself very often (we have 2 other children), so it will be nice to spend some "male bonding" time with him.

(03-07-2017 02:25 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  Can anyone UAB fans with young kids steer me to some things for my son to do ? (he's 4 about to be 5 in a coupla weeks)

I took him to the zoo last year.

I don't get to have him by myself very often (we have 2 other children), so it will be nice to spend some "male bonding" time with him.

You could always make a pit stop in Huntsville and take him to the NASA museum there.

I am driving over from Atlanta in the morning

GO TOPPERS

(03-07-2017 02:25 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  Can anyone UAB fans with young kids steer me to some things for my son to do ? (he's 4 about to be 5 in a coupla weeks)

I took him to the zoo last year.

I don't get to have him by myself very often (we have 2 other children), so it will be nice to spend some "male bonding" time with him.

Check out the McWane Science Center.

(03-07-2017 02:25 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  Can anyone UAB fans with young kids steer me to some things for my son to do ? (he's 4 about to be 5 in a coupla weeks)

I took him to the zoo last year.

I don't get to have him by myself very often (we have 2 other children), so it will be nice to spend some "male bonding" time with him.

Hey, what's a coupla weeks? Let's call it 5 right now.

I'd suggest an introduction into some father/son drinking games. I'd further suggest you stick to beer. He's gonna get sick this first time so that beer will be easier on the esophagus coming back up than say a dark liquor like Jack.

Maybe some fine cigars after another Middle win. Since he's only 5 no inhaling.

Tell him this makes him a big boy now but only as long as he doesn't tell mom. Buy him all new clothes and throw away anything you brought down as moms have the noses of bloodhounds after a kidnapped kid.

Cigars are never inhaled, regardless of age.
Never.
Otherwise, spot on.

(03-07-2017 03:04 PM)Noodles Wrote:  Cigars are never inhaled, regardless of age.
Never.
Otherwise, spot on.

False. I inhaled the hell out of them years ago when I was into cigars. But then I was a former cigarette smoker. I know the majority don't inhale but I wasn't the only one I ever saw inhale cigars. Hella blast o' nicotine from a good cigar. To me not inhaling is like taking a good drink of liquor and swishing it around in your mouth and then spitting it out. Or smoking weed like Bill Clinton did.

But I have nothing against a cigar hipster that chooses not to inhale. To each his own.

(03-07-2017 02:53 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 02:25 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  Can anyone UAB fans with young kids steer me to some things for my son to do ? (he's 4 about to be 5 in a coupla weeks)

I took him to the zoo last year.

I don't get to have him by myself very often (we have 2 other children), so it will be nice to spend some "male bonding" time with him.

Hey, what's a coupla weeks? Let's call it 5 right now.

I'd suggest an introduction into some father/son drinking games. I'd further suggest you stick to beer. He's gonna get sick this first time so that beer will be easier on the esophagus coming back up than say a dark liquor like Jack.

Maybe some fine cigars after another Middle win. Since he's only 5 no inhaling.

Tell him this makes him a big boy now but only as long as he doesn't tell mom. Buy him all new clothes and throw away anything you brought down as moms have the noses of bloodhounds after a kidnapped kid.

Dayum Grandpa. Maybe we should rent one of those "girly" movies at the hotel, while we're at it.

Looks like I may be coming in on Thursday morning, now.

See you there ?