Saturday, January 13, 2024

Who Owns SuperHero Chefs?

 

 


SuperHero Chefs is located at 104 South Main in Tuscumbia and has a sister store in Huntsville. The eatery has always made big news, both for its excellent food and the fact that owner Darnell Ferguson had come up from a rough Philadelphia background to establish himself as a noted chef.

Two years ago, Mr. Ferguson and his "blended family of wife and eight children" moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he's been in the news since last week. Readers have asked if Ferguson still owns the extremely popular restaurant.

This was posted on the store's Facebook page: Superhero Chefs is a superhero-themed restaurant that serves urban eclectic American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.Superhero Chefs Tuscumbia is owned by local business owner Larry Lewis.




We believe that Mr. Lewis has owned the restaurant for about two years. As for Mr. Ferguson? The charges against him are very serious. We sincerely hope the chef can work things out for the sake of his family and continue to rise in the culinary world.


Shoalanda


Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Jack's - Florence Boulevard

 



I hadn't had Jack's fried chicken tenders in, well, like years. There was just never a convenient time or a close store when considering fast food. But today I took off work early and hubs is out of town, making the perfect time to stop by as I ran an odd errand.

The parking lot at Jack's on Florence Boulevard was basically empty, but there were cars in the drive-thru. I wasn't sure about their current use of seasoning on fries, so I decided to go in. The dining room appeared to have one customer and no line, so I thought it would be quick. My mistake.

The young lady behind the counter was making milkshakes, very slowly, and didn't acknowledge my presence. Then a manager appeared (she had a nose ring dangling from her nostrils), but she whished around, returning to the back without a word. Time drew on. The girl with the milkshakes left the back and went outside to a waiting car. Still no "hello" or "sorry you're having to wait" when she came back in.

While waiting on service, I had time to look around the store. The kitchen walls had employee certificates randomly taped here and there. An open box with a Christmas tree and red decorations leaned against the same wall. Hadn't anyone had time to take it to the proper storage room in the ten days since New Year's?

Finally, the young woman asked for my order. She said all the fries currently "up" had seasoning. Strange, the ones in my order didn't have any. When she repeated my order she had inserted an extra order of fries. That was quickly corrected. Then I had a rather short uneventful wait for my food.

How was it? Fries were fresh with no seasoning, just as I like them. All was good until the third fry when I had to pull a long plastic string from it. I couldn't decide where the clear plastic had originated, but since it wasn't organic, I wasn't that perturbed. The counter girl had given me two souffle cups of sauce, so extra points for that.

The chicken? There was an unusual taste. New seasoning? I'm not so sure; it almost tasted as if the tenders had been cooked in oil previously used for another food. Not a really good thought or taste.

Yes, it's difficult to hire and retain employees right now. Still with having to wait six minutes to be acknowledged, the condition of the store, and that plastic string in my french fries, I'm giving Jack's only three stars out of five.

Oh, did I mention the health rating was 89?


Cherry Pitts







Thursday, January 4, 2024

Sergio's Bar & Grill

 




I know; 'Not another Mexican restaurant...' But; it isn't. Trust me.

'Sergio's', located in the Foodland Plaza in Sheffield, is anything BUT 'another Mexican restaurant'.

To me, at least, most Mexican food has a tendency to 'taste like everything else' on the menu. Not at Sergio's. Curious, I asked 'why?'. Answer: Sergio's gets their spices and seasonings directly from Mexico.

My wife and I dined (as opposed to ate) at Sergio's for lunch yesterday after church. She had the quacamole (fantastic doesn't do it justice), grilled corn and zucchini, and Street Tacos. I had Grilled Chicken Fajitas. ¡Dios Mio!

Try it. If you don't approve, send me your receipt.




Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Whataburger Opens November 30th



 


Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 30th. Whataburger is coming to Florence and has a hamburger with your name on it.


History of Whataburger


The Shoals area's first Whataburger is located at 1554 Florence Boulevard across from Auto Zone. It will open its doors at 11:00 a.m. just in time for the lunch rush. Don't worry - there's a state of the art drive-thru.

See you there!



Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Are Subway's In-Store Sliced Meat Sandwiches Really Better?

 



Subway is a chain that's been struggling for some time. In its effort to stay relevant, not to mention afloat, the chain has introduced sandwich meat sliced in the store while you wait. Is it better than the packaged slices previously used?

We asked an expert butcher:

* Freshness: Meat sliced in store is typically cut from a larger piece of meat just before you buy it, so it is fresher than pre-sliced meats. This means that it will have a better flavor and texture.

* Less processing: Meat sliced in store is typically less processed than pre-sliced meats. This is because it does not need to be packaged and shipped, which means that it does not need to contain as many preservatives and additives.

Our personal take? We tried the roast beef at the Tuscaloosa Street location and couldn't tell a difference. 

Now if only the franchises would be required to keep two employees on duty at all times.


Cherry Pitts 


Monday, November 6, 2023

The Pour House at Coldwater Bar & Grille is Officially Closed

 




The Pour House at Coldwater Bar & Grille has closed. We can see why they ran out of money - the eatery's name was so long that the owners spent all their capital on lettering.

Just who were the owners? According to a June 2022 news article, the Tuscumbia restaurant was the property of Ashley Morrow, Skip Nichols, and Josh Kelley, who also run the Palace Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop in the downtown area.

Customers have posted online about poor food, "nasty" drinks, and employees being told of the closing only four to eight hours before the event. Others have suggested capital was a problem. 

Clearly, the food portions decreased over time. The lunch sandwich from June 2022:



The lunch sandwich from June 2023:



While the Pour House's Facebook page has been removed, one of its last entries suggested the owners were looking for a buyer to take over the mid-sized eatery. It's possible the Pour House could reopen at a later date, and extremely likely that a new restaurant will soon appear on the busy downtown corner.



Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Jerk's Caribbean Bar & Grill Closes

 



Jerk's Caribbean Bar & Grill on Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield opened just last April. Now it's closed. Its Facebook page indicates that Monday, October 30th, was the eatery's last day and offered marked-down food and wine.

The mid-sized restaurant described itself as "a modern fusion between Jamaican and Caribbean flavors. Such offerings as Jerk Chicken, Red Wine Bar" and had seemingly been well-received in the Shoals. Our food critic J. Redmon has been preparing a review of the food - which he loved.

Jerk's was not the first restaurant to fail at 215 North Montgomery Avenue. We wish the owner the best in future endeavors and look forward to the next eatery to occupy that Sheffield location.