Mike Kaylor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dining Out
Tried and True
The Right Atmosphere
Time of Day
Specialty Items

Entertainment
Pubs and Clubs

The Arts
Sports and the Outdoors
For the Little Ones

Sights

Shopping
Things for the Home
Odds and Ends
Things for the Home

Surrounding Area
Dining
Entertainment
Sights
Shopping

Miscellaneous

INDEX

Foreword by Bill Easterling

     I was 9 years old on a morning that sparkled when I first saw Madison County from the top of Brindlee Mountain, and I knew I had found my home. There were five of us jammed into a 1946 Chevrolet with suitcases, pots, pans -- just the essentials to begin a new life until our furniture arrived from Texas. My father, a government employee, had transferred to Redstone Arsenal, and I remember how uneasy we all felt when he gave us the news that we were going to some place called Alabama.
     Now on this beautiful day, after a long night's drive, he pointed his bony finger over the steering wheel and said to my mother, my two brothers and me: "There it is!" That was in 1949, and I've been in Huntsville ever since, except for a few months some years ago when I became temporarily insane and worked for a newspaper in another town. There aren't many what you'd call "original" Huntsvillians to be found, but I like to believe I qualify. For there was no "Rocket City USA" then. All that came later. In 1949, it was mostly cotton fields, pastures, Redstone Arsenal and a quiet little city about to explode at the seams. When it did explode, the noise deafened, and it is still being heard.
     Push forward, then, to the present. In the three-plus decades since I rode over Brindlee Mountain as a scared little boy, many people uprooted and replanted here and now call Huntsville home. This city has a wide assortment of peoples and cultures, customs and religions, and all have blended well to make it a unique place to live. Huntsville has it all: Modern airport, splendid civic center, gallery of night spots, restaurants to satisfy any taste, active artistic community, superb museums, ample recreation, superb business community.
     Now the hub of North Alabama has been properly documented by another of its transplated "natives." In Where to Find The Best of Huntsville, author Mike Kaylor has not only captured the flavor of my favorite city, but has also published a guide that leads the reader right to the doorstep of whatever he or she seeks. This isn't just a "where-to" book. It transcends the ordinary and takes us into cobweb-covered nooks and crannies where the heart and soul and history of this town lie hidden.
     Like many thousands of us, Mr. Kaylor has come to love this place nestled in the shelter of the mountains. He has explored Huntsville as few before him have. The result is a piece of work that all of Huntsville can be proud of, and I am delighted to have been asked to be a small part of it.

Bill Easterling was a daily columnist for The Huntsville Times. He died of cancer in December 2000.

DINING AND

ENTERTAINMENT

INTRODUCTION

     Condominiums have sprouted up where cotton grew for years. More and more new eateries, clubs, stores and specialty shops appear, and they find a profitable place among the long-established businesses. A town with much tradition and pride in its past is making history as the future unfolds. This is Huntsville – the self-proclaimed Rocket City and one of America’s top technology centers. If you live here already, you are to be applauded. Visitors should beware that Huntsville is contagious, and it is catching.
     I caught onto the city quite by accident in 1977. There was a job opening at The Huntsville Times, and I wanted it. With it came an opportunity to live in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. My first few weeks here, I stared out the window of my one-bedroom apartment at the cotton fields that stretched for miles to the west. Today, those fields are gone — replaced by apartments, condominiums, warehouses and office complexes.
     Since moving to Huntsville, I have tried to take advantage of as many of its pleasures as possible. At The Times, I began writing a column in 1979 called “Night Moves,” which covered the city’s nightlife, and continued to review restaurants until retiring from the newspaper more than 30 years later. The idea for the original THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE, published in 1984, stemmed from the many phone calls I received from readers wanting to know where to entertain visiting friends or where to take their spouse on a special occasion. A second edition of THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE reflected changes that had come during the following year. It included more than a dozen new eating establishments and nightclubs, as well as several dozen additional suggestions for shopping. Now 30 years later, the landscape has changed drastically. A few of the original BESTs remain, but many new and innovative businesses and establishments have appeared. Breweries and tap rooms – once outlawed across Alabama – have become staples for entertainment. Dining al fresca has become commonplace with the introduction of entertainment zones around the downtown area and in planned developments now dotting the city.
     None of the businesses have paid to be in the book. All opinions expressed herein are my own, and the choice of items to include was entirely mine. At the same time, I would like to commend those businessmen and women whose establishments are included here, and I would especially like to congratulate those that have remained unchanged from the first edition. In addition to making it easy on the author, they have proved to have consistent service.
     Of course, this book could never have come to pass without the enthusiasm of civic leaders and support of co-workers and bosses over my years at The Times. My wife Jenny, son Ansley, and daughters Morgan and Kaki have blessed my life in Huntsville and encouraged me to continue this quest during long nights when the Sandman begged me to sleep. I would also like to thank the many friends who have assisted by editing, proof-reading or helping research this book. Without people like them living here, Huntsville’s attractions would have little meaning.
     So we come to the pages of a new THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE. May you find it entertaining and informative, and may it help you find better ways to enjoy our wonderful city. If any of your favorites have been omitted, please let me know for future reference. And if any of these bests fall by the wayside, look at this book as a way of recording the way Huntsville was. If anyone during the next century discovers a copy of THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE and finds anything in it interesting, the work will not have been in vain. But for today, join me as we travel though these pages to THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE.

                                                                                   --Mike Kaylor

This is the first serious attempt in 25 years to update The Best of Huntsville, which first appeared in 1984. It has begun on a blog at: thebestofhuntsville.blogspot.com.
You can contribute to the new Best of Huntsville book. Email me at cazit@knology.net with your suggestions. The first phase of this project is to publish restaurants, clubs, stores and attractions that have survived since the last Best of Huntsville. The area has hundreds more new and exciting places that need mention here. Help me recognize them.
And if you'd like a copy of the original Best of Huntsville, send $5 to The Best of Huntsville, 5307 Whitesburg Drive, Huntsville, AL 35802. That covers the cost of mailing, so be sure and include the address where you want it sent.

Thanks,
Mike

Join me in this quest for THE BEST OF HUNTSVILLE.
E-mail me with your suggestions at cazit@knology.net or mike@thebestofhuntsville.biz/
offer comments at http://thebestofhuntsville.blogspot.com/.
Also check out:
http://raeraysbest.com/.