I’m headed to Tuscaloosa today to see my mom and a few friends. Besides catching up with loved ones, one of the the things I look forward to is the food. Yes, it’s true, New York has a hundreds of restaurants where you can get practically anything. But Tuscaloosa has two of my very favorite places to eat and I’ll be hitting them both while I’m there.

Kozy’s is a place I discovered during college and it quickly became a consistent place to hang out. Weird thing is, it’s not exactly the place you’d expect college students to go. It’s small, on the upscale side and doesn’t have food you’d normally associate with college students.

However, it had a great bar. My group (including Cheryl and Angela who I’ll be seeing tonight) were crazy for Frozen Toasted Almonds, which is amaretto almond liqueur, Kahlua coffee liqueur, light cream blended up with some ice cream. That, plus some appetizers and we were good to go.

There was also a great jukebox. It was very old school, had a huge dome over the record player and had a great library of 50s and 60s rock n’ roll and R&B. It was fantastic.

Sadly, the jukebox isn’t there any more. But the food, drinks (although sometimes we have to guide the bartender on how to create the Frozen Toasted Almond) and the great atmosphere prevail. It’s going to be a great Friday night!

Another place I’m looking forward to is Cypress Inn, which is on the bank of the Black Warrior River. This is another place I ate consistently while I lived there.

First off, Cypress Inn has the best dinner roll ever (when Cypress Inn was mentioned in What They Always Tell Us I was happy I already had a trip planned because it made me crave the rolls). It’s warm melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I’ve never experienced anything like it any place else. I could easily fill up on the rolls. But, if I did that I’d miss out on the smoked chicken with their famous white barbecue sauce. It is the best chicken breast you could ever eat. The meal is capped with coffee and a slice of their peanut butter pie. If you haven’t figured it out yet… I know exactly what I’m eating when my mom and I go here sometime this weekend.

There are a couple other places I’ll hit while I’m in town. Mr Bill’s Kountry Kookin, in nearby Northport, is a great diner with yummy hamburgers and a killer banana pudding. And, even though they are chains, I get a visit to both iHop and Cracker Barrel for some breakfasts.

Plus, my mom is cooking up a few things too, including a Cuban sandwich she’s  been wanting to try. And, you know, you can never go wrong with mom’s cooking.

It’s going to be an excellent food weekend!