Southerners love desserts, and we’re talking more than just banana pudding and pecan pie.
As a matter of fact, the Alabama State Legislature recently named the highfalutin Lane Cake as the official state dessert. If you don’t know what a Lane Cake is, you’re either not from Alabama or you’ve never read To Kill a Mockingbird. Though it’s practically unheard of to see Lane Cake on any menu in the state, we still are pleased our legislative body chose this classic confection.
There are, however, wide and wonderful selections of desserts on menus all around the city. If this conversation has put you in cake state of mind, then it’s time for a visit to one of famed chef Frank Stitt’s local restaurants. There you will find the legendary coconut-pecan cake baked daily and lovingly by James Beard Foundation award nominee Dolester “Dol” Miles. Miles has been baking this extraordinary dessert for more than three decades to the delight of diners at Chez Fonfon, Bottega and Highlands Bar & Grill.
Summer also means its the perfect time to try desserts of fresh berries and crème anglaise. Miles is also the culinary professional behind their lemon meringue tart, a combination of perfect crust cradling a tangy lemon filling topped with meringue that looks like art.
If you should find yourself at Niki’s West, a Birmingham steam table tradition since 1957, the dessert choices may overwhelm you. Cheesecake, sweet potato pie, lemon ice box pie, homemade cakes and a dozen more sweets line the cafeteria-style shelves. It is commonly known and joked about among locals that there is no time for hesitation in the line at Niki’s, so either know what you want or decide quickly.
Needless to say, there’s plenty in Birmingham to satisfy the sweet tooth.