Ding How II

Dim sum is certainly one of the most fun ways to eat a meal. There is an element of excitement and participation that is not experienced with most other meals. The carts are rushed around the restaurant and the oddest assortment of dishes are offered for your sampling. Because each dish is so small and cheap, a multitude of dishes can be sampled and shared for a miserly sum. Finally, dim sum is a treat for adventurous eaters.

On Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 2:00, Ding How II offers dim sum. They also offer a "regular" Chinese menu at other times and during the dim sum times. I have eaten off of their regular menu and it is good, but not that different from any other competent Chinese restaurant you may venture into. The jewel of Ding How II is the dim sum.

The space is dark and a little worn and disheveled. However, it is also clean and comfortable.

Among the many dishes we sampled were the following.  First, we tried crispy shrimp dumplings which had an almost airy, fried pastry crust.

Pork dumplings (buns) on the left, and shrimp dumplings on the right

We also had big pork dumplings with a faintly sweet bread exterior which was reminiscent of doughnut dough and a salty pork interior. The pork dumplings excellently exploit that delicious flavor combination of sweet and salty.

Next, we tried vegetables and mushrooms wrapped in a tofu skin wrapper with a black bean sauce. It tasted similar to a soggy eggroll, but in the best possible way. The mushrooms lent an subtle, earthy taste, similar to the taste of shitake mushrooms.

Vegetables and mushrooms in tofu skin wrapper with black bean sauce

One of the weaker items we sampled was a cold pork dumpling.  It was a round, steamed, cold dumpling with pork stuffing. While I would only describe it as mediocre, it was still better than the dumplings found in your grocery store's freezer section.

One of the weirdest items on the menu is the chicken feet. They are served coated with a sweet sauce. While I enjoy chicken feet, they are truly a challenge to eat gracefully. If you are an adventurous eater, I highly recommend trying them. While difficult to eat, the reward is tender meat accompanied by the tasty sweet sauce.

Chicken feet

We also tried curried squid. This was probably the weakest of all of the dishes as the squid was rather tough.

Curried squid

Finally, they serve both a large beef tripe dish and small beef tripe dish. I am a huge fan of tripe. The texture, chewiness, and mild flavor are all pleasing to my palate. The tripe was served in a sauce with sweet black beans.

Overall, I highly recommend Ding How II for dim sum for the delicious dishes, the adventure to be had, and the excitement of sampling among a multitude of choices.

Beware, the crowds, especially on Sundays, can be outrageous. Get there early to beat the crowds and to ensure they don't run out of any dishes.

Ding How II
4800 Whitesburg Dr., Ste. 10
Huntsville, AL 35802
256-880-8883

Anaheim Chili

This is a meal I wish I could get back.  It was so bad that it ruined the rest of my Sunday. I couldn't find a way to be happy after suffering through the culinary punishment meted out by Anaheim Chili. In short, avoid this place like the plague.

I will start with the good --- what little of it there was --- and ease into the bad.The black bean chili was acceptable.  However, I found it to be a little watery, but that may be a personal preference. It was slightly spicy, meaty, and had a nice flavor.  For an extra charge, it came accompanied with a hunk of habanero cornbread. The cornbread was moist, slightly sweet, and had a tiny kick. 

Thus ends anything good I could possibly have to say about Anaheim Chili. Go there if you want some chili. But let's be honest here, who goes out to eat in order to get chili? Chili is the stuff I make five gallons of at home to eat off of for a week when I am running out of money. It just isn't exciting enough to be the mainstay of your restaurant. I know there are chili lovers out there, and I like chili too, but it is not a dish of sufficient substance to be the only good thing you serve on your menu.

I ordered an Anaheim pepper cheeseburger as my main course.  First, the restaurant had a whopping eight people in it, yet we waited over thirty minutes between when we finished our chili and when they brought out my burger and my wife's chicken sandwich.  At first I thought that the restaurant is just new and they are working out the kinks, but as time dragged on the wait became ridiculous.

Second, the burger that finally came out was the worst burger I have ever bitten into. It was dry beyond belief, utterly devoid of taste, and generally boring. Despite being very hungry, I didn't finish it. That's how terrible it was. My wife's chicken sandwich wasn't any better.

In conclusion, avoid Anaheim Chili.

Anaheim Chili
2030 Cecil Ashburn Drive, Ste. 102
Huntsville, AL 35802
256-489-5531

Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue

I was skeptical at first. What kind of a barbecue restaurant has its own mini-documentary on its website? But my skepticism was misplaced. Big Bob's is no pretender; it is genuinely good barbecue. The restaurant even has the Memphis in May trophies to prove it, having won for barbecue and sauces several times.

Even without any sauce, the barbecue is good. It has a complex taste with a delicate smokiness, and is very tender, although a touch dry. As soon as you touch the meat with your fork you can tell that it was carefully slow-cooked for hours.

Their barbecued chicken converted a non-believer. I am usually not a fan of barbecued chicken, and would much prefer barbecue (i.e., pork barbecue). Big Bob's barbecued chicken is an exception to my rule. The meat is juicy, tender, and flavorful. It is the farthest thing from the dry, tasteless result that is typical of chicken. While the meat is tender, the skin is crispy and perfectly spiced.

Two sauces are provided for the meats: a red and a white sauce. The red sauce is tomato based and is sweet, but not overly sweet, with rich tomato and caramelized sugar flavors. It is excellent over the barbecue. The white sauce is best described as a mayonnaise-vinegar barbecue sauce. It has a mayonnaise base with a strong vinegar component, a strong black pepper taste, and a dash of spices. It is runny like a regular barbecue sauce rather than being thick like other mayonnaise based sauces (i.e., remoulade, etc.). While decent on the barbecue, the white sauce shines on the barbecued chicken. The crispy skin, the tender, juicy meat, and the creaminess and vinegar pop from the white sauce all sing in harmony to your tastebuds.

The meat at Big Bob's is hard to beat, however, I am a firm believer in the importance of sides to a barbecue establishment. For me, the sides are almost as important as the meat. Apparently Big Bob's does not share this philosophy, and the variety and quality of the sides leave much to be desired. Over the history of the establishment, sides have been overlooked. Until the 1950s, the only sides were coleslaw and potato chips. In the 1950s potato salad was added as an option. After several more decades, baked beans were added.

Perhaps North Alabama coleslaw is something you are raised to like. I am not a fan. It is devoid of mayonnaise, and consists solely of minced cabbage and vinegar. The potato salad is creamy, thick, and highly recommended. The baked beans are decent, but they have a slightly odd aftertaste of perhaps bellpeppers.

Finally, don't forget about dessert at Big Bob's. Among their choices of homemade pies, they serve an amazing lemon meringue pie. All of the pies are made early each morning by a team of pie-making ladies. I'm not sure what they put in their pies to make them so good, but they rank right up there with the best.

I recommend a trip to Big Bob Gibson's. It was not the best barbecue I have ever had, but it was quite good. Operating since 1925, they have to be doing something right to be cooking the same food for satisfied customers for nearly 100 years. The place serves delicious food, oozes barbecue history, and the staff is friendly and attentive. However, be aware that the restaurant receives mixed reviews. While I was quite pleased with my visit, some were sorely disappointed (see http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/168/968121/restaurant/Huntsville/Big-Bob-Gibson-Bar-B-Q-Decatur and http://3rddegreebbq.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-bob-gibson-bar-b-q-310-1715-6th-ave.html) and others left elated (see http://restaurantblog.spoonsaga.com/2010/04/08/bib-bob-gibsons-bbq--decatur-al.aspx?ref=rss).

For more information on the history of the restaurant, including the aforementioned video, check out the restaurant's website at www.bigbobgibson.com.

Big Bob Gibson's
2520 Danville Road SW OR 1715 6th Avenue SE
Decatur, AL
256-350-6969
www.bigbobgibson.com

Mud Creek Fish Camp

Cruising up Highway 72 and then down county roads lined with mobile homes, overgrown yards, and a one-room church, I finally found Mud Creek Fish Camp. Based on the name (although judging by the waitresses' shirts, it also goes by Mud Creek Barbecue), I expected a shack with a screen door needing oil in the hinges, warped floorboards worn from use, exposed lightbulbs, and a delicious smell emanating from the premises. Sadly, while quaint and inviting, what I found had no such character.

I wanted to like Mud Creek. I like the name, the restaurant was comfortable, it was unique in its off-the-beaten-path location, and it offered the promise of barbecue and perfectly fried catfish. But restaurants are places to eat food, and overall the food wasn't good.  The barbecue was fairly good with a strong smoky flavor and tender, although a little dry. The barbecue was served with spicy, sweet baked beans and yellow coleslaw. Yellow cole slaw is made with mustard and a little Tabasco mixed in with the very finely chopped coleslaw common in North Alabama. The yellow coleslaw was new to me, and while I enjoyed trying something new and it tasted fine, I didn't leave wondering about when I will next have some yellow coleslaw.

barbecue plate

catfish plate

Aside from the barbecue, baked beans, and fries, everything else we ordered was uninspired. The fried catfish, which the menu billed as their specialty, was bland and not crispy. The catfish needed some spice in the batter and a sauce on the side. Both the barbecue and the catfish came with a potato side and we chose fries. The fries were not homemade, were droopy rather than crispy, and were mushy on the inside. The apple pie we ordered for dessert was not homemade and wasn't properly baked because the crust was mushy.

The prices are too high for the quality of food served. A large barbecue plate runs $7.50 and a  large catfish plate with five pieces of catfish runs $10.

The service was mediocre. Our waitress mostly ignored us, but other waitresses appeared to be very busy taking care of their customers.

Mud Creek Fish Camp has potential, but doesn't live up to it. I went looking for quality country flavors, and I didn't find them.

Mud Creek Fish Camp
804 County Road 213
Hollywood, AL 35752
256-259-2493