More on food: IHOP is not for amateurs

I've eaten at Denny's. It's a pretty solid 24-hour joint that dots the landscape on both sides of the border. It's hard to beat their lumberjack slam. Denny's is a great place to pick up some free WiFi while you munch on some bacon, eggs, and hash browns.


Then, there is IHOP. I ate there tonight for the first time. Don't believe the hype. It's Denny's for pancake freaks. Actually, pancake Freaks. Upper case.

Case in point:

The undisputed champion of 24-hour breakfasts is Waffle House. It's not everywhere in the United States -- you won't find it in New England, most of Illinois, or the Midwest -- but Waffle House owns the American south's Interstate corridor.

Think Elgin Street Diner, but at every offramp you can find. Also, while Denny's and IHOP are all colourful with their logos, Waffle House is simple.

This one is in Birmingham, Alabama. I've only eaten at the Nashville location (er, one of the Nashville locations. There are several interchanges in the area).

VIDEO: Birmingham's Kelly Ingram Park

The Civil Rights Institute describes Kelly Ingram Park:

Birmingham's Kelly Ingram Park was the staging ground for Civil Rights rallies, demonstrations and marches during the tumultous years of the 1960s. It was in Kelly Ingram Park that Birmingham police and firemen turned attack dogs and high-powered hoses on participants rallying for human rights and simple decency. These images will forever be associated with Birmingham and Kelly Ingram Park.

And here is Thirty Days, standing near the park's northwest corner.

Only a few decades ago, everything was so much different...

This church, 16th Street Baptist, was something of a staging ground for Birmingham's civil-rights movement. It sits right across the street from what is now the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and kitty corner to Kelly Ingram Park, a square that pays tribute to those who fought (and gave their lives) fighting segregation.

Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States for a long time. White people and black people couldn't do anything together. They couldn't even play "an innocent game of dominoes", as the Institute puts it.

The Carver was one of the only theatres that permitted black patrons. It closed in the 80s but is back open now. One of many sites in the city that people who are just now middle-aged would remember as segregated.

Notes from Birmingham

I saw a sign for someone running to be the district judge. Fair enough, Americans elect judges. I disagree with that, but so it goes.

But now, wow. I just saw a sign for a candidate for none other than the prestigious position of Tax Assessor.

Americans elect everybody. They just elected a traffic light, in fact. It was the man (post?) for the job.

SACME, you've done it again

I picked the wrong profession. As it turns out, everyone who works for the Society of Academic Continuing Medical Education is incredibly nice. Well, two for two. The most recent example of this gallantry is Birmingham-based Jim Ranieri.

Jim rolled up to the Oxmoor Econolodge and we drove over to Five Points South, the historic-type neighbourhood in town, to grab a bite to eat.

Where did we go? Jim 'n Nick's, of course. We ate pulled pork sandwiches. I should note that mine was better than the one in Nashville -- everyone thinks they have the best BBQ, Jim says. Maybe I just didn't drown the Nashville sandwich in enough BBQ sauce.

All in all, a success. This morning was an early rise to write a post for MediaScout, so it was early to bed.

Thanks for everything, Jim!