Welcome to my first blog!

I’ve wanted to start writing a blog for a while now but have had no idea of what to write about. And then I thought – a lot of people tell me that I should be a food reviewer. So why not make a food review blog? And I might even take it a step further and create a Vlog.

I’m thinking that this first blog is going to be about a recent trip I took to Birmingham, Alabama.

The other day, I walked into my room and said, “Cam! What are you doing tomorrow?” He responded with a hesitant “Umm, nothing?” I then went on to explain that I was planning on going to Birmingham to see a popular YouTuber that I enjoy watching, Andrew Rea—Binging with Babish. This man is a filmmaker and self-taught chef. He recently released a cookbook with 100 recipes from many pop culture movies, TV shows, etc. including recipes like Ratatouille. He was coming to the southeast on his Book Tour, which we later pitched the name, Booking with Babish.

So we started the drive at about noon on Thursday. The book signing was at 7:00pm. We drove up through Tuscaloosa to stop by Cam’s house on the way. We got to Birmingham at about 5pm and went straight to Eugene’s Hot Chicken. I’ve had Eugene’s a couple of times before, but I’d been craving the hot chicken for a while now. I think I might be Eugene’s best, free advertising down in south Alabama. Any time I think of Birmingham, I think of the excellent experience I’ve had at Eugene’s. Every time I’ve been, there has always been a line out of the door – so I was nervous that this trip would be no different; however, upon our arrival, there were only two other people in the place. It was meant to be.

As we walk in the door I have to refresh my memory of the menu. I finally decided to order the following: “Hi yes, I’ll take a mild, jumbo chicken tender plate with fries, coleslaw, two ranches, and a drink.”

As I dug into the juicy, perfectly cooked chicken, I was reminded why I became such a big advocate for Eugene’s. The simple, yet delicious meal was just as I remembered.

The plate was constructed with a piece of bread, topped with the crispy chicken tenders and fries, along with the small container of slaw and two ranch sauces. The bread was strategically placed at the bottom so it would soak up the flavorful spices and juices of the chicken.

The chicken was seasoned nicely with Eugene’s special blend of spices. The chicken is savory but with a small hint of sweet to make for a tasty adventure. The fries were seasoned with some kind of seasoning salt which made for a great companion to the chicken. The slaw was a nice pallet cleanser to complete the dish.

Food is not the only thing that makes for a good restaurant experience—but also the atmosphere. We were greeted and served with smile from the employees. One of which, whose wife is actually from the Mobile area, carried on a nice conversation with us as we enjoyed our meal.

I’ve met the owner a couple of times before. Although Zebbie (the owner) had already gone home for the evening, his shop was left in good hands. Zebbie is passionate about his work – and you can tell.

I recently read a book a book called, “Know What You’re FOR” where the author, Jeff Henderson (Pastor of Gwinnett Church in GA), says that customers will become like a free sales force when they know that a company/organization is FOR them. And this attribution can be seen in Eugene’s.

So I guess a good lesson from Eugene’s is to love what you do and treat your customers like family. Simple as that.