Randomness part II

I hope no one reading this has any connections to these restaurants.  I have been hearing about Joe's Italian restaurant in Alabaster for over a year.    Our good friends Val and Phil who live in Auburn had also heard of this restaurant.  The last time they were in Bham we tried to make reservations to find out they do not accept them on the weekends  They do so much business on Friday nights you need to be there by 5:00pm or wait an hour to an hour and a half! Needless to say we did not go.  This Fall when the parents were visiting during the week, we decided it was a perfect time to try this place we had heard such rave reviews.  We were so disappointed!  Loud, cafeteria style lighting and most importantly only OK food!  Can someone please explain why this restaurant has such a following??

Since I am presently working close to Bessemer, Cece, G-Daddy and I decided to go to the Bright Star for lunch.  Again, I have always heard such great things but found it to be crowded, impossible to walk through and okay food.  Could someone please enlighten me.  Or is it just me?

2010 Halloween pumpkins. Tim's AU and my Scary face

Cece was kind enough to attend The Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker @ The Alabama Theatre with me in November.  I had not previously been to any performance at the theatre and was very impressed with the architecture and details of the Alabama building!  The performance was incredible and we had a great night!

Amazing stairwell

Unbelievable architecture.  So glad it was restored!