A great friend of mine told me that Birmingham, Alabama is the new hip town of the south. This claim was substantiated by an article I read concerning Birmingham’s new music scene in the latest issue of Garden and Gun Magazine. As a result, I decided it was time make a quick trip to check out the pronounced night life there. Linda and I started off our Saturday night at a local brewery in the Avondale area. The beers and food we had were certainly satisfying, but the best aspect of the place was the waitress that when asked, was a delightful source of great suggestions that set our agenda for the rest of the night. Based on her outstanding recommendations, we immediately set our sights on a speakeasy called Marble Ring a few blocks away.
The modern day take on speakeasies is just plain fun. My daughter introduced me to one in Sandy Springs, GA in which you ring a doorbell beside a totally anonymous steel door. To get to the Marble Ring, you look for a glass door beside a local hotdog eatery. The door opens immediately to a staircase. Upon mounting the stairs, you see what looks like the Tardis from the classic British TV show, Dr. Who.
You then enter a dark room which has an old fashioned pay phone. You have to know to lift the phone to your ear, wait for the hostess to answer, and state how many are in your party. The voice on the other end of the phone will then tell you if they have room or not and will then open the door and seat you.
I’m not going to give everything away about this secretive gem, but I can tell you that the bar staff is second to non in the art of drink making (outside of an old fashioned bar I visited in Flagstaff, AZ that is) and the drinks are wonderful. All of the mixers are fresh and of top quality. It is an experience to watch them in action. The place is decorated immaculately takes you back to the prohibition days. The drinks prices are very reasonable considering that the Marble Ring does not serve its own food. Before leaving for the night, we couldn’t resist having our picture taken in the silver bathtub.
