Birmingham Eats

I was only there overnight, but we had a good meal at Nabeel's Cafe. Low-key Greek and Italian food. We ordered the bruschetta as a test which they passed. The bread wasn't hard as a rock (I'm not sure why people think this is correct for bruschetta. I guess it's the same people who think biscotti is supposed to break your teeth.), and it had fresh cheese, tomatoes and good olive oil. Not fancy, just good.

Also, I had a nice martini at WorkPlay. No music that night – they had rented it out for a wedding and a charity benefit.

Mmmm, The Smell of Racing Fuel

One of the coolest museums I've seen lately is the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, AL. I'm really not a race fan, but from a design perspective it's amazing to see. What impressed me the most are the old motorcycles that are more like hopped-up bicycles – wooden brake pads and fabric chains. Simple stuff that worked. And they go upwards of 60 mph. All the cars and bikes in the museum are working models, and from time to time they crank them up and run them around the track there.