Automatic, Birmingham, Alabama

If you are in Birmingham for any reason and need to have lunch, I would recommend this restaurant. It is located in the building in the Lakeview neighborhood in cool old building that was once an automatic sprinkler facotry--the rennovation of the space is upscale, but leaves the shell of the old factory intact--it was a beautiful fall day when we ate there and we took advantage of an extensive outdoor patio to eat, because we come from northern climes and the days we have to eat outside are indeed numbered. The chef is Adam Evans, who won a James Beard Best Southern Chef Award in 2022, which seems well deserved based on my one visit. The menu is repleat with seafood that largely comes from the Gulf of Mexico, prepared in a straight-forwad, unfussy style that enhances the fresh flavors and doesn't mask the underlying quality of the ocean's bounty. My husband requires fresh oysters when on a coast and this met tht requirement very nicely, with a couple of good accompaniments. They claim to have some relationships with local fishermen who keep them supplied on a regular basis with whole fish that they can then do with as they please, ocean to restaurant without setting fin in a market, and it shows in the food.