What to Eat in Birmingham

You know a neighborhood has arrived when it has a brewery, a top rated BBQ joint, and now, a pizza place that merges them both.

When we moved to Birmingham in July 2011, we had heard that something was afoot in Avondale. I remember going to the building that would become Avondale Brewery and getting an impromptu tour. Just eight months later, after we had taken many more formal tours through the brewery, we went to Saw’s on its opening night. Saw’s in Avondale has since been, in my opinion, the best overall BBQ in town. So when Post Office Pies was slated to open under the direction of 2 of the Saw’s guys, we were excited.

A few months ago, we drove by and noticed some activity in the old Post Office building. We stopped and found out that Post Office Pies was open briefly, just for a few hours, to test out some recipes. What a beautiful space – a large, open room with brick walls and a beautiful brick oven as the focal point. We got a margherita pizza – just cheese, tomatoes, and basil – and it was great. We couldn’t wait to return when the restaurant was fully operational.

So this week, we went back, this time with a friend so we could order more. The menu now featured numerous pizzas, and a few delicious sounding salads:

Ordering is done at the counter. We decided on ordering a margherita pizza again, this time adding mushrooms, and the swine pie. I usually try to eat relatively healthy, but for the sake of the blog, I really wanted to experience a pizza that would showcase the best of what both Post Office Pies and Saw’s have to offer. I have to assume that Post Office Pies sources its meat from Saw’s – where Saw’s serves pulled pork, Post Office Pies’ swine pie has bacon and pork sausage. Similarly, the kale and brussel sprout salad also comes with a healthy dose of bacon-so we had to order that too. Post Office Pies also serves a fantastic selection of Avondale beer-but this is a food blog, let’s stick with that.

We sat down and within a few minutes the salad arrived. The kale and brussel sprouts are both raw. The brussel sprouts were cut in relatively thin strips, and the kale in medium sized pieces so as not to be overpowering.
The dressing was amazingly light, In contrast to the small but thick cut pieces of bacon that just melted in my mouth. Amazing. Look in the lower left corner for the pork:

Then the pizzas. The crust was doughier than thin crust, but certainly not deep dish. Really delicious. On the margherita pizza, the fresh tomatoes and basil really shone. Even better than the first time:

As for the swine pie-definitely the right choice. This pizza’s focus is on the meat. Salty and delicious, and like all their pizzas, topped with delicious fresh basil:

It may surprise you to know that pizza isn’t typically my favorite thing-despite my very genuine, glowing posts about Reyes Pizza and Slice, and now Post Office Pies. But what I’ve realized is that when you combine really great dough with other high quality ingredients, it can be an incredible foodie experience. And what makes Post Office Pies unique from the other great places in town, in addition to the unique dough, is one of those high quality ingredients-the pork. Again, I’m assuming it comes from Saw’s (probably a good assumption), but wherever it comes from, Post Office Pies produces a really winning combination.