Italian

When you think of Italian food, you think of homey restaurants filled with busy conversation, smiling faces, and happy bellies from recipes constructed over generations of family history. Though these types of places are far and few to come by here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the downtown restaurant, Depalmas, does offer a southern spin on the traditional Mom and Pop Italian style. It is a restaurant where you are greeted with smiles and a warming atmosphere where the air is infused with tomato juices, infused garlic olive oil, and fresh herbs. Though at first, the outside has nothing special to catch your eye, it is the big windows that construct the front of the restaurant that invites you to just peep in to see what is cooking. Alongside a simple outside that is ordained with big windows, there is a classic chalkboard on an easel with colorful handwriting specifying nightly specials and enticing you to come in. Sometimes it is these creative, yet minimal ideas that help to catch a customer’s eye. Even though mom and pop places never have the flashy quality, it is the warming environment where guests can feel the simplicity of enjoying just a night of filling food and great conversation. Read More