In my mind, Birmingham is one of those cities you visit but don’t want to tell everyone about it. Reason being, you don’t want millions of tourists flocking in and ruining it. It’s a city that should be preserved as is.

There are good restaurants with diverse menus, an expansive dog park, doggy spas, shopping, art galleries, the theater… Birmingham has it all. And both Charles and Todd have something to say about each of the amenities. They know the city very well. We got a tour in an old convertible BMW painted fire engine red. They told us about the city’s history and its nuances. I got a sense that they are proud of the city they call home. And I can understand why.

While Birmingham is a city rich with unsettling history, there’s an easiness to it. It has a mix of a small town vibe and urban sophistication. Every meal was memorable… because of what I ate and the company I was with. Talk about Southern hospitality, on one occasion, Charles introduced us to a woman seated next to us at Chez Lulu. Carole and Jay started talking about his vegan diet. It turned out that Carole was actually the owner of the restaurant. She walked into the kitchen, put on an apron and handmade a pizza for Jay consisting of vegan ingredients he likes.

We spent three days in Birmingham and it wasn’t enough for me. I could have stayed longer and listened to Todd and Charles’ stories. Or spend hours browsing through reading material in a used bookstore. I wanted to try all of the vegetarian meals in the restaurants around town.

I hope I will be able to visit again. I hope in the meantime, the city doesn’t become commercialized like most cool places do.