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The TakeOut Bham offers meal delivery from dozens of restaurants, including local gem The Fig Tree Café
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Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
Did you know that Birmingham has its own local meal delivery service? Long before any other options came to town, The TakeOut Bham brought meal delivery to the Magic City, and they’ve been running the show ever since. Started in September 2010 , The TakeOut Bham was the first meal delivery service in Birmingham and the state. The customer service is fantastic, and they’re giving you guys a deal.
Local Is The Name Of The Game
Both the owner and each person that works for The TakeOut Bham is local to Birmingham. This means they know that shortcut to get around 280 at rush hour, and have a realistic expectation of when they’ll deliver your food.
It also means that they’ve formed friendships and relationships with their customers and with the restaurants they work with. For example, the company has thousands of regulars who know the staff by name. Now that’s local.
How to Contact
You can order from The TakeOut Bham (and find their list of extensive restaurants) on their website. You can also call them. The cool thing about calling them? They don’t have an ‘800’ number — you will always talk to a helpful and knowledgeable employee when you call.
What Kind of Restaurants Can You Order From?
You can find a full list of participating restaurants on their website, but one thing you’ll notice is that they tend to focus on local restaurants and companies to support and boost our local economy. Pretty cool, right? One of those locally-owned restaurants is The Fig Tree Café.
I’ve really enjoyed being Birmingham’s little hidden gem of a restaurant. People really feel like they’ve found something when they eat here.
Holland
The Fig Tree Café
The Fig Tree Café is run by owner and Chef JP Holland. Tucked away behind a hair and nails salon in Cahaba Heights, the restaurant started as a catering service run out of a church. The restaurant is now a full-service spot for Southern refined dining, and has had great success. Chef Holland and the team at The Fig Tree change up the menu each week depending on what is fresh and in-season.
Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
- Dish: Chicken Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, Collards and Gravy
- Price: $18.95
They truly take farm-to-table to the next level. Chef Holland is one of three chefs in the Southeast region who has pigs and cows raised specifically for his restaurant.
Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
- Dish: Pork Ragu with Pappardelle and a Truffled Farm Egg
- Price: $28.95
He knows what kind of food these animals are eating, what their living conditions are, and pretty much everything else there is to know about them. He can even adjust their feed based on what he prefers. Thus, their pork chop is one of their bestsellers — and one of Chef Holland’s favorite dishes on the menu.
We are trying to bring back heritage pig breeds that are in danger of being off the face of the map — and you can really tell the difference.
Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
- Dish: Fig Pig Tomahawk
- Price: $42.95
“Of course, we get as many local vegetables as we can, but I like to take it one step further and do micro-farming. I have one guy that just grows russian kale for me on an acre of land, one guy that just grows heirloom tomatoes as a hobby and brings me heirloom tomatoes… I like to know who has their hands on the produce every day.”
Community First
Like The TakeOut, Chef Holland and the team at Fig Tree Café are all about community. Holland notes that the regulars tend to take ownership of the restaurant, and that they always tell him when they see him growing or trying something new.
Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
- Dish: Gulf Crab Cakes with House-Made Remoulade
- Price: $16.95
For example, when they first opened, they didn’t have any art or photos to hang on the wall. Holland remembers a restaurant regular who took a framed Johnny Cash poster off the wall in his basement and told him he could hang it up in the restaurant. Later, when the restaurant had taken off and things were running smoothly, the owner of the poster took it down, had Holland sign it, and then took it back home with him.
Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now
- Dish: Okra Fries with House-Made Remoulade
- Price: $8.95
Care and consideration from staff and guests.
The sense of community is palpable. While I was there taking photos and interviewing Chef Holland, many people came in who I can only assume are regulars. They chatted with the staff, asking what was new that day and if they could try a new menu item. When someone inquired about the new gumbo on the menu, a lady who was eating it leaned over and told them it was delicious. When offered a wine list, another guest let the waiter know that she was pregnant, so he made her a special ‘mocktail’ based on flavors she told him she liked. The friendliness, attention to detail, and care that goes into every dish, drink and handwritten menu (see below) is obvious.
What’s Chef Holland’s (current) favorite menu item?
He loves the Raclette Mac-and-cheese with the Ribeye.
The General Manager of the restaurant hand-writes the menus each week. Photo by Lauren Bedford for Bham Now.
I hope you check out The Fig Tree Café in Cahaba Heights! It is a true hidden gem here in Birmingham and the food is absolutely delicious. I will be back, and I hope to see some of you guys there! If you can’t make it to the restaurant, make sure to use our code with The TakeOut Bham to save some cash and enjoy this food in the comfort of your own home!
The TakeOut Bham is offering all Bham Now readers a discount!
Enter code “BHAMNOW” at checkout for $3 off any order from The TakeOut Bham.
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