Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
Houston Coach not impressed with Birmingham food scene, offered invitation by local restaurateur
Reading time: 3 minutes

โThe food could have been a little better.โ โ Houston Cougars Head Coach Dana Holgorsen
Ouch. Was there a bowl game in Birmingham yesterday? All the buzz in The Magic City for the past 24 hours has been the off-handed comment Houstonโs flamboyant coach made about our food scene.
For the record, here is what he said at the press conference held after his Houston Cougars snatched a late 4th quarter 17-13 victory against the Auburn Tigers at the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
โThe food could have been a little better. All I was told about was how Birmingham is a foodie spot. I heard it from everybody. Well, youโre gonna have to look manโHouston is kind of a foodie spot tooโso you have got a lot to live up too. A bunch of the good restaurants were closed on the 24th and 25th, probably didnโt experience it like I should.โ
Now before you start throwing chairs and yelling at your iPhone, Holgorsen made some really nice comments about our town, calling it awesome.
In fact, he concluded his statement by saying, โThe bowl people are first class, the bowl is first class, itโs up and coming. Birmingham is up and coming. We had a heck of a time here and I appreciate that.โ
Donโt Get Mad โ Send an Invite

But what about the food? Iโve got to admit, my blood was boiling much like when the Daily Showโs Jon Stewart reacts when you compare New York Pizza to Chicago Pizza (or pie as Stewart calls it).
I then had a Eureka moment! You see, at the pre-TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Game press conference, Holgorsen told the media he vacations in Orange Beach quite a bit.
Well, obviously, he needs to take a slight detour and visit Birmingham at a time when our finest restaurants are open (most were closed over Christmas and Monday before the game). I reached out to Weston Stitt, who works with the Stitt Restaurant Group, which includes Bottega Restaurant, Highlands Bar and Grill and Chez Fonfon.
After I read to him Holgorsenโs comments he quickly issued the following invitation.
โWell, Iโm a big fan of Dana Holgorsen. Iโve been following him in his college football days and appreciate his style and his coaching ability. Itโs exciting to have him and the Houston Cougars in Birmingham. Unfortunately, the timing didnโt work out [for him to visit Bham restaurants], so it seems like heโs just got to come back sometime in the future and give our restaurants another shot. It is something weโre really proud of and we are confident in our abilities to provide excellent service to those who are coming to visit our lovely city.โ
Official Invitation
The invite is genuine. The ball is in Coach Holgorsenโs court. He can reach Weston at Bottega Restaurantโand heโll make sure he gets the first class service and wonderful meals we are so well known for here in the Magic City.
Though we were pulling for our home team, Auburn, we want to congratulate Coach Holgorsen on his teamโs win. We look forward to your next visit โ this time not on the gridiron, but at the dinner table.