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Hoover Restaurant Week expands with BBQ & Burger Showcase, bartender contest

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Hoover Restaurant Week already was actually more than a week, but this year it’s getting closer to being Hoover Restaurant Month.

The official Hoover Restaurant Week, with specials at participating eateries, is designated as July 14-23 this year, but the Hoover Restaurant Alliance has some extra activities kicking off at the very beginning of the month.

July 1-5 is being designated as the Hoover BBQ & Burger Showcase in which people are encouraged to visit the various hamburger and barbecue restaurants in Hoover, take a selfie eating there and share it on Facebook with the hashtag #HRWShowcase and tagging Hoover Restaurant Week and the restaurant they are visiting.

Those who do will be entered into a drawing to potentially win a $25 gift card from Full Moon Bar-B-Que, Moe’s Original Bar B Que, Saw’s BBQ, The Craft Burger, Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Dive or Johnny Brusco’s Pizza (which is serving a barbecue pizza), said David Cohen, founder of the Hoover Restaurant Alliance.

Winners will be shared on the Hoover Restaurant Alliance Facebook page on July 6 and can pick up their gift cards at the July 14 kickoff for Hoover Restaurant Week at Veterans Park or at The Whole Scoop ice cream shop owned by Cohen at The Village at Brock’s Gap.

The Hoover Restaurant Alliance also for the first time is having a bartender challenge. Bartenders from eight restaurants will be asked to make a vodka or limoncello drink and a dark-colored Campfire Whiskey cocktail, Cohen said.

Bartenders from Beef O’Brady’s, Bellini’s Ristorante & Bar, The Anvil Pub & Grill and Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux will compete in an east Hoover competition at Bellini’s on July 11, and then bartenders from Johnny Brusco’s Pizza, Farrelly’s Southern Bar & Kitchen, Jubilee Joe’s Cajun Seafood Restaurant and The Electric will compete in a west Hoover competition at Johnny Brusco’s on July 13. The winners from those preliminaries will face off in a championship challenge on July 18 at Merk’s Tavern & Kitchen.

Judges will include Hoover Councilman Steve McClinton, WBRC Fox 6 news anchor Clare Huddleston, Hoover Helps Co-Founder Greg Bishop, Birmingham Business Alliance CEO Steve Ammons, Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel Sales Director Paul Dangel and a representative from State Farm Insurance. Comedienne Joy King will host both the preliminaries and the championship, Cohen said.

“I don’t know that we’ve ever done anything like this in this town,” he said.

The actual Hoover Restaurant Week will kick off July 14 at Veterans Park on the Good Day Alabama morning show on WBRC Fox 6, with participating restaurants bringing samples of some of their food for a live broadcast.

As of June 29, 27 restaurants had signed up to be part of this year’s Hoover Restaurant Week, offering specials that can be seen on the Hoover Restaurant Week website and Facebook page. On the website, click on the restaurant logo to see the special for July 14-23.

Finally, July 16 is National Ice Cream Day, so five Hoover eateries that sell ice cream will be having ice cream eating competitions in their establishments. Participants include The Whole Scoop, Kilwins, La Conchita Bakery & Pastry, K&J’s Elegant Pastries and Creamery, and Magic Milkshakes & More. Each will have their own competitions, Cohen said.

The Whole Scoop will have a division for people 14 and younger and a division for people 15 and older, as well as a competition between three Hoover police officers and three Hoover firefighters, he said. The winning team gets free ice cream for everyone in their department, he said.

Participants in Hoover Restaurant Week pay a $100 fee to help cover costs of advertising, and sponsors contribute money as well, Cohen said. A $2,000 donation will be given to the Hoover Helps nonprofit, which helps feed needy children in Hoover, he said.

The whole purpose of Hoover Restaurant week is to bring attention to the wide variety of restaurants in the city, from the small, single-location ones to larger eateries and those with multiple locations, Cohen said. “My goal is to show everybody a little bit of love.”

Restaurants participating this year include:

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