A Monument to a BUG?!? and Happy Anniversary…

We spent the weekend in south Alabama visiting Mom for Mothers’ Day. On the way down, Crystal and I realized that our anniversary is next week.  Seven years on May 16th.  Since we wont be together next weekend, decided we should do something this weekend.  So with built-in babysitters (the grandparents love it), we headed out for dinner and a movie.

We headed over to Enterprise, Alabama for our date.  Interesting monument in Enterprise…

A monument to a bug… strange, but true

The Boll Weevil Monument

Sorta looks like a tick…

The boll weevil was a Mexican bug that came north to Alabama in 1915 and began wiping out the cotton crop.  Farmers were forced to switch to peanuts and other crops which brought prosperity to the area (known as the “Wiregrass”).  The only monument dedicated to an agricultural pest!!  What a claim to fame!! Haha.

So after checking out the monument, we went to The Rawls for dinner.  The Rawls claims to serve “contemporary Southern cuisine witha sophisticated twist.”

If we had known, we could have stayed at the Bed and Breakfast, too. Maybe next time…

The Chef, at The Rawls, Bill Schleusner, was former sous chef at Chris Hastings’  Hot and Hot Fish Club as well as working under Frank Stitt at Bottega (both in Birmingham and wonderful restaurants. Birmingham is actually a top food city, though the wine selection in our top restaurants may be lacking if you believe this author in Food and Wine magazine.)

We were given a tour of the historic building by our server and got to meet Chef Bill. (We ate early and the restaurant wasn’t too busy at the time.) Crystal got the 90 day chicken and I got Angus steak (all locally raised food). Coach Crystal was a huge fan!!

It was my anniversary, don’t judge…haha.

The next time you are headed to the beaches of the Gulf Coast or find yourself anywhere near Enterprise, I can’t recommend The Rawls  enough.