Hello my darlings! Bunny's back, and I come bearing gifts. Easy there, greedy... I don't have any diamonds or fancy clothes for you this week, but what I do have might be worth as much if you're hungry.

EL BARRIO, newly opened in the Loft District on Second Avenue North, is absolutely the most exciting new restaurant I've been to in months.

It was a feeling of stillness, almost of reverence. Entering the space one felt like speaking in hushed tones. Tall ceilings and light polished wood with floor to ceiling bookshelves. It was 4:30 in the afternoon and few people were to be found inhabiting its spaces. But the offerings were intriguing and it felt like a private world we’d happened upon.

In this restaurant review space, we try to bring to your attention places you may not know in the ordinary course of business. For example, last week we introduced Lolo’s, a new barbecue place in blue collar Avondale.

Sometimes I find myself talking to food, usually as I walk through the farmers market, or the produce aisle of a store, occasionally as I wander amongst the growing things of a farm. But I must stay that I get the best results when I listen more than I talk.

As a recent transplant from Southern California to Birmingham, it is fascinating to learn what the Southeast is all about. My first visit was last fall, and although I heard it is a great city, I also heard the typical silly generalities about Alabama.

Here’s a toast to incredible food, great service and even more, to passionate people that help give back to the community one customer at a time. After one extraordinary year, owners David and Andrea Snyder, of this local favorite are already opening up their second location at The Summit later on this fall.

On a recent visit to California, I visited a rosemary bush that has been in my family for almost 50 years.

‘Tis the season friends, when the weather starts to turn a bit cooler and we are all drawn back outside from our perch next to the air-conditioner, under the fast-moving ceiling fan.

My friend Chryssa made the first butternut squash soup I tasted, and it was so good that I became a frequent customer of her little bistro, Rancho Pinot, in Phoenix.