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When you’re considering visiting Tuscaloosa – the undisputed home of college football (no matter what anyone else says …) – there are a few things to keep in mind prior to your trip.
First, come hungry. This wonderful village in West Alabama is known for some of the very best barbecue (no matter what anyone else says …) in the land.
Second, it is totally OK to not bathe yourself in Crimson and White. Houndstooth will be just fine, of course, but so too are neutral colors. Now, you might want to avoid Auburn’s orange-and-blue combo at all costs.
That said, here are the Top 10 places every fan should visit when you arrive in Tuscaloosa – City of Champions!
10A: Archibald’s Barbecue
We list these as A and B because it is a standing argument among the locals as to which joint is better. On purely alphabetical basis, the well-worn spare ribs joint just over the river in Northport goes first. Archibald’s only does ribs. They only do one batch a day, so you either get your fix or you go left wanting. And they are mouth-wateringly good every time. It’s concrete-block barbecue pit once caught fire a few years back, and it caused thousands of dollars in improvements on the facility.
10B: Dreamland Bar-B-Que
Ain’t nothing like ’em, nowhere. Up on in the Jerusalem Heights neighborhood not far from the city dump (we know …), Dreamland’s original location was founded by John “Big Daddy” Bishop. At the OG joint (there is another in Northport, and more scattered around the Southeast), you get spare ribs, sauce and white bread. That’s it. The only choice you really need is how many – and we recommend you come hungry. Presidents have detoured to partake in Big Daddy’s signature product, and you should make a point to as well.
9. Tuscaloosa River Walk
This is a must stroll, especially during the fall when the colors are changing all around you. Hard on the southern bank of the Black Warrior River near downtown Tuscaloosa, the path is paved and divided by a painted line for a good two-way road for walkers and bikers. Very dog friendly, there are plenty of benches, gazebos and hammock-friendly trees to slow down your day. It is also well-lit, so you can enjoy golden hour to sunset as well. At full length, it is 4.5 miles – and keep your eye out on the river for a glimpse of the Alabama rowing teams paddle by.
8. City Cafe
This place is a gem in downtown Northport, just on the other side of the Black Warrior River. The southland is known for “meat and threes,” and City Cafe could well be the epicenter of the concept. No reservations are allowed here, but the waitstaff is world class – so even the busiest times of day make the wait move quickly. The choice of your three sides sometimes counts into the 20s, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
7. Capitol Park
Montgomery wasn’t always the capital of Alabama, and the proof of it remains at Capitol Park just a couple of blocks from downtown Tuscaloosa on a bluff of the Black Warrior. It was the site of the Alabama State Capitol from 1826-1846, and the main building was then used for the Alabama Central Female College before it burned in 1923. A historical marker in the park commemorates the school’s history, and classical architecture ruins from the building still stand.
6. Denny Chimes
Sometimes referred to as the university president’s alarm clock, Denny Chimes is a 115-foot campanile tower on the south side of The Quad off University Boulevard in the heart of Alabama’s campus. Denny Chimes was named in honor of George H. Denny, who served as university president from 1912 to 1936 and then again from 1941 through 1942. Denny Chimes is equipped with a 25-bell carillon, has concrete commemorative slabs of each season’s football record. The tower is one of the most visible landmarks on campus.
5. Children’s Hands-On Museum
Kids of all ages love “CHOM,” as the locals call it in T-Town. Children can explore, create and discover all kinds of educational fun stuff, as the museum aims to inspire learning and growth through the power of play. Born out of the Tuscaloosa County Schools’ TARGET program, CHOM originated on Alabama’s campus before moving downtown in 1989. CHOM’s permanent exhibits are designed to stimulate children’s curiosity about their community and their place in it, and to involve children, parents, teachers and others in participatory education.
4. Foster Auditorium
Tucked among newer buildings not far from the Rose Administration Building and President’s Mansion on Alabama’s campus, Foster Auditorium is a living reminder of how far the South has come since the turbulent Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Then-Governor George Wallace infamously stood “in the schoolhouse door” in a symbolic attempt to prevent desegregation on June 11, 1963. Wallace failed via President John F. Kennedy’s nationalization of the Alabama National Guard, and students Vivian Malone and James Hood were allowed entry to officially register for classes at UA. Foster has been reborn as an athletics venue, with Alabama’s volleyball team playing matches inside.
3. Paul W. Bryant Museum
The most notable of a zillion landmarks in Tuscaloosa County named after Alabama’s now second-best football coach, Bryant Museum is on Bryant Drive, just a short walk down from Bryant-Denny Stadium and across the street from Coleman Coliseum and the athletic complex. Stuffed full of Alabama football trophies and relics not just from Bryant’s legendary tenure at the Capstone but all of the Crimson Tide’s history, it is an excellent place to learn just why Tuscaloosa calls itself the City of Champions.
2. Rama Jama’s
We told you to come hungry. Want the best burger you can wrap your mouth around? Rama Jama’s is the place. Literally in the shadow of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Bryant Drive, Rama Jama’s feeds Crimson Tide students, Tuscaloosa locals and worldwide visitors alike. It might as well be an adjunct facility to Bryant Museum what with the wall-to-wall memorabilia inside. You’ll want a burger, sure, but you’ll tell your friends about the hand-spun milkshakes. Gary Lewis, a literal doppelganger for Nick Saban, used to own the the place. And good luck getting anywhere near it on game day – Rama Jama’s is just that popular.
1. Bryant-Denny Stadium
Welcome to the shrine, the place where the magic happens, home to the greatest college football program of all-time. Bryant-Denny Stadium was built in 1929, but it took until the 2000s when the Crimson Tide officially gave up playing occasional games in Birmingham to make Tuscaloosa its permanent home. Recent additions of both end zone upper decks, along with millions more in renovations during the Nick Saban era, make Bryant-Denny Stadium a 100,077-seat mecca of college football. The Walk of Champions outside the North End Zone features inlaid granite markers commemorating each of Alabama’s SEC and national championship teams, as well as larger-than-life bronze statues of Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul W. Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban – the five coaches who (so far) have graced Alabama with national titles.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
