5 Ways to Treat Your Valentine in Birmingham

Still looking for something to do in Birmingham with your special someone tomorrow? Check out these five specials around town.

It's still not too late to solidify those dinner plans for Valentine's Day, but time is running short. Here's what's going on around Birmingham to make this special day even more special. The Big Rock Chop House is extending its Valentine's Day celebration beyond Thursday, offering a special romantic dinner menu through Saturday. Diners will be able to pick from a list of appetizers, main courses and desesrt, featuring dishes like butternut squash soup with toasted hazelnut-rum cream, red miso glazed salmon with marinated seaweed salad and a raspberry semi-fredo. The cost for the special menu is $40 per guest, exclusive of tax, tip and valet. Reservations are required; visit www.bigrockchophouse.com or call 248-647-7774. Also offering a …

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Big Rock Chef to Compete for Regional Chef of the Year

Brian Henson, who was named the Michigan Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation last fall, will now move on to the regional competition.

Brian Henson, executive chef at Birmingham's Big Rock Chop House, will soon have the chance to impress the culinary world yet again when he competes for the title of Regional Chef of the Year this spring. Henson will be one of four chefs competiting in the American Culinary Federation's Regional Chef of the Year competition for the central region. Henson will be competiting against chefs culled from 15 states, from Louisiana and Texas all the way to North Dakota and Wisconsin. This isn't the first time Henson has been recognized. Last fall, Henson was named the 2012 Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association (MCCA). Now, Henson is moving on to the next level and will compete in Little Rock…

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Big Rock Chef Named Chef of the Year by State Culinary Association

Brian Henson from Birmingham's Big Rock Chop House was named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association.

One of Birmingham's top chefs has now been recognized as one of the best chefs in the state. Brian Henson, executive chef for the Big Rock Chop House, was recently named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association (MCCA). Henson won the title after creating the award-winning entree at the MCCA Chef of the Year cooking competition, held at the Country Club of Detroit on July 2. The winner was announced at the Chef of the Year awards gala on Aug. 27. Henson was up against a slate of Detroit's best chefs, including Kevin Peasgood, CEC and executive chef at the Bloomfield Open Hunt Club; and Daniel Daniot, CEC and executive chef at Edgewood Country Club. During the competition, chefs were given …

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On the Storefront

Business Briefs: Birmingham Restaurant Helps 'Feed the Need'

We've got your weekly update of what's going in Birmingham's business community.

Here's a snapshot of activity in Birmingham's business community this week: Brian Henson, executive chef at the Big Rock Chop House, as well as the restaurant's general manager, Vera Day Rizer, and wait staff gave back to Metro Detroit last week by preparing 450 meals at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The staff visited the Detroit soup kitchen Nov. 30 as part of the Feed the Need project, a 52-week project in which a different Metro Detriot restaurant or catering company serves lunch at five soup kitchens in Detroit and Pontiac. Other participating Birmingham restaurants include Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro, Cafe Via, Forest Grill, Phoenicia, Toast and the Townsend Hotel. Chen Chow Brasserie announced that the Detroit Lions’ Nate Burleson has …

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Discover Birmingham

Top 10: Happy Hour Drink and Appetizer Specials

Deals include $2 drafts, $3 cocktails, $3 wine, $5 martinis and $5 appetizers galore.

Salud! Prost! Cin-cin! Santé! Na zdrowie! Skål! Cheers! Here's looking at bar bargains when the working day is done. Local choices include a pair of Wednesday wine promotions, half-off appetizers and a weekly oyster night. Most happy hour deals are weekday-only, some spill into weekends and a few apply in the dining room as well as on bar stools.    Incidentally, our state draws a line that happy hours can't cross. Unlimited refills, two-for-one specials or free cocktail capers of any sort are forbidden. That still leaves room for creativity and value in pursuit-of-happiness specials. Look what's available during strategically-timed visits: 1. Big Rock: If beverage and snack choices here don't suit your taste, you may be too picky. House …

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