Stephanie Pedersen: Support locally owned restaurants

Last week, I challenged readers to try to shop local this holiday season.

I suggested a few boutiques around town that offer quality ladies clothing at reasonable prices.

I enjoy fashion. But this week I want to talk about something that I'm passionate about multiple times a day.

Food.

I love food.

That's a bad thing after you've had two kids and realize you can't order that stuffed-crust pizza and eat it for an entire week like you once did in college. I may be speaking from experience. But it's a good thing in this area, because there are a lot of options when it comes to locally owned restaurants.

Working downtown means that you can eat from those restaurants for every meal, if you wanted. It's not the best thing for your wallet, but sometimes it happens.

Growing up, I remember eating out only on Sunday afternoons after church. It was a special treat. My family continues the Sunday lunch tradition that usually includes my family, my sister's family and my parents. If my brother is in town, his family is there, too.

Eating out at a restaurant made me feel special when I was little. My siblings would tease me when I was going through my "girly" phase because I would get dressed up whenever we went out.

Now, we try to eat at local restaurants and not chains. That doesn't mean you won't find us at Fuddruckers or Chick-fil-A or Jason's Deli at times.

You'll also find us at China Garden (in Phenix City), Minnie's or Iron Bank Coffee.

Understandably, there's a large group of locally owned restaurants downtown that offer several different varieties. But you also can find those dining options across the Tri-City area.

I don't eat a lot of barbecue, but you can find amazing chicken fingers at Mike & Ed's BBQ that now has several locations around town.

Of course, if you're looking for a scrambled dog, the only place to go is Dinglewood Pharmacy in the midtown area.

On the north side of town, you need to arrive early so you won't miss out on Trevioli artisan pasta company's featured dish of the night.

And, of course, you can eat at a different local restaurant downtown every weekend for the rest of the year and not have to repeat.

If you remember from a previous column, one of my kids is a picky eater. But that's usually not a problem downtown. He'll eat a taco at Flip Side, a pizza at The Cannon Brew Pub or chicken fingers at The Loft.

Date night favorites lately include 11th and Bay, MaBella's and Caffe Amici.

The holidays usually include at least a few homecooked meals, but they also include large gatherings of family and friends at restaurants around town.

I promise you'll find something you like in one of our local restaurants. There are several lists of them at ledger-enquirer.com.

So, next time you plan a gathering for a meal, look toward places that have owners who live in this community.

Stephanie Pedersen, senior editor, spedersen@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Stephanie Pedersen: Support locally owned restaurants ."