Review: Rogue Tavern

Kudos to the young (and older) entrepreneurs for not giving up on downtown Birmingham and allowing it to turn into a potential ghost town. There are an estimated 4,000 loft district dwellers, 1,000 of whom live around 2nd Avenue North. These residents together with downtown businesses have brought venues like this one to The Magic City. Rogue Tavern is located on 2nd Avenue North between 22nd and 23rd, a bar/live music venue that just so happens to serve good food.

Writes bhammag.com:

Matt Lagace, Rogue's executive chef, comes from a fine-dining background, and his burgers bring a certain inventiveness to casual tavern fare, just as Rogue itself is a couple steps classier than your typical bar/music venue. Yes, the burgers are made from fresh ground chuck, with a seasoning blend created in-house, but the real appeal of Rogue's burgers are their toppings. The fiery Bloomin' Jalapeño Burger ($7.95), with onion rings, lots of the eponymous peppers, onion dip and cheddar, is my favorite, though you can also get the Southwestern Burger ($7.95), with green chiles, guacamole and Monterey Jack; a trio of mini burgers with caramelized onion and blue cheese ($7.95); or a plain ol' burger ($6.95, plus 50 cents each for cheese and bacon). If you're up for a challenge, there's also The Big "E" ($27.95), a two-pound version of the Southwestern Burger.

Rogue Burger with Homemade Garlic and Peppercorn Chips

It was the "plain ol' burger" that took me to Rogue Tavern for lunch. I was able to order it medium and topped it with cheese. The accompanying item was homemade garlic and peppercorn potato chips. The burger was wonderfully juicy and flavorful and the potato chips non greasy and also flavorful. The burger definitely lived up to its reputation and recommendation.

Portobello Mushroom Burger with Homemade Garlic and Peppercorn Chips

We passed on the desserts.....today, but I am excited to know that the white chocolate bread pudding appears to be the same or similar to what was served at the now closed Prairie Fire Grille - the best bread pudding ever.

Good service, good food, good atmosphere
5 of 5 stars
See menu here.

A view from the inside:

Note: We weren't crashing the place; we were the first customers at noon opening. More customers had drifted in by the time we left.