Special Feature
Joy King, hostess of the Bham Eat Drink Ride Food Tour, has a number one rule for her tour groups: “You must have fun!” The bus tour experience takes guests to a variety of local eateries for a five-course meal, including foods like burgers, tacos, cheesecakes, and chicken and greens. For those who prefer to have their chicken served with waffles, there is also a brunch tour, which encounters foods like shrimp, grits, and pancakes. Guests also enjoy entertainment provided by King herself, the “Queen of Clean Comedy.”
King’s relationship with Birmingham’s local chefs began with her work as the hostess of a show called “Dining Out with Comedienne Joy,” which airs at 11 a.m. on Saturdays on WABM/Channel 68. On the show, King explores local restaurants of Birmingham that the audience probably would not have otherwise discovered. She was inspired by the feedback she received from her viewers, which was often that they wanted to eat like King eats. The message was clear: she needed to start a food tour.
Tours are open to many types of groups like office staffs, ministry groups, bridal parties, and ladies’ night out tours, her specialty. “We ladies to like to get together and have fun over a good meal and in a safe environment,” says King. “We typically have things in common such as kids and crazy coworkers, so the tours are a great way to get a mini-break from our family and bond with our girlfriends or meet new friends.”
King is driven by her passion to keep local restaurants’ doors open. She knows that many of these restaurant owners work long hours over the grill, making food for our families so that they can provide food for their own. The food tour gives guests an opportunity to meet the chefs and owners personally, putting a face to the food and forming a relationship between chef and patron. Because of the personal connections (and the good eats, of course), guests often return to dine again at the restaurants they explored with King.
One of King’s guests, Cynthia Welborn, describes her food tour experience as such: “My coworkers and I experienced a wonderful and fun time on the Bham Eat Drink Ride Food Tour. Lots of excitement and good tasting at Swamp Monster, Indigo Hotel, Corbin Farm Winery, Preservery Bham, Michael’s Sea Food and God Father’s Pizza. We didn’t have to drive and were picked up in Montgomery! What a good way to start the weekend.” For more information on King’s Bham Eat Drink Ride Food Tour, you can call 205-482-6999 or visit her website at www.DiningOutWithComedienneJoy.com.
-Regan Green
