Tracy's: Restaurant Showcase
Tracy's
Home cooking-close to home
Are you in the mood for a great southern meal? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner? Then head on down to Tracy’s in Crestline Village.
Established in 1974 by Jimmy Tracy, the restaurant has been located in several different spots around Birmingham. Tracy’s began as a hot dog stand in the Lakeview District of Birmingham. After a few years he then opened Tracy’s as a restaurant at UAB in the townhouse building. It originally started as a sandwich place but then grew to include southern food. As Tracy says, “Customers have motivated me to change my menu – I like to give them what they want.”
And this is certainly something he is capable of doing. He attended Chef School at Jeff State and while he still cooks a little, he really enjoys being able to dabble in all aspects of the restaurant business. Tracy’s has been in the Crestline location for three and half years. Tracy enjoys being in the Mountain Brook community. “Crestline is a great neighborhood coming from where I was downtown,” said Tracy.
Tracy’s offers lunch and dinner Monday thru Thursday, and lunch on Friday and Sundays. On Saturday’s, Tracy’s is a popular spot for breakfast. With biscuits, pancakes, French toast, eggs and sandwiches, you have one great beginning to your day!
As for every other day, you will find delicious fresh entrees, vegetables, salads, and sandwiches on the menu. The entrees are changed everyday as well as the seasonal vegetables. Some entrees that he offers are Salmon Croquettes, Spaghetti, Smoked Sausage & Peppers, Hamburger Steak and numerous others. If you are choosing to do the meat of the day you have the option of one, two, or three vegetables. These range from Fried Green Tomatoes, Cucumber Salad, Baked Apples, Mashed potatoes, and Mr. Tracy’s personal favorite, squash casserole.
Tracy’s stays true to his roots and still offers hamburgers, cheeseburgers, turkey, chicken salad and fried green tomato BLT sandwiches. And he also offers a Greek or a grilled chicken salad. If you’re in the mood for dessert, don’t worry, he can whip you up a chocolate or vanilla milkshake or malt!
As I sat down for lunch with my publisher, Dan Starnes, I was struggling with what to order. There were so many things that sounded good and I’ve always been an indecisive person when it comes to ordering at restaurants. I finally decided to get the veggie burger (I’m on a health kick) and let me tell you I was not disappointed. I can say it was one of the best veggie burgers I have had in a long time. It was thick and juicy and in one bite I could taste a variety of delicious vegetables on a grilled burger bun. I savored every bite of this sandwich, who knew eating healthy could be so yummy?
Dan decided to do the meat and two vegetable option, and he was also very impressed. He had the Greek baked chicken with macaroni & cheese and collard greens. He said the chicken was baked to the right temperature and the perfect amount of Greek seasonings. The macaroni and cheese was just cheesy enough and the collard greens were just like any true Southerner would love. I can definitely say there was not much talking during this meal!
Tracy’s is an excellent place to stop when you need a quick to-go healthy meal at a reasonable price. “At Tracy’s we try to provide as much fresh food, reasonable prices and be as friendly as we can be,” said Tracy.
And never fear Mountain Brook, you can take Tracy’s home with you! In the cooler in the front of the store you can find frozen entrees of squash and broccoli casserole, macaroni and cheese and cornbread dressing. So you can eat at Tracy’s or get a meal for later!
