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By LIZZIE BOWEN | Staff Writer

 I recently went to the Taste of Shelby County held in the Inverness Country Club and I was enamored at all the delicious foods and beverages presented to me.

If there is one thing I feel like Shelby County should be known for, it’s really good food. In my family, food is a love language. With an Italian father who has been the chef in my life for the past two decades (almost two and a half now, I am getting old) I spent my childhood smelling the sweet aromas of the kitchen.

I equate some of my fondest memories with food. During my time at the University of Alabama, the smell of burgers on a grill electrified me with game-day excitement, the smell of seafood reminds me of my days walking around New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Vegas will forever be embedded in my memory as the time my family tried to eat a 25-pound burger. Spoiler alert: we did not succeed. The food I have eaten on the trips I have taken all hold a special place in my heart, but some of the best food I have eaten has been in the Shelby County area.

To say I have been pleased with the food I have experienced in Shelby County would be the understatement of the century. Half Shell Oyster house opened in Pelham with some of the best oysters and seafood I have ever experienced, Jerusalem Grill has absolutely delicious hummus and The Depot in Helena remains one of the best burger joints with a view.

Not only can you have dinner here in Shelby County, but often dinner and a show. One of my favorite things to do on any major celebration in my life whether it be birthday, graduation or any holiday is to go to the hibachi restaurants in the Shelby County area.

Mizu located in Alabaster will cook your steak, chicken or scallops on a fiery grill in front of you. They create an onion volcano and do amazing tricks with their spatulas as they cook your meal It still remains as some of the best steak I have had in Shelby County.

I never spent much time in Columbiana as a kid, I can only remember one visit in particular, but I have been opened up to a variety of new restaurants and delicious foods here in Columbiana. Golden City has some of the best sushi rolls I have ever eaten.

Leaders’ Corner Coffee and Tea has a sandwich I was first introduced to on week one of my time here. The Spicy Shelley was one of the most flavorful sandwiches I have eaten topped with a pickle spear and spicy sauce.

One of my happiest and funniest memories growing up was going to the Golden Corral buffet in Pelham. The thing about Golden Corral is there is absolutely no one stopping you, no one is keeping you from stuffing your face. The only thing between you and eternal eating is your own personal self-control. There was a cheese fountain for fondue, tacos or cheese fries (your choice) as well as a fountain of liquid chocolate. Eight-year-old me was in Heaven frolicking down the unending buffet. It has since closed down, but my memories will forever remain.

Oak Mountain Lanes continues to amaze me both with its food selection as well as its seemingly forever growing arcade. You can zipline, bowl or enjoy some of the best bowling alley nachos around. I have such fond memories of going there both in present day and all throughout my childhood.

It seems no matter where you are in Shelby County there is good food, entertainment and fun. Shelby County sure knows how to cook. Shelby County sure is tasty.