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Niki's West makes it onto USA Today.
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Sweet home Alabama has a taste all its own
As part of a series of occasional stories on classic, down-home eateries, USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver visits Alabama to dine at some of its most soulful spots. Click here for a map of other salt-of-the-earth eateries.

•Niki's West, 233 Finley Ave., Birmingham; 205-252-5751

First-timers need a plan of attack before they approach the line that snakes in front of the formidable buffet. Each day there are 10 entree specials, more than 50 vegetables and salads and a dozen desserts to choose from. The visual impact of such a spread can be deliciously discombobulating.

The line moves quickly, and the food is dispatched smartly by a small army of servers, so there's no time to dither between the collard or turnip greens or to fret over pairing salmon patties with fried green tomatoes or to drool over the lemon icebox pie. Just keep pointing and moving, take as much as you can on your tray and rest assured that you'll probably get change back from $10.

Maintaining quality on a massive scale — the 450-seat dining areas accommodate crowds of 1,100 to 1,400 a day — is a challenge, co-owners Teddy and Pete Hontzas say. Their great-uncle, a Greek immigrant, founded the restaurant in 1957. "You're just a couple of bad meals away from somebody not coming back for a while," Teddy says.

They address that by using fresh products from the region (fewer than 15% of the main ingredients are frozen or canned, Teddy says), and by maintaining a staff of veterans, some of whom have tenures of 20 years.