Survive the Line at Niki's West

Since 1957, next to the Birmingham farmers market, Niki’s West has run a cafeteria line that is less a restaurant than a regional institution with a serving spoon — dozens of fresh vegetable sides, fried snapper, and a lunch rush where lawyers, construction crews, and off-duty cops all shuffle the same steam-table line. The vegetables are the move; the produce comes from the market next door and the “three vegetable plate” is a legitimate meal.