Exploring Alabama’s restaurant scene probably isn’t among the priorities of most college students.  After all, dining out doesn’t often go hand-in-hand with frugality.  But food fanatics on a budget may find solace this year.

On Jan. 27, the Alabama Tourism Department will launch the 2012 edition of  “The Year of Alabama Food” during the FoodBlogSouth event in Birmingham.   Following the success of their first food campaign in 2005, the department has high expectations for this year’s marketing effort.

“We have several new things planned for 2012 that we feel will showcase the best in food that Alabama has to offer,” said Lee Sentell, Alabama’s tourism director.

One aspect of the marketing effort is a brochure highlighting “100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die.”  Over a million people have picked up the 2005 edition, which was made available at state welcome centers and chambers of commerce.  Featuring restaurants from over 80 cities and towns across the state, the brochure is designed to emphasize the diversity of Alabama cuisine.

“I think people are pleasantly surprised by the food when they come to Alabama,” said Edith Parten, media relations director for the Alabama Tourism Department.  “They find award-winning fine dining when they’re only expecting meat and threes.”

Eleven Tuscaloosa restaurants – including City Café, Evangeline’s and Dreamland – are featured in the latest Year of Alabama Food.  Owners and managers appreciate the recognition and hope the event brings in new customers.

“I’m really happy about it,” said Joe Barger, manager and owner of City Café in Northport.  “Visitors come to town, and they’re looking for places to eat.  This will help them find us.”

The campaign will feature more than just Alabama restaurants and award-winning chefs: Nearly 400 food festivals around the state will come under a spotlight.

In February, a salivating public will be invited to sample fresh catches at the Orange Beach Seafood Festival.  In May, people can travel to Childersburg to try a true Southern staple at the Grits Festival. The list of events keeps growing.

All the information can be found at the event’s website, www.yearofalabamafood.com, which launched earlier this month.  The site is a great resource, allowing users to track down local farmers markets and wineries, read blogs by their favorite chefs and even discover those chefs’ recipes.

“The chefs are not reluctant to share their secrets,” Parten said.  “Not yet, anyway.”

The website also divides the state’s flavor by regional trails.  The Taste of the Magic City Trail includes stops at the Irondale Café in Irondale, Ala. and at Bottega in Birmingham.  The Costal Cuisine Trails takes intrepid eaters to stops including The Grand Hotel in Point Clear and LuLu’s at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores.

Perhaps the most student-friendly aspect of the campaign will be a statewide “restaurant week” beginning Aug. 17.  During this time, local eateries will offer discounted dishes to restaurant week ticketholders, allowing thrifty students a chance to try some of the more lavish fare without the price of a white tablecloth.  Parten believes many restaurants will want to participate.

“They’re already calling us, asking how to sign up,” Parten said.

With hundreds of listed events, recipes and restaurants exposed, the tourism department wants to help Alabama citizens and visitors get a taste.

“People in the South get together over food,” Parten said.  “And it doesn’t begin and end with fried chicken and catfish.”