Dale's Seasoning was first made in Birmingham, Ala,, in 1946 and is now available in 44 state nationwide.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

Some food brands are so synonymous with Alabama that when we hear the name, we instinctively think, “Yep, that’s ours.”

Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea.

And Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale.

But few brands have been around longer and are more iconic than Birmingham’s Dale’s Seasoning, the legendary steak marinade that began in 1946 and is still owned and operated by the same family that started Dale’s more than 75 years ago.

If you’re a fan, you know Dale’s enhances everything from ribeyes to burgers to chicken wings.

But unless you’re a big Dale’s history buff, here are 10 things you might not have known. (But now you will.)

Dale's Seasoning was the "house marinade" for the old Dale's Cellar Restaurant, which was located in the basement of a multi-story apartment building in downtown Birmingham, Ala.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

Long before it was bottled, branded and sold in grocery stores across the country, the dark, soy sauce-based seasoning was the house marinade at Dale’s Cellar Restaurant, which Army buddies Jacob “Jake” M. Levine Jr. and Joe Daole opened in downtown Birmingham after serving their country during World War II. The restaurant, which opened in 1946, was in the basement of a high-rise apartment building that was on the site of what is now Renasant Place office tower across from Linn Park.

2. The story behind the sauce

Levine and Daole were stationed in Hawaii during the war and served as cooks in the officers’ club, according to Alan Seigel, Levine’s nephew and the vice president of Dale’s Seasoning. “There’s nothing in the family that says Jake was a chef, but somehow or another, they called themselves cooks,” Seigel said. “They were cooking at the officers’ club, and they found this lady who had a recipe. They started cooking with it, and people started liking it. I don’t know how they ended up with the recipe, to be honest with you.”

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At one time, Dale's Steakhouse had locations throughout Alabama and around the South, including restaurants in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Florence -- as well as in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Panama City, Fla. The last remaining Dale's Steakhouse closed in 2014. This coffee cup and saucer are souvenirs from those old Dale's Steakhouse days.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)

Daole moved to Atlanta to open restaurants there while Levine later started eight more Dale’s locations throughout Alabama and around the Southeast, including one in Panama City Beach, Fla. A second Birmingham-area location, called Dale’s Hideaway, opened in Homewood in the late 1950s. The original Dale’s Cellar Restaurant later relocated to the old Essex House on Sixth Avenue North in 1966. It closed nine years later.

Customers at Dale’s Cellar Restaurant liked the savory steak marinade so much that they began requesting some to take home with them. “People would come in and say, ‘Can I have some of that sauce?’” Seigel said. “They got a Coke bottle and filled it up.” Later, Levine began bottling the secret marinade and selling it over the counter at the restaurant.

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This is one of the early bottles of Dale's Seasoning. (Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

5. One door closes and another opens

Jake Levine died of a heart attack in 1966, and following his death, his wife, Estelle, ran the restaurants with her brother-in-law, Sam Levine. In 1975, Estelle got out of the restaurant business and with the help of her son, Michael Levine, focused on producing and selling Dale’s signature marinade. “That’s kind of when the sauce business was born,” Seigel, her nephew, said. “My cousin (Michael Levine) was with her every step of the way.” Estelle Levine Silverstein is 97 now, and she’s still involved with the company.

Operating out of a small commercial kitchen in Homewood, the family bottled the Dale’s marinade using a hand-held pump that would fill four bottles of sauce at a time. “It would take 20 to 30 minutes to fill 48 bottles,” Seigel said. On a good day, they could fill about 900 bottles of sauce – a task that takes about six minutes on the assembly line today. They started selling Dale’s marinade at grocery stores around Birmingham, including Piggly Wiggly, Western Supermarkets and Bruno’s. “We started getting some distribution,” Seigel said, “and the good news is, people liked the product.”

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In 2006, Dale's Seasoning introduced a healthier version of its marinade that has 42 percent less sodium than the original.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

Dale’s soon outgrew its operation in Homewood and relocated to Irondale. The family got out of the production business for good in the early 2000s, closing its Irondale plant and contracting with a co-packer in the Brundidge, Ala., to bottle and distribute the sauce. Dale’s corporate headquarters remains in Birmingham. “We are a sales and marketing operation now,” Seigel said. “We really didn’t want to make stuff. We’d much rather sell it. That’s a lot more fun.” These days, Dale’s Seasoning is available in 44 states and about 12,000 grocery stores nationwide, including Publix, Kroger, Food Lion, Safeway and Walmart. In 2006, 60 years after Dale’s began, the company introduced a reduced sodium blend that has 42 percent less sodium than the original marinade.

In addition its primary purpose as a marinade for steaks, burgers and chicken, Dale's Seasoning may also be used to spice up such dishes as pimento cheese.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

8. How do you do your Dale’s?

Most folks use Dale’s Seasoning on steaks and burgers, but the marinade goes also well with everything from chicken and pork chops to asparagus and grilled corn. “There is no wrong way to use it,” Seigel said. “You can put it on anything.” Recipes are available on the Dale’s website and in the Dale’s Seasoning cookbook, which includes old recipes from the restaurants as well as contributions from customers, who use it in everything from pimento cheese to Bloody Marys. “People send us recipes,” Seigel said. “We have the coolest, most loyal customers in the world.”

In 2020, Dale's Seasoning introduced Dale’s Steak Sauce, a table condiment that not only may be used on steaks, burgers and hot dogs, but also as a dipping sauce for fries.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

9. The newest member of the Dale’s family

In 2020, Dale’s Seasoning introduced a new addition to the family, a table condiment that you can use to dress up burgers, hot dogs, steaks, pork chops, chicken and anything else that could use a little extra Dale’s love. Made with a blend of tomato puree, soy sauce, molasses, mustard, salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper and other ingredients, the sauce has a flavor profile that is distinctly Dale’s, but it has the slightly thicker consistency of a condiment such as ketchup. As the label suggests, Dale’s Steak Sauce is good for dipping, dunking or pouring, Seigel said. “I started out putting it on french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes,” he said. “A friend of mine put it on a barbecue sandwich, like regular barbecue sauce. We want to have a very versatile product.”

RELATED: Alabama’s iconic Dale’s marinade has a new sidekick

Jessica Meuse, a contestant on the 2014 edition of "American Idol," performs her take on the "How Do You Do Your Dale's?" jingle in a new commercial for Dale's Seasoning.(Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

10. An “American Idol” star does her Dale’s

This summer, Dale’s launched a new marketing campaign featuring 2014 “American Idol” contestant Jessica Meuse from the small Alabama town of Slapout. In it, Meuse belts out her bluesy, rollicking version of the familiar “How Do You Do Your Dale’s” jingle at a backyard barbecue. “Any time’s party time, cookin’ on a grill,” Meuse sings. “It’s a legendary taste that’s been around for all these years. A secret family recipe with a bull on the label. How do you do your Dale’s?” Go here to watch and listen.

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