Philly Has Good Dive Bars

On a recent trip to Philly I conducted my own dive bar tour sampling some bar food along the way. Check out the highlights below.

Oscar's was one of the best and is a great place to watch sports. I watched an NFL playoff game here and it had everything one could want - greasy food, cold beer and a lively crowd.

Dirty Frank's was another winner. Love this place and their $5 "tall" vodka tonics.

Then there was smoky McGlinchey's with super cheap beer and hot dogs.  A variety of characters hang out here which makes for awesome people watching. Good jukebox, too.

Good Dog Bar was a fun stop but not really "divey". They have a great beer selection and a real menu (as opposed to bar snacks). The bar itself is a tribute to dogs with pictures beloved pets adorning the walls. Overall, it's a good watering hole but not a dive.

Here's the Happy Rooster. It's more restaurant than bar but it's history as a former boys club made it sound interesting.  The bar area is a good place to have a drink as are a couple of small tables up front by the window.  Booths make up the rest of the seating and seem to be used primarily for dining purposes.  The menu is a bit more upscale (grilled octopus for an app) than most other drinking establishments I've come across.

Finally we have Locust Rendezvous or "the Vous" to locals.  The Vous is a good neighborhood bar but like Good Dog Bar is not a traditional dive.  It's more pub-like with an expansive menu but appears to attract more drinkers than diners.  Seems to be a good place for a drink after work or to meet friends.

The French onion soup was quite tasty at the Vous.

Hugos (Austin) Has Good Drinks and an Impressive Tequila Selection

I found myself on the patio of Hugos recently enjoying this delicious concoction of muddled honey, jalapenos, elderflower and tequila. I can't remember the name of this liquid magic but it was very tasty. Just wish I could say the same for the food.

But back to the booze - Hugos has over 60 different types of tequila as well as a nice selection of (reasonably priced) cocktails. They also have nightly drink specials so it's a good place to have a drink if you're in the area.

The Backspace (Austin) is a Good Place

Last week's culinary adventures included a visit to The Backspace. Adjacent to Parkside, The Backspace is a small restaurant specializing in wood fired Neapolitan style pizzas. The pizzas are good though ours was a tad burnt. Bread and desserts were both excellent. Several menu items are a bit pricey so a meal here can add up which brings me to happy hour. Every day from 5:00 to 6:30 all antipasti, beer and wines by the glass are half off. Come early because seating is very limited. All in all, this is a cool place with a nice atmosphere and good food.

Chez Remy (Austin) Really Doesn't Want You to Enjoy Smoked Salmon

Chez Remy is a food trailer specializing in French sandwiches here in Austin. I really want to like them. I think it's a great concept that complements the Austin food scene nicely. Plus it's close to where I live. The problem comes in with the availability (or lack thereof) of their some of their ingredients. I've now attempted to order the smoked salmon sandwich on four separate occasions with no luck. My visits spanned four months (December to March) and sadly, tuna was also unavailable on two of those visits.

I understand these things happen but on four separate occasions? If it's that difficult to obtain salmon then Chez Remy needs to take it off the menu and save customers the headache. Problem solved. That being said, I did enjoy the made to order Camembert sandwich on a recent visit.

March stats are in - Russia still on top, Canada breaks the top three

As a former statistician, I look forward to analyzing GypsyFoodie.com's end of the month stats. One of the things I find most interesting is which countries outside of the U.S. are hitting the site the most. The top three (in order) for March are Russia, Czech Republic and Canada. From the time the site launched Russia has almost always been in the top three. I've also been getting a lot of traffic from the Czech Republic so it wasn't surprising to see them in the second spot. Canada was a surprise though, breaking the top three for the first time. I haven't yet visited Russia and am starting to feel the pressure to get out there and eat!

Here are the top three countries each month since the site launched:

March 2012: Russia, Czech Republic, Canada

February 2012: Russia, Tuvalu, Poland

January 2012: Mexico, India, Russia

December 2011: Czech Republic, Hungary, Brazil

November 2011: Czech Republic, Russia, Peru

October 2011: Russia, Czech Republic, Seychelles

September 2011: Russia, Greece, India

August 2011: Sweden, Niue, Cocos Islands

Welcome to GypsyFoodie.com's new blog!

The time has come. I've been thinking about adding a blog to the site for awhile and today seemed like a good day to pull the trigger. I'm really excited about having a place to write about more than just my favorite dining spots. I dine out quite a bit and will be sharing my experiences at places that don't make it onto the website. I'll also cover food and drink outside of restaurants.

For example, yesterday I made Arnold Palmer jello shots. These are an alcoholic version of the half iced tea, half lemonade drink named after the famous golfer. They are easy to make and were a hit at our friends' crawfish boil. First you cut the lemons in half and scoop out the pulp. Then prepare a box of lemon flavored jello as directed substituting sweet tea vodka for the 1c of cold water called for in the recipe. Refrigerate for at least four hours then slice into quarters before serving.

I'll continue to update the site with the best (and sometimes worst) restaurants and trailers I discover so keep checking the site. I look forward to this new Gypsy Foodie venture and welcome any comments/suggestions. Cheers!