Beer - The Hungry Nomad

Beer, Food, Italian food, Louisiana, New Orleans, Pizza, Romantic

Wood Pizza Bistro and Taphouse- Warehouse District (New Orleans, LA)

March 11, 2015 No Comments

The newest restaurant addition to the Warehouse District is Wood Pizza Bistro & Taphouse located just across the street from Cochon. We were in town for Mardi Gras and as expected all restaurants were packed before the parades began. Initially, we wanted to have a sandwich at Cochon Butcher but with a line up around the corner we thought twice. Looking around I noticed this unassuming new restaurant with a large outdoor seating along an old brick wall. It reminded me of many places in New York and I was immediately attracted. It turns out that head chef, Will Salisbury, grew up in Long Island (no wonder) and spent months eating his way through Italy (as I have). So it was a win-win.

The restaurant as the name gives away serves pizza and salads. Not any kind of pizza but the real wood-burning oven kind. Inside, the restaurant is cozy and small with a small pizza assembly open-concept kitchen tucked in the corner and a larger bar serving awesome regional beers (40 beer taps with lots of craft brews from Louisiana and the South).
The pepperoni and mushroom pizza was delicious with a perfectly baked crust, generous amounts of fresh mozzarella cheese, mushrooms and pepperoni. The large salad was generous enough to feed our party of 3 all washed down by our pitcher of beer. Wood has definitely raised to the top of my go-to places in Nola for good eats on a patio. If you are craving pizza, you know the real Italian kind then definitely head to Wood. You won’t regret it!

Bar, Beer, Food, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Blogs, pub food, USA, Vegan

Dinner at Khyber Pass Pub (Philadelphia, PA)

September 15, 2013 No Comments

Since I am still relatively new to being of legal drinking age in the U.S. and most of my friends are broke college students, we usually go out to eat at bars in the city. One of my good friends and I have decided to implement Thurs-dates for the foreseeable future in order to try out some new places.

The biggest problem with our plan is that she’s a vegan, but thankfully Philly has a fairly large vegan population, so we haven’t had too much trouble finding places that both of us like. This past Thursday, we kicked off our dates at the Khyber Pass Pub, a bar with an emphasis on beer and New Orleans-style food that seems to fit right in with the Old City atmosphere that surrounds it.

For drinks, we had a large draft list to choose from, but since it was still happy hour and they had $5 Mint Juleps, my friend and I wanted to try that. Unfortunately, I should have done my research beforehand. Here I was expecting some minty, sweet cocktail, and instead, a couple of shots of whiskey on the rocks came out. The only minty part of my Mint Julep was the one mint leaf in my drink. Luckily, my friend is a whiskey girl, so she finished off mine, and I quickly switched to a much more appetizing, refreshing pint of Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale.

Although I failed a bit on my first drink choice, I was excited to try my dinner. I opted for the Fried Green Tomato BLT, and I was really happy with my choice. The fried green tomatoes on this sandwich were fantastic as the breading on the tomatoes was just enough to make it crispy without being soggy or overpowering the tomato.

However, my favorite part of the sandwich was the tabasco peppers remoulade that it came with. This remoulade was full of flavor and packed a hot punch. It took the classic BLT to another, more complex level. I just wish they bottled the stuff so I could go back and buy some to add to my own sandwiches.

My friend enjoyed her Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork as well, but she wasn’t as impressed with her sandwich as I was with mine. Even though some of the finer points of veganism are lost on me, I’m pretty sure this didn’t include any pork. It did, however, come topped with a big spoonful of creamy coleslaw to balance out the smokey BBQ flavors of the sandwich. While she claimed that the sandwich wasn’t bad, she did feel that some other bars in Philly offer better vegan options.

Overall, we weren’t disappointed with the Khyber Pass Pub, although we did agree that we like it’s sister bar, Royal Tavern, better. That being said, if we’re in Old City and looking for a quick, reliable bite, I’m sure we’ll end up at this bar and we won’t be leaving disappointed. This spot is definitely not to be missed by those who enjoy bar food, especially if they are beer enthusiasts since there is a wide-range of beers on tap to choose from. I’m glad that our first Thurs-date took place here, and I hope that they will only get better as they go on!

Beer, German, Philadelphia

Frankford Hall- Northern Liberties (Philadelphia, USA)

October 6, 2012 No Comments

If you enjoy beer, good food, outdoor picnic tables, ping pong and a really fun, relaxed atmosphere then you will love Frankford Hall. It’s located in Norther Liberties- the new up and coming hipster-esque area of Philadelphia. We went for their first weekend of Oktoberfest celebrations. The entire street was closed off with food and beer stands. We went pretty early and found a nice picnic table at Frankford Hall under the mid-September sun. Three hefeweizens in our hands and we were ready to celebrate the harvest season.

We ended up spending the entire day drinking beer which led to an order of practically everything on the menu. I ordered the Frankfurter sausage served with a side of red cabbage and mustard. Delicious. Our table also ordered potato pancakes with sour cream and chives- amazing; cucumber salad- refreshing; and fries- crispy, greasy and perfect.

Feeling guilty about all the beer and food consumed we decided to burn it off by playing rounds of ping pong. It was the perfect way to spend a nice, crisp autumn day in Philadelphia. We will certainly be back to Frankford Hall not only for the range of beer but their amazing German food and happy/friendly ambiance.

Beer, Belgian, Philadelphia, USA

Belgian Cafe- Fairmout/Art Musuem (Philadelphia, USA)

August 11, 2012 2 Comments

While walking around the Fairmount/Spring Garden area admiring the beautiful homes, and deciding whether we should live in a brownstone with all of it’s inconveniences (i.e.- lack of parking space), we stumbled upon the Belgian Cafe. A cornerbistro/pub in the neighborhood, it would be hard to find if we hadn’t literally walked into it. We decided to stop in for a beer and would later return for a proper meal.

We were both happy to see that our favorite Belgian beer was on the menu. We returned on the 4th of July wanting something other than street food stands at the parade on Benjamin Franklin. The restaurant was busy but we were seated right away. The server was very nice and attentive and immediately took our order. The Count ordered a tomato and chevre cheese flatbread as an appetizer and the portabello mushroom sandwich as his entree. I ordered the mussels and fries. After all, that is what the Belgians are famous for.

The flatbread was quite literally a flat piece of bread sprinkled with cheese and tomatoes and drizzled with caramelized onions and balsamic vinaigrette. I didn’t like it, nor did the Count. It was too sweet and the flavors did not blend properly.

My mussels arrived next. A huge portion with a pot covering it to be used for the empty shells. It was served with a side of crispy fries. The broth was what ruined it. It was too salty to the point that I had to drain each shell before taking out the insides. Usually the broth is the best part made to dip your bread into after the mussels are gone. But not this broth. This broth tasted like liquid salt.

The Count craved something on the healthier side. But the sandwich he ordered oozed with oil. The bread was most likely fried in butter. Each bite was oily. After a few bites he gave up. He moved on to the side salad, at least that wasn’t covered in oil.

I expected this place to be a traditional Belgian Cafe serving authentic Belgian food. Besides the mussels and fries most other items on the menu were typical of most continental restaurants (ie. hamburgers, sandwiches and salads). The quality of the food was lower than I expected.

It seems to be a great place for drinks and snacks since they have a large variety of beers and good greasy snacks. But don’t count on having an amazing dining experience. Go here for the beer not the food.