Road Treats of Key West, FL…

Some of our favorite things we did while here in the Keys:

• Best Happy Hour outside of Key West – Hogfish Bar and Grill
• Best Happy Hour in Key West – Boat House Bar
• Best local food establishment in Key West – Mr. Z’s
• Best Beach – Higgs Beach
• Best Happy Hour Menu – Boat House Bar
• Best Street to Walk – Duval Street, Key West
• Best Event to Watch/Photograph - Key West Race Week
• Best Biking – Anywhere in Key West
• Best People Watching – 100 to 300 block of Duval when cruise ships are in
• Best Bartender – Patty Wacker at the Hogfish Bar and Grill
• Most fun event – Key West Seafood Festival

Saratoga Springs, NY Horse Racing Track…

Saratoga Springs, New York (simply Saratoga as the locals call it) has a slogan that is well known around these parts “Saratoga is the August place to be.” Why you may ask? Not only is the weather picture perfect in this cool little town on the southern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, but it is also the time of the year the ponies are running…

The Saratoga Springs, NY Horse Racing Track called the Saratoga Race Course opened In 1863 and then moved the following year to where it is today. The track is not only the the oldest continuously-operating horse track in the United States is also the oldest of any sporting event of any kind in the USA. The track today is opened for six weeks in the summer and attracts the top jockeys and thoroughbreds in the land. It is host to the Travers Stakes which is said to be the most important summer thoroughbred race.

Besides the history one can enjoy the sights and sounds of the track on a racing day as the sophisticated ladies are sporting their racing garb and their large, showy hats. You can smell the bratwursts on the grill alongside the sweet smelling caramelized onions and green peppers. Cold draft Labatt's Blue on tap helps complete the day at the track. So go to the track and bet an exacta, quinella, or daily double and simply enjoy the day…

After you have had your fill of horse racing go into town and park free behind the police station and check out the post racing action by visiting one of the many pubs, taverns or restaurants in town. There are many great little spots in town so just dive in… Some of our favorites ranged from the upscale The Parting Glass - Irish Pub and Restaurant to a little dive bar called Tin 'N' Lint. Where ever you end up you will have a great time….

Bullfrog Brewery - Williamsport Pennsylvania

Williamsport Pennsylvania, where every little league player dreams to end up playing baseball or softball in the Little League World Series. However, there is more to Williamsport Pennsylvania than little league.

Williamsport is home to many people of wealth and their abundant million plus dollar restored homes. These homes and their varied architectural styles are can be found along fourth street but something else can be found on Fourth Street – the Bullfrog Brewery – a Road Treat.

Bullfrog Brewery, on 229 West Fourth St. was founded in 1996 and was named small business of the year recently. This award winning brewpub is more of an upscale microbrewery than I generally like but it does sport some nice brews.

We sampled three of the beers. First we tried the Billtown Blonde ale. This is a lightly colored ale with a smooth clean and crisp flavor at about 5.5% alcohol. We both liked this brew and my bride decided to have a pint of it. Next we tried the the Apricot Wheat beer since we had one in Spartanburg that we both loved (it was actually peach but close enough). The beer had no real flavor of apricot (a negative) and was a bit bitter. So this one was not to be a choice for a pint. The third one we tried was my favorite. The Edgar IPA is a hoppy and lively beer with just a hint of bitterness (8% alcohol). The beers went really well with a Rueben sandwich we ordered to split which came with a side of sweet potato fries. The sandwich was great!

The place is a bit pricier than I would prefer it to be but on this day we splurged since it was International Beer Day . In case you didn’t know International Beer Day is a worldwide celebration of beer held annually on August 5th at local pubs, bars and breweries all over the world.

The Green Parrot Bar

The Green Parrot Bar located in a building that has been around since the late 1800’s can be found in downtown Key West on 601 Whitehead Street. What you see when you take off you sunglasses and first walk into this bar is a large square bar surrounded with people. Above them is a large multicolored parachute lit up with green Christmas lights. There is an additional smaller bar in the back and between these two bars is a stage where the have live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as other occasional days.

They say that the Green Parrot Bar is “a sunny place for shady people” and after spending some time there they made believers out of us. There are some real interesting characters that call the Green Parrot Bar their regular haunt. Also the large wooden parrot found just above the main bar has a caption that reads “no sniveling” – what a great place this is. It is, in our opinion, the best place to go for a high energy fun time in Key West.

As with any Key West establishment expect to pay more for anything in downtown Key West when compared to crossing the bridge north towards Stock Island or Cow Key. They do have a happy hour from 4-7 pm and during this time they have free self serve popcorn. During many of the live music events they will have a sound check early show and a later main show. Since we are not the night owls we once were this offers us a fun experience during the early evening.

The vibe and feel of this place allows for an assorted collection of regulars mixed with tourists to come together and listen to some live music which for us createed a very fun filled evening. We got to listen to a band called The Legendary JC's which was a 7 member soul band along with a fellow who could flat out play the brass. He even broke out a tuba while playing a few songs and made his way through the crowd. We decided that with the vibe, energy and fun we had there that this too was another Key West Road Treat! Heyduke says check it out…

Key West - Hog Fish Bar & Grill…

The title says Key West but actually this bar and grill is located on Stock Island just outside of the town of Key West. We actually stumbled upon the Hog Fish Bar & Grill while looking for Boyd’s RV park and Campground. I had read about it in all my readings about Key West but until I saw a small sign poked into the ground that read Hog Fish Bar & Grill with a little arrow pointing down the road I hadn’t given much thought to looking for it.

SO one sign led to another and after winding through a maze of roads through a rather ratty part of town you near the water’s edge where you will then discover Stock Island's Hog Fish Bar & Grill…

Once parked you can enter the front of the bar and grill, all open aired as is done in typical Key West fashion, you are treated to an atmosphere that is genuine and exudes the feeling of “we are going to really like this place.” This place is probably more like the bar and grills of old Key West than any of those now found on Duval Street, the main drag of Key West.

The bar and grill sits right on the water and offers both covered indoor and outdoor seating. In fact while we were there our first time they put a new blue awning over the picnic tables outside near the docks on the water’s edge. But we like to sit right at the bar.and mingle with the locals who have a lot of stories to tell about how Key West use to be.

Here is where during happy hour you can get $1.50 Yeungling’s – yes that is what I said - $1.50 Yeungling’s. We have heard the food is excellent and during happy hour they also have some half priced appetizers. One evening we shared the nasty nachos and had plenty for the both of us –Warning they are a bit messy!

This setting is an ideal Key West setting to just sit back and relax while enjoying the warm summer sea breezes while gazing out over the views of the shades of blue and other colors offered by the sea water and varied boats docked nearby. Here is where we have learned what Key West was really like from the locals like Captain Ed, Guenther and Axel while the bartender Patty brings us round after round of cold $1.50 Yeungling’s…

The Hog Fish Bar and Grill is definitely off the beaten track and you will have to search for it but once you find it you will discover what we did – a laid back old Key West establishment with good food, drinks and people… Heyduke says stay till sunset and check it out!

GPS address or just follow the signs… 6810 Front Street, Stock Island, FL

Thirsty Monk Pub… a place for the beer snob… ;)

The place is Asheville, NC which is a mountain town in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The town is not much unlike those in the mountains of Colorado filled with young outdoors oriented intellectuals pursuing the American dream. We were in Asheville on a cold spring day on our way to Nashville, TN. After stopping in Asheville we were walking around the downtown area and we came across the Thirsty Monk Pub.

Now I have a weak spot for pubs so we walked and checked it out. You will find quite a selection of many locally crafted brews at this nice little no-frills pub. Not only will you find a wide assortment of craftsman beers you will find an eclectic group of locals who claim to be beer connoisseurs. You can watch them get a “flight of beer” (six glasses of 3-6 oz. of six different beers) and then they will sniff them, inhaling deeply, sip them and then swish the beer around much like the wine snobs do…

They claim to be the beer city of the USA but they are actually tied with Portland, Oregon for the title. I will admit however they have quite the assortment of craft beers on tap. Two beers I can recommend are the Green Man IPA (6.2% alcohol and quite tasty) and a Craggy Toubab Brew (a Bavarian style Zwickel beer at 4.2%) which was very mellow in flavor.

The following quote from an article in Xmountain Xpress… “Asheville’s craft-beer scene dates back to 1994, when Highland Brewing Co. set up shop in downtown Asheville. Since then, Asheville Pizza & Brewing, French Broad Brewing, Green Man Ales, Pisgah Brewing and Wedge Brewing have followed suit.” Besides these there is also the OysterHouse Brewery and two fairly new breweries - Craggie Brewing and Lexington Avenue Brewing.

If you are a “beer snob” or just like a well crafted beer then this is a Road Treat for you…