Rula Bula Irish Pub (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.)

Rula Bula Irish Pub, 401 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe Arizona USA.  www.rulabula.com   The building was constructed in 1899 and has been a few different businesses over the years. Rula Bula has a nice meandering 25 person sit up oak bar.  It has nice Irish touch to the place and without over doing it.  The all wood tables, have cloth table cloths on them and the chairs are older style wood chairs.  The booths have wood arms with leather benches.  Out back is a nice patio area with a curved concrete bar that sits 15 people.  Also on the patio are numerous tables and chairs with sun shades (you will need them).  Inside the bar they have Irish music playing in the back ground.  For lunch, I had the Irish Pot Roast sandwich.  It had loads of pot roast and covered in mozzarella cheese win a nice big fresh French roll.  It cam with Irish Fries. It was huge and very good.  My wife had the Irish Cob salad, with lots of crumbly blue cheese, tomato, fresh lettuce, beets, potato, avocado, egg, chicken, ham bacon with a home made balsamic dressing.  She said it was one of the best she has had.  The portions are big and the quality is good with reasonable prices.  It is in a very cool area of Tempe and close to the University of Arizona. Saturday and Sunday it is half price bottles of wine.,  We had the Benvolio Pinot Grigio  2103 form Italy, very enjoyable.  Try it out, we really enjoyed it here.  Sorry I forgot to check out the beer selections!

Darby's Public House and Liquor Store (Vancouver B.C. Canada)

Darby's Public House and Liquor Store, 2001 MacDonald Street, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.  On the south west corner of MacDonald and W4th Avenue in the trendy Kitsilano area of Vancouver and just a few blocks from the beach. This was another good recommendation to me by the "Cardigan Kid". Small cozy little place with the liquor store attached to the south side.  They do have underground parking and is says compact cars only.  by looking at the entrance which has a very tight 90 degree turn I believe it.  No pick up trucks, SUV's or larger cars.  Smart Car, Mini Cooper or Fiat 500 would fit, LOL!  In side it is simple but comfortable, with the L shape sit up bar holding 12 people.  Two pub high tables in the middle each seat 10 which is nice.  10 TV's on the walls great for watching sports. The pub serves 28 types of Craft beer and have 30 different types of beer on tap.  Certain beer is changed out depending on the season.  They have a Keno and a poker TV.  For food I had the Library Burger that came with a Two Rivers Natural beef patty from Pemberton Meadows on a fresh pretzel bun from Portofino Bakery with Fontina cheese, honey caramelized onions and bacon lettuce, tomato, dijonaise .  For sides your options are: Soup, Fries, yam fires, house salad, Caesar salad, quinoa salad, coleslaw and warm potato salad and for extra your choices are Polenta fries for $2 or Poutine or Mac and Cheese for $3. The waitress recommended the Polenta Fries (I still don't know what Polenta is)  so I went with that.  They came out and are rectangular about 3 inches long.  I couldn't finish them all they were not bad at all.  Next time I will try a different side. My friend had the Straight and Narrow which was eggs, bacon toast and hash browns.  The eggs were very nicely done! The bacon is a little thicker that most places.  There is a roof top patio that wasn't open when we arrived but opened up later.  We checked it out and it is very nice running down facing W4th Ave and facing east to MacDonald street.  It has a nice view and is very nicely done.  I would love to sit up there on a nice sunny day.  The sign on the liquor store boasts over 500 beer, 500 wine, 250 spirits and 100 coolers and ciders.  This place has a nice neighbourly local feel to it.  This is a busy area of the city, streets are busy all the time and lots of shops along W4th Ave. I really enjoyed this place and I look forward to returning here again in the near future.  2 thumbs up for sure!

Tugboat Annie's Pub and Grille (Richmond, B.C. Canada)

Tugboat Annnie's Pub and Grille  6911 Graybar Road, Richmond, British Columbia Canada.  It is at the very east side of Richmond across the street from the Annacis Channel of the Fraser River across from the west tip of Annacis Island.  It is located in an industrial/ marine area.  For a place that is called Tugboat Annie's, there is very little in the way of a nautical theme.  The sit up bar holds 10 people and has 12 different types of beer on tap.  There is a pub high oval table n the middle that seats 10 people.  They have an extensive menu but we didn't try the food. I liked their out door covered patio area.  There is a gas fire place and TV and lots of room.  The inside of the pub just didn't do it for me.  The washrooms are in need of a freshening up.  There is a roof top patio area, but just wasn't nice enough to sit up top and try it out.  I imagine that the view from up there is better.  There is a marina near but with numerous boats  moored out front.   I could only see 4 TV's which wasn't enough, especially now a day!  They had one nice large Samsung TV with a beautiful picture. The best part of this location is the name, I wish it lived up to its name.

Ocean Side Yacht Club & Public House (White Rock B.C. Canada)

Formerly known as: Hemingway Public House 14995 Marine Drive, White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.  Part of the Richard Joseph Group chain of pubs.  This used to be the Ocean Beach Hotel which was a well known bar/ night club for years before being taken over by RJG and turned in to the Hemingway.  This place has probably the best outdoor patios on Marine Drive in White Rock, great view of the ocean, pier and everyone passing by.  On a nice day these seats will be hard to get.  Inside they have a very nice long bar that seats about 12 people.  There is lots of seating, and similar to all the other pubs in the chain.  along the east side, they have 6 wine barrels hanging each with a different Ernest Hemingway quote on it. I must say, this place has the best décor of the ones in this group that I have been in.  There are more than 12 beer on tap and 25 different craft beer available. The service was very fast, friendly and attentive.  If you can't get a seat on the patio there are several tables by the front windows that also have a great view.  Numerous TV's through out so you don't miss any of the games on TV. There is a lot of parking in one of the public parking lots near by, but they are all pay parking.  If you are lucky, there is a lot right across the street. The Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad line passes right by and you can see the freight trains and the Amtrak passing by at a slow rate of speed coming and going to USA and Vancouver.  They have daily drink specials and are open 1100 to midnight 2 days a week.  I really enjoyed it here and will be back for sure.  Next time I hope to get a seat on the patio.

Name has changed to Ocean Side Yacht Club & Public House. The interior has remained the same.  The menu is the same as all others in this chain of pubs.

The Taphouse Guildford (Surrey, B.C. Canada)

The Taphouse Guildford, 15330-102A Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada  www.thetaphouse.ca A buddy of mine (The Cardigan Kid) recommended this place so we went with him late one afternoon to give it a try.  We were welcomed by 3 very nice young ladies and taken to our seats, something you don't see in too many pubs/ bars.  This is a large place, the main floor holds 300 people and there is a second floor that holds 200 people. Opens 1100 am every day.  It wasn't too busy when we were there.  There are 24 different types of beer on tap.  Their happy hour runs from 3 pm to 530 pm, and includes well drinks and glasses of wine for $4.00, $6.00 flights of beer and half price pizza.  There are also beer specials. The pizza was thin crust and very good (Mushroom and peperoni is what I tried).  On the main floor they have lots of booths and a large "L" shape Bar which seats 45 and looks down on to the rest of the bar.  There is a 14 foot projection screen and numerous TV's around 20.  Behind the screen is where the bands play.  Through out the week there different themes, Monday is Team Game night, come and play various board games, Tuesday is Acoustic night, Wednesday nights is Trivia night, Thursday nights are dueling pianos, Fridays and Saturdays nights it is live bands, Sunday is country night.  Service here was good, very friendly and helpful.  Washrooms are single person washrooms, nice touch. There is a double set of stairs off to either side of the stage that leads up to the second floor.  You can also go up by the front.  It is not usually open during the day but also has a bar up there.  Above the area where the dance floor is on the main floor, it is open to the second floor and gives a great view of the stage.  During the day the dance floor has tables and chairs on it.  They have numerous large booths, pool table, pinball game and comfortable for sure.  A big plus for this place is the large parking lot in front (free parking).  The Taphouse is just 2 blocks from the Guildford Mall, think about that around Christmas time when the other half of your relationship wants to go shopping.  They drop you off here, and shop to their hearts content and pick you up when they are done shopping.  A definite win win situation!  I look forward to coming here again. This used to be the Mirage Night Club for 20 years before turning in to a pub, and now with a different clientele.
Late March 2015, was here again and I really enjoyed it.  The pizza's were awesome.  The service was very good.  Did I say there is lots of parking, which is a big plus!! I will be back for sure!

Jorge's Kitchen Mexican Grill and Bar (Mount Vernon, Washington, USA)

Jorge's Kitchen Mexican Grill and Bar  is a diamond in the rough! We found this great place by chance, just cruising around.  Located at 1725  E Blackburn Road, Mont Vernon, Washington, USA  at the corner of South 18th Street and E Blackburn Road.  Phone 350-424-6838  www.Facebook.com/JorgesKitchen   Don't miss this place or let the look fool you.  It is a part of the Little Mountain Grocery store/ gas station.  2/3 rds of the inside is grocery store and the other third is Jorge's Kitchen.  Inside the smell is awesome and yes Jorge is the cook, who is also very friendly.  There is a small sit up bar that seats 7 people, there are two tables of 4 and 3 tables of two and that is it.  Jorge said in the summer they open up the outside patio and it gets very busy out there.  The outside patio is surrounded by a 6'6" fence.  The patio is stamped concrete with nice wood picnic tables with umbrellas.  To drink they serve Elysian Brewing Co. beer.  According to Wikipedia: "The Elysian Brewing Company was a craft brewer that operated four pubs in Seattle. On January 23, 2015, it was announced that Elysian would be sold to Anheuser-Busch in a deal expected to close within three months."  They also serve Corona Lite all on tap.  There is no hard liquor, coolers, wine or cider, just beer.  Now lets get to what makes this place so amazing, the food!  Everything is cooked fresh and it is very busy but the service is fast and friendly.  This place also does a booming take out business.  There were lots of Mexican people eating and taking out food from here which is a very good sign.  The menu is relatively small but the food is sooooo good!  We had the 3 tacos with beans and rice.  The tacos are soft, double with your choice of pork, chicken or beef with fresh cilantro and diced onions.  We went with the pork and I have to say one of the best tacos I have ever had!  the price, $7.99 and great value.  We each had a Corona =Lite and they were $2.00 a glass, another great value! Other things on the menu are:  Burritos, Tortas, Mulitas, Super Nachos, Super Quezadilla, Carne Azada and Carne Adovanda.  The most expensive things are $8.69, and you can't beat that! Happy hour runs 4-7 pm and all day Sunday. Saturday is seafood day where he has Fish tacos and Cerciviche apparently that is also a very busy day.  I can't wait to come back here! I look forward to coming here in the summer and eating out side on the patio area.  If I could I would give it 3 thumbs up, it is that good!  I will be back for sure and hopefully sooner rather than later!

August2022

Back again and still so cool! Changed the layout, small situp bar that seats 5, with 8 beer on tap. They put a roof over the outside eating area. I had the 3 fish tacos and they were quite good. My wife had 1 chicken and 1 steak Taco and said they were very good. Service is very good and friendly. You have to try this place it. Where else do you find a great Mexican place in a store/ gas station. Yes, there are a lot of Mexican's who eat here and that is a good testament in how good the food is!

Match Eatery and Public House (Langley, B.C. Canada)

Match Eatery and Public House, 20393 Fraser Hwy, Langley, British Columbia, Canada.  This great placed is attached to the Cascades Casino which is also attached to the Coast Hotel.  This location opened in July of 2014 according to our waitress.  It has a very nice square U shaped bar that sits 16 people. The bar top is made out of laminated wood which looks very nice.  Underneath the bar, each seat has a double coat/ purse hooks which is a very nice touch. There are 10 different types of beer on tap.  As for wine they have 8 red and 8 white.  I had the Sumac Ridge cellar select Sauvignon Blanc which was quite nice.  9 oz. glass is $11.00.  My wife had the Saint and Sinner Shiraz Cabernet which she said was very nice and $11.00 for 9 oz. glass. There are 8 dark brown diamond button tufted U shaped booths, a long pub high table seating 8 or so. and lots of table seating.  There is one pool table.  One wall is open to the Casino, which I liked. I counted 13 TV's through out the pub.  For lunch I went with the 9 inch Deep dish meat pizza, which came with a meat based sauce and mozzarella cheese.  It was served on a plate with a thick wood base underneath.  The pizza stayed very hot through out the entire time eating it.  I couldn't finish it and had to pack it to go.  It was very good.  My wife had the special which was Chilli and corn bread muffin.  The corn bread muffin was made and served in a very small iron skillet.  The chilli is part of a competition through the Greater Vancouver area with other pubs and restaurants to see who makes the best chilli.  It was $8.00 and a great value.  The chilli was very good indeed. We did see someone order the sliders which came with 3 sliders each with their own (3) small orders of fries.  The food was presented quite nicely. They have an awesome outside area which is hard covered and it has a nice U shaped bar, heaters and good seating.  Out side of this area, is an open area with no cover and patio couches, chairs, and out door fire place.  I have to come here in the nice weather.  The Cascades Casino is very nice if you feel like a little gambling!  The pub has a great feel to it, and since there is a casino attached there is loads of free parking.  Parking is all around the front and west side and to the rear is a 3 tier parkade.  Over all we both gave this place two thumbs up and would come here again for sure!