Fox and Hound Tavern (Winipeg, Canada)

Fox and Hound Tavern, 1719 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada   www.foxandhound.com.  Situated on Portage Avenue right by Route 90 just west of the Polo Park Mall.  It is in the St. James Hotel or the "Jimmie" as the locals call it. This wonderful place was built in 1928 and I can only imagine the stories these wall could tell.   The hotel check-in is on the main floor and the Hotel is upstairs. But, back to the bar.  It is long and kinda narrow with three entrances.  The main front entrance isn't used any more and is only an exit.  In the front part of the bar is a beautiful rectangular shaped bar that seats 22 people. Great for sitting and visiting over a pint of  beer or glass of wine. Lots of wood and brick adorn the walls and interior, making for a very comfortable setting.  Much improved from what it was 30 years ago.  As you enter from the north side, to the right there is a room with Video Lottery Terminals....gambling machines. There are a 5 TV's around the bar, but I think that it could use a few more!  For lunch I had the Tavern Rueben which was marble rye bread with corned beef, Monterey cheese, thousand islands dressing and sauerkraut with home cut fries.  It was really good and very filling.  My close associate had the Pulled Pork sandwich and fries, which she said was very good.  She could only eat half and took the other half home.  There is one pool table, one foosball table and two dart board.  This place has a great feel to it and I love the bar..  A must try if you are ever in the area, I know you won't be disappointed. A classic old style bar and well worth trying out!

Shark Club Winnipeg (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)

Shark Club Winnipeg, 233 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, located on the second level of the City Center Mall just across the street on the south side from the MTS Center, home of the National Hockey League, Winnipeg Jets. You enter the bar from the second level of the mall. Very nice modern trendy sports bar.  In the center is their large rectangular sit up bar that seats 22 people with 18 flat screen TV's and two very large TVs all at the bar. They have two bar height tables that each sit 14 people.  (Of to one side is a private room that I guess that you can book and it also comes with several flat careen TV's There is a small casino attached with slot machines and table games. Across from the private room are 2 large booths that are quite private.  There is another level that is about half of a floor up and has booths, each with their own TV in the booth.  The food was ok... My friends and I had the Steak sandwich special, we all thought the steak had too much Montreal Steak spice and you almost needed a hack saw to cut through the French loaf it came on.  The service was very good, friendly and attentive.  The décor in here is very cool, I especially really liked the blue lighting around the bar.

Kingfishers Waterfront Bar and Grill (Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada)

The Kingfishers Waterfront Bar and Grill, 23840 River Road, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.  Located right on the mighty Fraser River about 45 minutes east of Vancouver, B.C. There are lots of logging mills etc. in this area and it is on the north side of the river just before the old ferry landing before they built the Golden Ears Bridge.  Decent sized parking lot.  It is going with this new trend here, where kids can go in one half of the bar.......hhhhmmmm.   They have 11 different craft beer on tap.   You can buy the standards buy the bottle or can if you wish.  My friends had a Russell beer which is a local beer and quite liked it.  There is a double sided bar that one side is adults only and the other  kids are let in.  Outside is a nice patio area over looking the river, and with a southern exposure on a nice day it is sunny and hot a great place to be!!  For lunch I had the Salmon and Crab burger that had aioli sauce, lettuce, tomato, on a brioche bun with home made French fries.  It was very good as were the fries were homemade.  I could not eat everything as the portions are very generous.  There were several TV's but I get the feeling that people don't come here to watch the game as the Seattle Seahawks were playing and most bars would be packed with football fans.  On the wall sides they have nice half circle booths that can hold 4 people easily.  Great for watching the bar, people or the game. Service was very good and friendly.  They were always around but not intrusive.  My buddy had the fish and chips and he said the were very good, he too was very full at the end of his meal.  I would love to come back here and sit out side over locking the Fraser River ..aaahhhh!   I really enjoyed it here!!!

Bar One (Denny's) Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Bar One (Langley), 19777 Willowbrook Drive, Langley, British Columbia, Canada. I have a hard time getting used to the fact that Denny's has a bar.  One half is Denny's and the west half is Bar One, which is a proper bar.  Seems funny that the waitresses were wearing Denny's uniforms working in the bar.   I was there on a Friday evening and they don't have a bartender, again rather strange.  The waitress made and brought the drinks.  I had a glass of wine, and it came in a small carafe but she brought a Champagne flute.........When I went up and asked for a proper wine glass the manager told her the wine flute was the wrong glass.  Later she came to the table and explained that she thought the wine flute looked cute.  Again a first for me, getting a certain glass because it is cute.  Glad they didn't have Hello Kitty glasses or who knows what I would have received.  I had the Copper Moon Pinot Grigio which is a BC wine, and it was fine. The bar is very much like the previous bars here.  It is not bad inside, but there was no one here, really odd as it was a Friday night.  I think that there were 3 others the whole time I was there. The menu is different than the Denny's menu, and I had the sirloin steak sandwich on garlic toast with fries. It was very good, I never expected it to be that good. There are other pub meals, such as Nachos, Chicken wings, burgers, Calamari and the such.  Meat was very tender and not chewy at all!  Quite a few TV's around to watch sports. There is a large double curved high back booth that would be great for a group of 8-10 friends, and rather private.  There were 8 different types of beer on tap.  There is lots of under ground parking as well as the whole Willowbrook Mall parking lot right across the street. The service was very good, the waitress always kept checking to ensure every thing was good.  The manager also checked up to ensure things were good. This place needs a bartender that is for sure.  Denny's and a bar, just don't seem to go well in the same sentence.  International House of Pancakes in Winnipeg did it, and it works,  I guess........... I will just have to get over it. 

Cowboy Club Grille & Spirits (Sedona, Arizona, U.S.A.)

Cowboy Club Grille & Spirits 241 State Route 89A Sedona, Arizona, U.S.A. If you have never been to Sedona, you must put it on you bucket list as it is incredibly beautiful here. The rocks are all a beautiful reddish colour and a must see.  The Cowboy Club has been around for quite a while and has quite the history. Established in 1946, the Oak Tree Tavern, re-established it self in 1992 as the Cowboy Club, has been Sedona's most popular hangout for cowboys, movie actors, celebrities and locals for more than 65 years.  It is the birthplace of the "Cowboy Artists of America" , by founding members, Joe Beeler, George Phippen, Charlie Dye and John Hampton formed the prestigious CAA in front of the fireplace at the Oak Creek Tavern on June 23, 1965. Celebs such as John Wayne, Burl Ives, Jane Wyman, Burt Lancaster, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Mitchum, Gene Autry, Joan Crawford, James Stewart and Rock Hudson just to name a few frequented this place. We didn't seek it out it just invited us in!  It has a beautiful long wood bar that seats 15 people with big solid wood chairs that swivel. There are several half circle booths. Outside they have a sidewalk patio area with umbrellas.  Inside it has a very subtle western theme. On the pub on the menu are such things as Buffalo, elk and rattle snake.  For lunch we had a bowl of the Buffalo Chilli that came in a small cast iron pot. It was very good.  We also had the Oak Creek Saloon Dip which came with black bran hummus, charred tomato cactus salsa and cilantro flat bread.  That too was very good indeed! There is only 4 types of beer on tap and a suitable wine menu.  There is a large selection of whiskey.  There are also lots of hot weather drinks.  My wife had their Famous Cowboy Margarita, wit was big and very good.  Great little place and well worth stopping in and trying it out!  The "Duke" himself was here, isn't that enough!

Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery (Downtown, Phoenix. Arizona, U.S.A.)

Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery, 2 E Jefferson 21-0217  Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.  www.tiltedkilt.com/locations/phoenix  Located on the second floor over looking Jefferson Street. It is very close to Chase Field stadium home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team and very close to US Airways Arena, home to the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball League The main sit up bar has one side inside that seats 12 and the other side you sit outside and it too seats 12 people. The out side patio area where the in/ out bar is, also has ample seating. There is a long table called the Captains Rail that runs parallel to the bar and it seats 40 people at pub high chairs/ table.  It is open seating (no reservations at this table ) and has its own waitress. There are over 20 large flat screen TV's through out that bar.  There is a very large projection screen with 35 tables and chairs of 4.  To eat, I had the Butcher Block Flat Bread Pizza that came with sundried tomato pesto sauce, topped off with pepperoni, sausage, applewood smoked bacon and mozzarella cheese.  It was quite good. My wife had the Chopped Salad that came with lettuce, roast turkey, green peppers, tomatoes, chopped bacon and mozzarella cheese with a choice of dressing and it too was good. It was a very large portion! They serve Barefoot wines from California.  As for beer they have 35 different types of beer on tap.  The waitresses are dressed as they do in the other Tilted Kilts with tiny tops and very short tight kilts.  Good food and good atmosphere and close to sports fields/ arenas! 

El Hefe Super Macho Taqueria (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.)

El Hefe Super Macho Taqueria, 640 S Mill Avenue, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.  www.elhefetempe.com  Another cool bar in Tempe in the older area by the University of Arizona.  The center piece is their big rectangular bar that has seating on 3 sides and can hold 25 people.  There is a nice side walk patio area that is on two sides of the bu8ilding on the corner.  Out back is another big patio area with another sit up bar aw well as a 3rd sit up bar in side, that is half in and half outside, gotta love the weather here!  With several large doors that open you get the fresh air coming inside! For lunch we had the street tacos, 2 mahi mahi and  1 chicken and they were very good indeed!  We also had chips with homemade guacamole, salsa, & pico degallo. The guacamole was very good and something my wife wanted, fresh home made! This place has 32 nice big flat screen TV's and one monster screen which is made up of quite a few TV's.  The waitresses were very attentive, quick and friendly.  The music was rocking and the mood was very good.  Apparently Lulu Lemon yoga pants and shorts are part of the waitresses uniforms.  That was brought up to me, just saying.  There are no sinks in the men's or women's washrooms, but when you come out their are two large communal sinks, which is kinda of cool.  That way you can ensure people wash their hands!! All in all this is a very good place to visit and I give it two thumbs up for sure!!