Memories in Huntingdon

Today is Chief's 52nd birthday, and Jody suggested Memories as a great place celebrate. We're taking a leadership class this week,and this is our only night out, so we'll make it count. So, the food was pretty good; we had everything from wings to broiled tilapia. The only thing is, the portions sizes left a little to be desired.  And if you go in with a large group, be prepared to wait for your food.  Draft beers are standard domestics. Bottles are ok. The wing sauce was pretty good, but the wet naps were dry! I mean, if you want to clean you're hands after eating wings, you're screwed! Overall, not a bad joint; Jody did good.  I think we might be trying Boxers next time though (or maybe later tonight)...

Molly Maguire's in Altoona

After leaving Tim's, a couple of us headed down the block for a beer at Molly Maguire's.  Nice little Irish pub.  The prices were decent, and the draft and bottle selection was very good for a small bar.  Molly's has great atmosphere - a true hometown bar.

On draft: Smithwick's, McSorley's, Guiness, Harp, plus some domestics.  Bottles ranged from your regulars to a variety of other Irish brews.  You're not going to find anything here with a lot of hop flavor.  Actually, Charlie asked if they had any IPA's, and the bartender said, "Any what?" and just stared at him.  You have to figure on that in an Irish pub, though...

This is a smoking establishment, so if that bothers you, you may not want to visit.  But another plus - the bartender had Sons of Guns on the TV, so you gotta love a place that has some of the same tastes.

Tim's American Cafe in Altoona

Still at the IMT meeting.  Last night we hit Tim's American Cafe.  What a find!  Altoona's best kept secret.  This tiny establishment (you'll need reservations for a group) doesn't seat very many, but the food is incredible.  And LARGE. Take a look at the pic of Jim's turkey dinner - and he was almost finished!  Jim wanted us to quote him when he said, "It was the best f*****g turkey I've ever had."  Let's talk about the fries - an order of fries completely covers - and mounds up on - a dinner plate.  It's enough for about 3-5 people, depending on how hungry you are.  Tim's is known for their salads, and they don't fail to meet expectations.  You know it's going to be good when the waitress asks if you want cheese and fries on your salad...  Some of the other food we sampled included: wings - very tasty sauce, but the "hottest" wings weren't very hot at all, but the blue cheese was great; cheesesteaks - although they were good, the portions didn't match the rest of the menu, but it was still enough...

The beer list left a little to be desired - mostly your standard domestics like Lite, Yuengling, Coors Light, etc... - but that could be overlooked because of the food.

Overall, an outstanding place to eat, but not necessarily somewhere you want to spend the night.  If you're looking for a good place to drink, see the next post on Molly Maguire's...

Marzoni's in Altoona

So, we're at the annual Type III Incident Management Team meeting/training in Altoona.  Tonight we ate at Marzoni's Brick Oven Pizza and Brewery.  The place is great, the food was decent, the beer is awesome. "Regular" beer size is small - 12oz.  The large size is 20 oz.  For a local brewery, beers are excellent.  Avalanche IPA was very good, Highway "22" Wheat was OK - it was good but you would not want a 6-pack of it, it was a little fruity, and not quite as dark as we thought a wheat beer should be.  The stout was also good but the name escapes us at this point, great after-taste. Price was good on beer, as we were charged less than normal prices.
Now for the food. Portions are not overly large, but enough.  Although we find ourselves hungry after a few hours - albeit we have been drinking since we left, munchies may be a factor. Crab cakes do not have a lot of filler and have a great taste, but my plate had green beans where there could have been more fries.  Cheese steak was filling, but a lot of bread, and there could have been more fries on the plate.  Strip steak was good for the price, but the seller was the Italian wedding soup.  Over all taste was great, but again portions could have been larger.