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...