Bullpen Tavern

216 Glen Street
Glens Falls, NY 12801
(518) 745-7811


The next time you are in Glens Falls . . . you should eat at the Bullpen. I happened upon this place while on my way to Vermont, there are not a whole lot of places to stop for a beer and burger. This place is in a great building in their cool little downtown. A revival to it's past glory, perhaps.

The menu is good bar food, and the draft list covers all the bases. Lots of local choices as well. I went with the recommended jalapeno bacon burger, cooked medium rare. The bread was perfect, the bacon nice a crispy, and the jalapenos provided quite a bit of kick.

The cooper sharp cheese (a personal favorite) was melted perfectly.

The battered fries were crispy and addictive. Especially dipped in a side of the chipotle sauce.

Look at how perfectly this burger was cooked. I was quite impressed.

Juicy, well seasoned meat cooked to a perfect medium rare. What's not to love?

I also wanted to try something less traditional for a bar in upstate New York. In this case, I went with the fried shrimp po'boy. The shrimp were battered with Red Hook beer, and tossed in "bang bang" sauce.

The bread did nicely (obviously no Leidenheimer) but it certainly held up to the task. The shrimp had a sweet and spicy, sticky sauce. I was a big fan. Surprisingly good food I stumbled upon here. If you are ever looking for a spot to eat on the way to Vermont, this might be the place.

Henry James Saloon

577 Jamestown Street
Philadelphia (Roxborough), PA
(215) 483-8460
Website

I was referred to the Henry James (Hank Jim) Saloon by a reader, and so I made a plan to hit it on my way out of town last week. Nothing like a cheesesteak and a beer for a quality lunch to start vacation.

This place is located right by the famous Dalessandro's cheesesteak shop in Roxborough.

They have everything you could want in a dive bar with food – menus on the place mats and a variety of comfort foods ubiquitous to the Philadelphia suburbs (yea you heard me Manyunk/Roxborough).

I somehow inadvertently ordered cheese fries by "accident", which turned out to be beer battered (they call them Brew City Fries), salty, crispy, and served with white cheddar-jack sauce. Delicious.

The "Pud Steak" was, for all intents and purposes, a deluxe cheesesteak. This one boasted a half pound of rib eye, provolone, fried onions, house roasted long hots, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. The hot sauce was barely there, but the rest was spot on. The meat was tender and well seasoned, the long hots added a bit of kick, and the prov kept every bite cheesy.

I also had to give the namesake "Hank Jim" sandwich a try. This one is served on a toasted "football" shaped roll, complete with chicken fingers, pepperoni, sauteed spinach, sweet peppers, and smothered in provolone.

My one gripe is that all of the cheese was stuck on top, whereas I would greatly prefer it to be interspersed with the rest of the components. That aside, this sandwich was delicious. The chicken fingers acted as extra crispy cutlets on a smaller scale. With sweet peppers and pepperoni adding some spice and tang, the crispy bread held it all together. Everything was pretty damn good.

A couple of Guinness's rounded out this meal. There was nothing not to like about this place, and it makes me wish we had more places in Philadelphia proper to enjoy GOOD classic bar food (Nick's Roast Beef being the pinnacle) mixed with the neighborhood watering hole feel. One of my favorite parts of the suburbs is the ability to drink some cheap domestic beer, eat dinner while watching sports, and not leave owing fine dining amounts of money. Henry James fits the bill.