Go to Strangelove's for Beer, Popcorn and Gumbo

A dinner at Strangelove's earlier this Fall came with hits and misses. Perhaps the location at 216 S. 11th St. (between Walnut and Locust)  is cursed, with The Boilermaker only lasting six months there and The Butcher & The Brewer barely a month after that. It's tough for any new bar/restaurant to thrive without some unique appeal, unless it's the first in its neighborhood. We'll see how Strangelove's holds up... it comes from the same owners as Memphis Taproom, Local 44 and Resurrection Ale House, so they know to create success. We'd go back, especially for a beer and light bite, but only if convenient to the rest of our whereabouts that day.

Off the "sips and nibbles" menu, the wings were solid and the $5 popcorn was a nice shareable treat for the table. I swear it only cost $3 a few weeks ago, but the online menu says $5. Either way, it's just as big and more flavorful than a small movie popcorn that would probably cost you $8. Maybe even too rich to finish, with chilis, cojita cheese and brown butter lathered throughout.

While the smokey french onion dip itself didn't taste much better than the Ruffles jar I get (often) at the grocery store, the house-made chips that accompany it were great. You can get the chips with a sandwich (advisable) but don't go out of your way for the dip.

If you aren't starving, order the gumbo off the appetizer menu as your dinner. It's a healthy but not stuffing portion of duck and sausage meat with rice, green onion and other veggies, and it offers just a little heat to balance out with your craft beer. Best thing we ate that night.

Hot Dogs at The Beer Shoppe in Ardmore

The Beer Shoppe is part of the mini beer renaissance taking place in Ardmore, Pa., where I work, that includes Tired Hands and a soon-to-open Iron Hill Brewery. The Beer Shoppe is located in a strip mall near the Ardmore liquor store.

As the name reflects, The Beer Shoppe is a bottle shop with an impressive array of between 800 and 1000 bottles of beer. You can find most anything and some rather unique beer ideas. I took home the Noble Rot from Dogfish Head, which is brewed with grape must, and DuClaw's Exile 4, a macchiato milk stout made with espresso verdi.

The beer selection is reason enough to check out The Beer Shoppe, but the small bar located in the back of the store is another draw. The Draft Bar has two rotating taps that you can choose to drink at the bar or take home in a growler. Note: Mondays from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. it has half price growlers!

The back bar's Vienna hot dogs are the highlight, though. Vienna Beef dogs were used back in the Great Depression when the original Chicago Style dog with "salad" on top was born, so The Beer Shoppe menu includes Chicago Style as well as Chili, Kraut and Texas Hold 'Em hot dogs. Some dogs are a combination of the listed ingredients. I ordered the Chicago Style and the Texas Hold 'Em.

The Chicago dog comes with mustard, a pickle, onions, relish, tomatoes and a few hot peppers. This was easily my favorite of the two. At only $3.25 it’s a good deal, too.