restaurant review
Old Town Pour House ( Great Food & Craft Beer Galore
Between Travel for martials, writing and just enjoyment I get to eat tons of different places. From Elegant to dive bar I enjoy all the different places. I like the variety and enjoy seeing and tasting it all.
Pour House was great. My wife, son Zakk and I had all judged a martial arts tournament in Warrenville Illinois and happened on this place in Naperville afterwards. It was perfect to unwind after a long day at the tourney. My sons fiancé Danielle was with us as well. Made for a great time.
The menu was wide ranging with a pub bent and lots of different shareables. I had the Nashville hot chicken wrap. Really good breaded chicken, cayenne plus lettuce(cucumber tomato red onion) in a flour tortilla. Great portion and just enough spice. My wife and son both had the fish and chips. They loved it and they have eaten fish chips all over lol. If they vouch for it it’s good. Dani had a chopped salad and loved it, but who eats salad in a bar??!! Just kidding.
Ill toss a few pics here and then discuss the rest after the jump.
Old Town Pour House has over 90 beers on tap. If you know me, you know that is instant excitement for me! Its is also an extremely varied list and excellent. I had a Brick Stone APA and Pinball from Two Brothers. Awesome on both counts. If you love trying different craft beers, you will love this place.
The interior is very well done and has plenty of space. Nice bar area and lots of TV’s without being over done. It also had one of the coolest patios I’ve seen in awhile ( we were tired and it was hot so we will try that next time).
Definitely check this place out f you are in the area. Contact us if you would like us to come to your place. From food to resorts and anything else. Follow us on twitter @combatsportlife
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A Fun Roadside Stop At The Little Nugget On rt150
Everybody knows route 66. Route 150 covering just three states has some great sites as well. Full disclosure: I can hit it with a rock from my home! Like 66 has a ton of cool small town restaurants. One of the best and a true treasure is The Little Nugget.
Just outside Danville Illinois, it is a gem. Funky outside with roadside murals and cool inside. Part steakhouse and part dive bar. A rare and cool place in this day and age. The food is great, the prices are great and the roadside experience is priceless!!
The back has a grill and is more of supper club environment. The front is straight roadside bar. It’s as cool as it gets if you love roadside Americana. You should definitely take a road trip on 150 and check it out. Take a look at the pictures and see for yourself.
Great Food, Great Drinks At Dublin ONeils (Cool Pub setting)
Dublin ONeil’s in Downtown Champaign is a regular stop for Sandy and I. We love the downtown area and a good pub is just a go to place for us always. Yes we travel the world and hit five star restaurants but a pub is home!. This one just happens to also hit the culinary excellence mark. Unusual items with great prep and presentation.
The interior has that warm pub feel that makes you want to have a pint or a taste of whiskey. The fact that Dublin Oneil’s has also hit the mark with food is a bonus. From a true Irish breakfast to various puddings and a great burger. On the weekends there is a cool brunch menu that puts the place right up there on my list.
On this trip my wife Sandy had the corned beef and cabbage. Not like what you normally see. Traditional flavor but in an elegant presentation worthy of any foodie publication!! THE important part was that it was soooo tasty. I had a turkey sandwich. Let’s go a bit further about what it actually was. Turkey with brie and carmelized onion with strawberry jalepeno jam! Served on French toast and topped with a sunny side up egg. Yep, almost indescribable. A mimosa for her and a Big Thorn Farm Illinois pale ale for me. Finished with Irish coffee cake cheesecake! Let the pictures do the talking. Talk after
Stop by Dublin Oneils today. Just great food and drink in a place that will make it a great experience
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Spending Time At Nashville Palace (Legendary)
Over the years I’ve hear a bit about this place. Some friends of mine have played here. It is known as the place Randy Travis got his start(plus washed dishes). That doesn’t even cover it. Live music all day and I mean really good live music.
It has a cool bar in the front with a small stage and dance floor. In the back is a LARGE stage and dance floor where they have bigger events. The front area is where I spent my time. Classic Nashville country cool. Pictures and posters from legends that have been there and all sorts of memorabilia. I’ll let the pictures speak in a moment (i’m not a great writer, just an old fighter lol). You can’t help but love the place. And it has great food.
We stayed across the road from it recently at Gaylord Opryland. Sandy had a healthcare leadership conference there and I was training fighters in the area(huge surprise). As I wandered in my downtime I decided to stop and have a beer (or more) and check the place out. I knew I had to take Sandy back for dinner. The bartenders showed me around and told me all about it. I was hooked! My plan was set and knew we were going back that night. Only a few people there in the afternoon yet a great musician on stage and great staff.
When we went back for dinner it got even better. More great music. Great and well priced drinks and awesome food. We both had the chicken on biscuits( I had the Nashville hot version). Sooo good. A really cool classic idea and well done. Also very cheap. I’ll let the pictures speak here for a bit. Talk after the jump.
This place gets my highest reference. Cool, classic and tasty. Just go here if you are in Nashville and give it a shot. Nothing but a good time!!
Quick Thoughts On the Awesome JT Walkers
This place is literally walking distance(yep I do that on occasion ) in the small town I live in. I travel often as you know, but when we are home I hit it often. Great restaurant and sports bar on one side of the street , awesome old style brew pub on the other. I’ll do a full post on the whole operation when I have time to get down there and spend take taking pictures and talking to Justin Taylor about the history. In the interim here are some thoughts on a recent meal, and pics from a few trips.
First it has world class beer in a casual yet hip environment. Truthfully it is a beer that I order anywhere they have it across our region. As a guy who has travelled the globe to fight and train that should tell you a bit! So well done. When I first moved to town this place was a really cool home store. Antiques, and great home products. The people that owned it were featured nationally in a magazine for their home(3500 people in town at that time). I love the building. It sat for years. Then This place happened. The downtown area changed for the better in an incredibly positive way. Foodie and craft beer culture while retaining our small town roots.
This trip we ate in the sports bar. Sweet chicken chili wrap for me. Italian beef for Sandy. Guess what? Ohhh so good. My fave Hail to the Chief IPA and it was our kind of relaxing night. This is one of the reasons we love living here. We travel and eat at the Nobu/Brady’s of the world but this is our home. Can’t beat it. Take a look at the pics and expect soooo many post about this place in the future!
This is truly a destination place. If you make a trip here, good chance you’ll see Myself and Sensei Sandy as well as some other Transcend fighters. We always meet up here. Great food. GREAT BEER!! Classic building. Get here!
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Check out jtwalkers.com
The Awesome McGuires Pub In Pictures
I didn’t get a chance to do a full review of this great place since my wife started to feel the effects of too much sun when we go there. I’ll definitely be back to do a full write up but wanted to show it and say just a bit.
First thing to say, Super Cool! McGuires has a great look and an awesome menu. It is quite large and there are so many things to look at. I love places that are visually stimulating and fun. This place hits it. Add to that there awesome craft brews and you just can’t beat it. The food was great. The beer was even greater. I also have to say that the service was excellent. Since Sandy didn’t feel well, our waitress go our stuff wrapped and ready to go at warp speed with a smile. Incredible.
Take a look at the pictures of our stop at the Destin location. Talk after the jump.
If you are in Destin Florida, check this place out. I mean it. So cool, so good and so fun! Want us to come to your place and live tweet or write about it. Get in touch. Email tompkinscontent@gmail.com and follow @combatsportlife on twitter!
Fun,Relaxation And Pizza At Jupiters Downtown
This place has been around for awhile. It was one of the early restaurants/bars to start when downtown Champaign began to makes it’s come back. They also have a much larger one at the edge of downtown with a huge arcade and multiple levels. It is very cool but for Sandy and I these days (kids all grown up!) the downtown location is more our speed. It’s a great weeknight stop for us.
They have a large menu but known for thin crust pizza. Tuesdays are half price pizza night! A great deal to have a couple drinks and an inexpensive and excellent pizza. When we stopped recently we had both endured crazy days so I didn’t get as many pictures for the usual post but the point is give it a shot. Lot’s of pool tables, video poker/slots and a cool old building. It’s quiet and lively at the same time but that feel that only comes from being in a place in a very old building.
Before the pictures let me just say the Pesto Margherita was an excellent choice. My wife is more of a thin crust person than me but I loved it. Mozzarella, provolone with romas and basil! A couple of Half Acre IPA’s and the night was perfect. No matter how many luxe places we travel to in our crazy life, this kind of thing is still my favorite.
If yo are in the area check this place out. Just enjoy a nice relaxing evening. Can’t beat it. A few minutes from the University of Illinois campus and in the heart of the tech / gaming offices in the downtown. It’s worth a trip.
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