WIndsor Castle, a bar in England

Windsor Castle
152 Bath Rd, Hounslow
London, England TW3 3ET
West

When we visited England, we stayed near London Heathrow airport.  Even though it has the word London it in it, it is very far from what we as Americans think of as London.  Due to flight prices and schedules, we were due to fly back home on January 1st and needed to be at the airport earlier in the morning.  Of course, we didn't want to spend New Years Eve in the hotel, so we found the only gay bar near our hotel.  

It was actually a little difficult to find, and apparently is is under new ownership.  They had changed the hours, so we got there before it was even open.  Perhaps we were a bit ambitious to try to go to a gay bar early, but we did anyway.  

Anyway, eventually it opened.  It was a fun experience, but it was definitely dead.  By the time, people started to arrive, we were kinda ready to go somewhere else.  We also had to pay attention to the time because our bus was going to stop running before too long, and we didn't want to spend midnight on a bus.  

They had mixed drinks, but we stuck with beer.  I believe we had Kronenbourg.  

If you're in London and need a gay bar near LHR, go here.  It's off the beaten path, which is cool.  However, do NOT even attempt to get there early, even if the hours say they open at 11am.  It's a place for the evening.  

Ye Olde George Inn, London

Ye Olde George Inn
146 High Street
Colnbrook, Slough
SL3 0LX
Tel: 01753 682010

If you are ever in London and stay near the airport, it's important to be able to find the pubs.  One pub is Ye Olde George Inn.  They have a variety of beer on draught.  

They have food and different specials on different days.  However, their kitchen is not open late, so don't expect food late in the evening.  We wanted to eat there, but missed their kitchen.

While writing this blog, I discovered they have a few rooms to rent if you want to stay near the airport.  That sounds worth it to stay somewhere local rather than a typical hotel.  

Big Fatty's

Big Fatty's
5005 Kingston Pk
Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

Big Fatty's is a little diner in Knoxville, with home cooked meals.  The decor looks like a typical country kitchen restaurant.  It was late on a Sunday, so we were the only ones in the restaurant.  Our server was attentive, but of course, it was only us.  They have PBR, which I had one.  

Garrett had the catfish plate, which came with fries, slaw and cornbread.  He said it was good.  

I had the fried chicken.  It only came with one piece, which is enough, but not typical.  They obviously bought there plates used as mine was from Shoney's.  The mac n cheese was good.  The baked spinach maria was awesome and creamy.  It was my favorite part of the meal.  I would go back just for it.  The cornbread was good, too.  

It's a great place for veggies and a good home cooked meal.  

Ku Bar, England

Ku Bar
Chinatown
30 Lisle Street
London WC2H 7BA
UK
 +44 20 7437 4303

Another popular gay bar that we enjoyed is called Ku Bar.  We got there early and probably got the last table in the place on the first floor.  The clientele seems to be young professionals.

The downstairs was well lit.  

As the place got busier, they start taking away tables.  It seemed awkward to watch people being asked (or told) to give up their table.  Before they could get to our table, we got up, so they couldn't get us.  

There is also an upstairs that had less people in it, so if you want to talk, that's available upstairs.  If you like to people watch and be amongst the crowd, downstairs is for you.

Four Way Grill

Four Way Grill
998 Mississippi Blvd
Memphis, TN 38126
(901) 507-1519

Four Way Grill is a soul food restaurant in the Soulsville area of Memphis.  OMG!  I just recently ate here, and I cannot believe that it took me this long to eat here.  

Their turkey and dressing is to die for.  I wish I could have some now.  Their peach cobbler is also delicious.  

This is hands down one of the best soul food restaurants in Memphis.  I can't believe that it took me more than 30 years (most of my life) to try this place for my first time. This is THE place to go when you need some soul food, especially if its for dressing!  

The Cupboard Restaurant

The Cupboard Restaurant
1400 Union Ave
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 276-8015


The Cupboard is a long time Memphis restaurant.  It's a staple in midtown.  It serves country food with different specials every day.  It also serves breakfast every day.

I have been here several times in the past.  Once with a dishcrawl event.  

The restaurant looks like a typical country restaurant.  

For this particular meal, I had the country fried steak and italian spinach, which are two of my favorite foods.  The country fried steak was good.  However, the spinach was just ok.  I prefer it a bit cheesier.  

For dessert, I had the lemon ice box pie, which was good.  

The Cupboard is a good restaurant for country food.  They have little cornbread muffins which are really good.  However, I prefer my country foods with a little more soul.  I mean I prefer to eat soul food.  Soul food has a bit more seasoning.  The restaurant also seemed somewhere that my grandparents would prefer.  Everything is fine, but there are better restaurants in Memphis.

I would like to give their breakfast a shot, though.

Punjabi Spice, England

Punjabi Spice
6, Cavendish Parade, Bath Rd
Hounslow, Greater London TW4 7DJ
United Kingdom
+44 20 8577 8822

One evening, while heading back to our hotel, we decided to grab dinner at this restaurant.  We had a lot of Indian food in England.

They started us off with some bread and typical English sauces.  

It seems we always order the same thing at Indian restaurants.  Once again, we ordered the Palak Paneer.  As usual, this is a tasty dish.  

We also shared an order of Naan.  It was good, as well.  

At the end, you get some kind of fennel and candy mixture.  This is a typical Indian restaurant with good food.  It's at the Hounslow station near London.  We always took a bus to this stop, and then rode the Underground to central London.