North By Northwest   

In 2000, when former North Star Bar co-owner Peter Kelly opened North by Northwest (or NXNW, as it's often called) with local jazz musician Ron Berg and Berg's wife Roberta, some questioned the viability of such a venue in Mount Airy. After all, the neighborhood is a far cry from other hipster areas in the city like Northern Liberties. Plus, Kelly was putting live music, a down-home American restaurant and a bar smack in the middle Germantown Avenue, Mount Airy's small commercial corridor. But Kelly's gamble paid off. Not only has NXNW attracted some of the more interesting and diverse performers to come through town, but it's also become a gathering place for neighborhood residents. They stop by for the soul food (fried green tomatoes, pit smoked wings, mac and cheese, blackened catfish, barbecued ribs and pulled-pork sandwiches, among others), the bar (an Art Deco original restored on-site from a Chicago warehouse) and the laid-back vibe. Check out Low's Web site for special-events announcements such as free salsa and mambo lessons.