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Tucked on a dim strip of Union Avenue between Hampden and Woodberry, Flip's is the kind of place you've probably driven past and wondered, That's a weird place for a bar. In fact, it's probably the perfect place for a bar. With a certain sleek hipness-bright wood, local art, minimal TV intrusion-who knows what Flip's would be on the Avenue. Here, though, it's an impressive, undeniably friendly watering hole--not a tavern dive--for a crowd that speaks more to working-class Remington than its would-be neighbors. A recent night found us in conversation with a drinking pair of Baltimore Fire Department officers-with war stories of the Clipper Mill fire aplenty--and a local artist, full of the kind of sloppy bar best friend talk that can make a crossword puzzle drinker jealous. Upstairs is Angelfall Studios II--the continuation of owner Gary Siegel's old art space in Remington--a comfortable gallery space/lounge that feels like the den of an Aspen mansion. With a two-level heated smoking deck, Flip's should become a destination for smokers, and with drinks verging between cheap and affordable (Blue Moon, $4), with plenty of specials, drinkers as well, whatever their home neighborhood.

E-mail Michael Byrne