Dobie's Steak House, St. Francis, WI, April 21, 2021

 

Location: Dobie's Steak House, St. Francis, WI

Total Points: 4.5
Fruit garnish: +1
Muddling: 0
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+1
Overall taste: +1

Bonus: .5 for house-made old fashioned mix

The Drink: The brandy old fashioneds at Dobie's are consistently good. The balance of Korbel and bitters is just right. They don't muddle, however they make their own old brandy old fashioned mix in house and it is delicious. 

The Experience: The dining room is small, but cozy. The service is very attentive. The steakhouse opened in 1964, and clearly the decor was updated at some point. However, there are some nice rust-colored lamps. The bar is adorable and looks vintage. Reservations on a Saturday night are a must. Even on a Wednesday, there is a small crowd. 

The Meal: If you order a dinner entree, a round relish tray is included. It includes house-made bean salad, corn relish, pickled beets, liver pate and meatballs. They usually have French onion soup. This is a steakhouse, but I always get the delicious breaded jumbo shrimp and the giant serving of hash browns. I believe the shrimp is the best thing on the menu. 

The Five O' Clock Club, Milwaukee, WI, April 16, 2021

 

Location: The Five O' Clock Steakhouse, Milwaukee, WI
Total Points: 4.5
Fruit garnish: +1
Color: +.5
Muddling: +1
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+.5
Overall taste: +.5

Web Site

http://www.fiveoclocksteakhouse.com/

The Drink: This was a very well-crafted brandy old fashioned. The bitters were just right. The fruit was muddled and the garnish was pretty. It was just a little weak on the brandy (Korbel). 

The Experience: From the welcoming, vintage-lit bar to the bustling staff ready to serve you, you know this will be a special experience when you enter the door. The waiter places the salad and relish plates on the table and says "here is the foreshadowing."  While you have your first drink and enjoy the salad with house-made dressings and relish tray, your meal is prepared for you in the kitchen. Each stage of the meal is carefully timed. In between the main course and dessert, a bus person appears with a cart to put your leftovers in doggy bags. Nothing is served in a plastic container. While the service is efficient, you feel well-cared for and not rushed and the experience is delightful. 

The Meal: Since this is a steakhouse, I had the filet mignon which was seared to perfection and served with whole buttered mushrooms and an au jus that takes 4 days to prepare. We had a side of onion rings that were crisply and sweet. 

The final course was dessert featuring the best grasshopper that I've ever had. It was minty and creamy with a chocolate drizzle.

The Great Dane, Fitchburg, WI, March 16, 2018

Location: The Great Dane, Fitchburg, WI
Total Points: 4
Fruit garnish: +.5
Color:
Muddling: +1
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+1
Overall taste: +.5
Web site: https://www.greatdanepub.com/location/fitchburg

 

The Drink: The Great Dane is a brew pub, but they make a great Brandy Old Fashioned. It had muddled cherries and orange and a cherry garnish. The bitters were just right and it was not too sweet. It could have used a bit more brandy, but overall the flavor balance was very good.

 

Experience: This is a very lively brew pub. At 5 pm on a Friday it was already very busy. The service was friendly and great. We were seated in a large, open area.There are five Great Dane locations in Wisconsin but this does not have the feel of a chain. One of the best features is the copper brewing kettle.

 

Meal: The Great Dane food menu is consistent and good. Their nachos are some of the best around. The Friday fish fry cod is dipped in a Pilsner batter. The batter was very crispy and the cod was hot and moist. A nice touch is that it is served on newsprint. The sides of coleslaw and pub fries were fine, but it is the fish that stands out here.

 

 

 

 

The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge, Oconomowoc, WI, February 23, 2018

Location: Avenue Club and the Bubble Up Bar, Madison, WI   Total Points: 4
Fruit garnish: 0
Color: .5
Muddling: +.5
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+1
Overall taste: +1

Web site: http://thelakesidesupperclub.com/

 

The Drink: This was a really good drink. There was a muddled cherry and orange slice, though no garnish which is OK, because I would rather have muddled fruit. The balance of Korbel and sweet was just about perfect. The color was more on the amber side than red. The only down side was that the flavor of bitters was not apparent.  

 

Atmosphere: This restaurant/bar/night club has changed names and menu options. It used to be Burke's Lakeside. We had a nice view of the sunset over Silver Lake. While their website brands this as "a new spin on retro" there is no retro, supper club, or lounge feel to the place so do not expect that. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant place to gather and we had a nice time.

 

The Experience & Fish Fry: Service was pleasant, though slow. The slowness was OK because it allowed us time to talk and have two BOFs. When we asked what the "pickled pepper calamari" was, the waitress helpfully brought out a bowl of pepperoncini so that one member of our party could test it for spiciness. The deep-fried calamari/pepperoncini was a very pleasant appetizer and was probably the best and most unique dishes of the evening. The menu is Italian which means the batter for the deep fried cod has parmesan cheese in it. While I couldn't taste the cheese, the batter was quite good--very crispy and not greasy. The coleslaw was sweet and had a pleasant onion taste. The requisite rye bread was served since Oconomowoc is close to Milwaukee. The down-side was that the potato pancakes were a mess. They were dry and overcooked in some parts and doughy in others. Overall though, the meal was good.

Avenue Club and the Bubble Up Bar, Madison, WI January 15, 2016

Location: Avenue Club and the Bubble Up Bar, Madison, WI  
Total Points: 4
Fruit garnish: +.5
Color: 0
Muddling: 0
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+1
Overall taste: +1.5

Web site: http://avenueclubmadison.com/

The Drink: This drink had the perfect balance of sweet, brandy and bitters. You could definitely taste the sugar. The flavor was just right, with an orange note. It was garnished with an orange and two cherries, but there was no muddled fruit, resulting in a lower score. However, because this drink was so good, I gave it a 1.5 for Overall taste. According to the menu, this is the original Avenue Bar Old Fashioned.

Atmosphere: The Avenue Club is located in former Madison staple eatery--The Avenue Bar. It was an ever popular spot, especially on Fridays and I ate many fish fries and drank many brandy old fashioneds there. It was reliable. So, it was with feelings of both trepidation and excitement as we ate there in January. As it turns out, the update done by new owners, Food Fight Restaurant Group, is a delightful homage to both the original restaurant and its mid-century roots. \The menu too is updated. Two of us were able to get a table on a Friday back in January. On a recent Friday, 6 of us were not able to get a table at all when we showed up at 5 pm--reservations for larger parties are a must. The updated restaurant is definitely a hit.

The Experience: Since it was Friday, we had fish fry though the new menu does have offerings like Grilled Ahi Tuna Niçoise. This was a great fish fry: the batter is made with Spotted Cow and the cod is not dry. You can actually taste the beer! The coleslaw was very lightly dressed and was refreshing. The rye bread had a very crusty crust with sesame seeds and was wonderful. Rye bread is more of a Milwaukee fish fry thing so it was a pleasant surprise. The best element of the meal was the delicious dill tartar sauce. To top it all off, I had a "Cold Fashioned." I love inventive plays on the brandy old fashioned and this was truly fun to look at and eat--Korbel brandy, maraschino cherries, bitters, and oranges blended with Sassy Cow Creamery vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream (from Avenue Club Menu). After perusing the drink menu, I am sure we need to go to the Bubble Up Bar to try them all.

The Del Bar, Lake Delton, WI, August 31, 2015

Location: The Del Bar, Lake Delton, WI
Total Points: 3.5
Fruit garnish: +.5
Color: 0
Muddling: 1
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+.5
Overall taste: +.5

Web site: http://www.del-bar.com/home


The Drink: An orange was muddled, and there was a very nice orange and cherry garnish. It was made with Korbel, but there was not quite enough so it was on the weak side. Overall the taste was nice and this was a good drink.

Atmosphere: We were there on a Monday at the tail end of the busy summer season, but the Del-Bar was busy. The exterior and interior are mid-century modern and very appealing. It was established in the late 1930's as a roadhouse and has that very classy "supper club" feel. You almost wish everyone were dressed up to match.

The Experience: Along with the classy atmosphere comes classy food. Since it wasn't Friday, we sampled the other supper club fare. The shrimp was lightly breaded and tender. The hash browns that came along with it were extra crispy on the outside. The steak was cooked to perfection. We topped the meal off with a perfect grasshopper. This is one of those great Wisconsin not-to-be-missed places.

Cento, Madison, August 21, 2015

Location: Cento, Madison, WI

Total Points: 4.0
Fruit garnish: +.5
Color: +.5
Muddling: 1
Bitters: +1
Brandy:+.5
Overall taste: +.5

Web site: http://www.centomadison.com/

The Drink: They get a bonus star for the beautiful dark and sweet cherry. The fruit was well-muddled. The bitters were just right. However, the brandy was not strong enough and the drink was too sweet. But, this really is beautiful to look at, if not the best tasting. 

The Atmosphere: Cento is in a former bank building and they have made good use of the space. It is very open and elegantly situated. We were a large party and we had more than adequate space. 

The Experience: The food and atmosphere here are definitely more interesing than most of our Friday night jaunts.The food was rich and flavorful. The bacon wrapped dates were a hit with everyone. To the right is the Pumpkin Agnolotti.