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 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.