It's "Madison Week" at OnMilwaukee.com. We sent our editorial staff to check out bars, restaurants, retail outlets and cultural venues in order to uncover some of the best of Wisconsin's second-largest city.
MADISON -- Although the demise of The Social marks the end of an era when it comes to modern-day comfort food in Milwaukee, a recent visit to the Old Fashioned, 23 N. Pinckney St., next door to the acclaimed L'Etoile, on the capitol square, suggests that in Madison, familiar favorites are as comforting as ever.
While the wind whistled around the capitol and temps grew colder and colder, the Old Fashioned was packed to the gills, lights down low, conversation humming.
It was pretty telling that our rather diverse group of diners all agreed "Milwaukee needs a place like this." It's the kind of restaurant where you'd like to be a regular.
Because the restaurant's Web site says, "Inspired by the traditions of Wisconsin taverns and supper clubs, The Old Fashioned exists to pay tribute to the foods and spirits that make our state famous," we expected something a little different.
"I expected the Old Fashioned to have an old-school, supper club feel, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh, upbeat environment," says Molly Snyder Edler. "The place is festive and cozy, with a long bar and a dozen or so tables."
"The very second we walked in the door, I thought to myself 'This place is cool,'" Drew Olson recalls.
And cool is a good word, the decor is understated and sleek -- although it's so dimly lit that it's not easy to tell -- and the staff is young and outgoing. And, perhaps most tellingly, everyone in the place appeared to be having a fantastic time. When was the last time you were in a restaurant like that?
Dinner is served until midnight daily, except Sundays.
And the food, hearty and delicious, was a real treat.
The Old Fashioned manifesto trumpets locality. "With a commitment to local producers and traditions, and a nod to time-tested recipes, Patrick O'Halloran's original menu embodies Wisconsin's rich culinary history."
I ordered one of the specials, a 16-oz. wood-grilled beef rib-eye topped with a slab of Wisconsin butter and served with matchstick fries and a weighty slice of Texas toast. The rib-eye was melt-in-your-mouth tender, perfectly medium rare and was huge. Although I ate it, I probably should have shared. Wisely, however, I ditched some of the over-generous butter portion before digging in.
Others ordered off the standard menu populated with an impressive range of inventive sandwiches, salads and soups. Remember, this is comfort food.
"I ordered a sandwich stacked with grilled eggplant, portabella mushrooms, wood-roasted zucchini and red pepper with goat cheese and black olive tapenade," says Edler. "It came on toasted (and buttered) white bread, and was mammoth and delicious. The goat cheese made the sandwich, with a generous -- but not obnoxious -- slathering. The vegetables were cooked but still crisp, and the black olive tapenade added a divine saltiness. The side salad made from dark greens was a nice complement and a smart alternative to the fries."
Maureen Post ordered a simple sandwich of smoked turkey, provolone cheese and leaf lettuce.
"Simple as it may have been," she says, the sandwich was delicious."
"I was impressed with Old Fashioned's ability to take true comfort food and serve it with style without dolling up each dish too much with modern extras," notes Julie Lawrence, one of the OnMilwaukee.com staff's vegetarians. "Most of the menu was meat-centric and hearty with grease to spare, but it was delicious. It's not a place I'd want to eat every day, but it was a fun, indulgent night out."
And speaking of indulging, Andy Tarnoff couldn't help but order the restaurant's most famous dish: The Old Fashioned House Burger. That's a huge hunk of beef, grilled over a live fire and topped with fried onions, Bavaria's hickory-smoked bacon, aged cheddar, garlic sauce and a soft-cooked egg on a buttered and toasted roll.
"I didn't want to take that plunge," says Tarnoff, "but someone had to. And you know what, it was great. Gluttonous, greasy, sloppy, delicious and great."
Of course, there were drinks all around when the OnMilwaukee.com editorial team dined, and a few couldn't resist the urge to order old fashioneds.
"Perhaps most impressive were the actual old fashioned cocktails -- large, strong and muddled to perfection," says Lawrence.
"The hand-crafted drink had a perfect level of sweetness, punctuated with a double serving of Maraschino cherries," says Edler.
Post sums it up best when she says The Old Fashioned is, "a blend of Wisconsin tradition and kitschy decor, it's a place where both the college student and professional adult can each find something to like."
Add the fact that most menu items clock in at under $10 and the Old Fashioned is not just fun and satisfying, it's darn cheap, too.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
