A tavern name has rarely been as appropriate as the one that graces the sign above the door of Shorewood's Village Pub, 4488 N. Oakland Ave., where our northerly neighbors go to tip one back.
From the outside, the pub looks like two different bars abutting one another. To the north is the "High Life Lodge" which is bright, with big windows that offer a view into what looks like a small-town tap. Just next door is the main entrance, which doesn't appear to have changed much over the past half-century.
Inside, the crowd is diverse and welcoming. College kids sit side by side with an older neighborhood crowd and even folks reading books with French titles as they nurse a couple tap beers.
The bartenders are perky, if not wildly talkative at times, as they serve up pints and delicious warm pretzels with a little plastic cup of killer horseradish-infused honey mustard dip. There are also nachos with salsa or guacamole, pizzas and other noshings available.
TVs above the bar aim to please everyone, with football games on some, "Will and Grace" on others.
Meanwhile, a jukebox churns out a mix of classic rock, '80s hits and some more recent fare. On a recent visit we heard the Talking Heads segue into Pink Floyd's extra-long "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," into a U2 track from 1991 and Duran Duran's "Girls On Film." Of course, all the Milwaukee jukebox faves are there: Bob Marley's "Legend," "The Best of Elvis Costello," a selection of Dean Martin tracks and those hits collections.
{INSERT_RELATED}The booths are cozy and an interconnected batch of tables at the back is great for a bit larger group. That bank of tables also affords easy access to the dart board and the range of video games situated along the back wall.
Best of all are the countless (well, you could count 'em, if you're that bored) photos of old time Shorewood, many dating back to the days when it was still called East Milwaukee. See President Coolidge's train sitting in the Shorewood train station at Capitol Drive or a team of horses plowing the corner of Lake Bluff and Murray. There are even captions below each black and white photo explaining what you're looking at. Fascinating.
The only other bar in town that has something as fascinating and historical is the Milwaukee Press Club with its astonishing collection of autographed chalkboards.
If want to call ahead to find out about hours, happy hours and the like, dial 'em up at (414) 961-9879.
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.
