Old Fashions are always in fashion

Every once and a while that popular place in the tourist section of town can be judged well worth the hype. Visitors may scoff at the notion of “Wisconsin cuisine” but the OF pulls off this niche so well that there’s an hour plus wait some evenings and most weekends. This food is comforting, filling, and exciting enough to make me come back at least once a month. To add to the all Wisconsin all the time theme, they are now serving all Wisconsin beer that can be bottled or tapped. From the usual suspects of Spotted Cow and Tyranena, to nouveau ghetto (Old Style? Really?), to small brewpubs as far as Lake Superior (Thirsty Pagan coming soon).

Food first: A little something for everyone: veggies, salads, fried food, and tons of meat. The ingredients are fresh and quality enough that even the fried coatings of the awesome cheese curds can’t hide. The roast beef is superb, tangy and a little bloody but full of flavor- the tiger blue sauce makes a great foil to the meaty sandwich. The pulled pork is sumptuous and greasy; toasted bread and a great sauce pull it together to fill up for the day. The veggie sandwich is savory and filling, I am pretty much a sucker for anything with warm goat cheese and roasted veggies that aren’t from a can. Very good burger and the fries are thin and crisp. A really cool touch for dinner are the lazy susans, a selection of finger foods to share. From the great WI cheeses (of which there are many), to the local inspired fish plates (still not sold on walleye), to the great dips; these lazy susans are a great way to introduce people to the spirit of the Old Fashioned. And of course they have brats, you betcha.

I'll get back to the beer in a second. Let's talk booze. If you choose, you may look at the large book o booze, listing cocktails to and exhaustive bottled beer list, to local non-alcoholic drinks- people really go for local brewed root beers here. Go ahead and try the signature drink the Old Fashioned. This is made with brandy in the great white north here which is the subject of much speculation and did get the hairy eyeball from this Southerner who is pretty damn sure that anything other than bourbon in an OF is high blasphemy. There's even an editorial about this, ironically, in the latest issue of Imbibe. I'm sure the bartenders do a great whatever-tini too when the chicks come in to drink at night, but the beer is really worth exploring here.

Not only are there tons of bottled beers, but over 20 taps including a monthly "cheap" beer that generally isn't cheap- right now its Tyranena scotch ale and when I first ate here it was the very drinkable Fattybombalatty by Furthermore. So far in the every brewery initiative, I've tried a couple. Red Eye brewery in Wausau put out a Belgian style called Scarlett 7 that I just had to try because I'm a sucker for Belgian style. Not a big smell coming off of this ruby colored beauty. Slightly floral, figgy and malty. A sweet medium mouthfeel gives way to rich fig, raisin, cinnamon, and spices. The hops are noted at the finish, balancing the sweet and malty taste in a crisp way that American brewed Belgian styles are great for. Wausau is now on my WI beer list.

Tyranena Rocky's Revenge: Bourbon aged brown ale, poured medium brown with a lacy tan head. Good bourbon smell to it. Drinkable and smooth, I could taste the bourbon and wood but only as a finish. It did not slap me over the head with it. Kinda fizzy mouthfeel, overall it was nice but I feel like the bourbon aging was the difference between a boring beer and an ok beer.

Calumet rye! I do miss rye beer, Terrapin was a good go-to beer in Atlanta suitable for all weather. This rye was not as hoppy or crisp, it is more of a go-to beer for a place that has seasons. Muted, smooth, floral, and very drinkable; I felt this rye to be less hoppy and more like an ESB than an IPA- I'm very very fine with that. I want to try this again, more of it than a taste.

So that's the Old Fashioned. I actually did talk about food in this entry. Go me.