Bar Louie

I have an embarrassing confession to make: I did not vote in the Wisconsin primary. Please don’t berate me too much because my grandmother has already threatened me within an inch of my life if I don’t show up at the poll next time and take advantage of a privilege the generation before hers fought hard for women to win.

If, however, you were a good citizen and showed your support for one of the delegates, you may have felt inclined to surround yourself with other like-minded voters. And if the delegate of your choosing just happened to be Barack Obama, you might have found yourself converging upon Bar Louie with other Obama supporters.

For some reason, Bar Louie sounded like an odd choice to me for a political gathering. I don’t know why. Perhaps I’ve been wrong in overlooking chain bars and restaurants as hotbeds of political activity. At any rate, the downtown Bar Louie (There’s one in Glendale, as well.) is certainly in a prime location, right off Water Street. That in itself makes it a primo grazing ground for those in need of a mid-week lunch, a political watch party location, or your standard after-five drink, dinner, or late-night dining fix.

I suppose that the contemporary, urban atmosphere, with its sleek booths, oversized TVs, extensive selection of reasonably priced appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, and entrees combined with a wide choice of beers, microbrews, and wine make it an attractive option as well.

Just a few days ago Scott and I swung by Bar Louie for some din din. Since it was packed with the beer drinking, martini-swirling, after-five crowd, we were lucky to score a small table in the backroom. Our table was right near a now-closed-but-still-cold patio door and adjacent to the restroom. Those of you who have ever been stricken with the bloodhound-like scent abilities that a pregnant woman temporarily possesses will understand when I tell you that this proximity to the restroom was not exactly desirable! But I determined not to let this ruin my experience and perused the menu in search of something tasty.

I finally decided on the Mac-N-Cheese ($8.99), which is made from four different types of cheeses, sprinkled with a small amount of breadcrumbs and served up in a generous portion with a slice of toasted French bread. We also tried the tasty Blue Louie ($8.99), a burger topped with blue cheese, bacon, spinach, and Buffalo sauce. Service was quick and friendly, even though they were obviously slammed.

                   

To be honest, you probably won’t find me at Bar Louie very often. Not because it’s bad, but because I tend to think of it like Starbucks: The product Starbucks sells is great if that’s all that’s on the block, but if there’s an independently-owned coffee shop like Alterra within walking distance, I’d rather go there instead. Bar Louie might be perfect for you. I am admittedly a little biased since I am (or was, until I started down the mom-to-be path) more of a dive bar kind of fan. You know, somewhere that say, indie-rock fans or Diablo Cody might hang out. But if you want to mingle with the khaki-clad, college-meets-executive kind of crowd then plan to meet your buds at Bar Louie and bring your appetite for both food and drink.

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Bar Louie
1114 N Water Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 847-1492

Comments

[daver]

So you know the Obama campaign had previous events at the Hi-Hat and Monicas both very local business.... That said the Clinton campaign's choice had to be worse. Rock Bottom... I still can't believe the Journal Sentinel didn't run the headline the next day "Clinton campaign hits Rock Bottom in Milwaukee".:)

Anyhow I agree 100% we should support our local businesses first!

[alba]

I'm as anti-chain as the next guy in Milwaukee, but I'm a fan of Bar Louie, mostly because of their happy-hour ($2 tap beers including all the great micro and foreign beers they offer). They also have $1 burger night (on Tuesday) where you can combine that with the a few $2 beers and have a decent dinner on the very cheap. The Bayshore locations is packed on Tuesdays but is quiet the rest of the week.