The Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned offers excellent service, constant crowds, and decent sandwiches, lots and lots of sandwiches. Prepare for a wait and make sure to order a lazy susan appetizer; possibly even consider this as a lead up to more interesting entrees elsewhere. Full review below.

I've never been to a supper club. My prior knowledge of them is reduced to a joke a friend of mine once made and what The Old Fashioned restaurant tells me they are, choosing supper clubs and taverns as primary inspirations. The joke went something like, "You know what a Wisconsin supper club is don't you? It's a restaurant with an attached bar." I still wonder whether it was really a joke or if that's truly how they're defined. Either way, by that definition, The Old Fashioned is a reasonable facsimile of a Wisconsin supper club. Whether or not 'real' supper clubs include High Definition TVs, clean cut bartenders in black long-sleeved shirts, a dearth of relatively uninspired sandwiches, or a 45 minute wait for a table for two is up for debate.

I'm guessing the crowds will be a fixture for a while longer given the relative satisfaction of our experience and the hype that continues to surround this restaurant. Reservations aren't currently accepted. After biding time with a nice glass of Rioja and a tasty yet subdued pint of Mile Rock Amber from the Harbor City Brewing Co. in Port Washington, Wisconsin, my wife and I were escorted to one of the restaurants many two person tables that are crammed into the front half of the room. Request the table closest to the hostess station if you enjoy the constant ring of the house phone or like to be reminded that it is indeed still March by the chilly breeze that comes straight through the front doors.

Easily the stars of the menu (challenged only by a wide selection of cheeses), The Old Fashioned offers three lazy susan appetizers. The arrangements highlight either fish, sausage and salami, or vegetables. We opted for the "No. 5" which includes cured salmon, smoked lake trout, creamed herring, potato salad, gehrkin pickles, pickled beets, rye bread and crackers. Even though we felt overwhelmed by the size of the platter (it's best enjoyed by a group of four), we were glad we ordered it. The salmon seemed to lack distinction, but everything else tasted fresh and left off any sort of 'canned' taste that I was fearful of. Whether or not the toast points were the same as those Raphael Kadushin had issues with, we enjoyed them and the Ritz-style crackers that accompanied it. A dip or spread of some kind would be a welcome addition. We also got favorable reactions of the sausage and salami lazy susan ("No. 6") from two sets of fellow diners. The "No. 7", though not tried, seems designed to appease vegetarians in a group with a dip, cheese, and grilled vegetables (and it's a mystery why its price is inflated to match that of the other lazy susans).

For an entree, we decided to share the House Burger ("No. 30"). What possessed the restaurant to put a soft cooked egg on a burger is unknown, but we found it completely over the top and not in a good way. We were ready for something bursting with complementary flavors but all that stood out was the over-salted taste of the egg, the powderiness of the garlic sauce, and the mass of it all. With the barrage of everything that surrounded it, we couldn't actually pick up the taste of the beef or the fried onions that are also stuffed in there. The accompanying fries were great though, as were requested samples of the restaurant's house sauces ("Tiger sauce" and "Tiger Blue sauce") to dip them in. Our first set of adjoining diners relayed their satisfaction with the walleye sandwich ("No. 36") and portabella sandwich ("No. 37"); with the second couple devouring matching plates of macaroni and cheese ("No. 51") with no apparent complaints. We decided to take Raphael's advice and skipped desert.

Overall, The Old Fashioned seems to face a strange problem for a new restaurant: the service and atmosphere (crowds withstanding) were more than satisfactory, but the menu needs serious help. Even though you can shell out $28.95 for prime rib on a Saturday night or plan your visit for one of the other evenings' specials, the entree choices lack any of the down home charm of a supper club I was expecting. The menu is overwhelmingly a choice of sandwiches in the $6-$9 range with only three non-sandwich dishes to support the balance (the mac and cheese, a rib eye steak, and a rainbow trout). This must be where the restaurant takes on a tavern, rather than a supper club, but given the wait I expected more. A quick review of supper club menus from around Wisconsin seems to confirm that sandwiches aren't so predominant as they are here. Indeed, the varied selection of baked chicken, ribs, fish, and any number of cuts of beef at other supper clubs seems to be exactly what The Old Fashioned lacks. All the same, I'm guessing the near future will promise continued crowds and, with the warming weather, diners might even appreciate the lack of hot entrees. Hopefully by next winter though, a plate of fish, roast chicken, or pork chops won't be relegated to only one night of the week.

More on The Old Fashioned:
The Old Fashioned restaurant website
Raphael Kadushin for The Isthmus
Samara Kalk Derby for Wisconsin State Journal
Mary Bergin for The Capital Times (pre-opening profile)
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