The end is here

I have not been in EC since election day. It was my last visit to move my furniture to storage, and pack up my valuables to move on.

I am living in a new state, in a new region, and have a whole new life.

It was a great run while it lasted, but it is over.

I just checked the stats. I will leave this blog up as long as there are at least 50 hits per month. Once traffic drops below that, I will delete this effort.

Photos and links

Those who visit this site directly will note the new page in the top bar [sorry for the pun....not really]. I have started taking photos of the outside of EC bars and posting them to Flickr.

This first batch is those bars generally north of the Eau Claire River and east of the Chippewa River along with the bars which are north of Madison/Cameron Streets. Water Street will be a separate project, as will those on Hastings and in the south part of town.

I may or maynot add out of town bar photos, depending on how the spirit moves me.

Griese’s 400 Club

This is one of several “downtown” Altoona bars. It has a classic interior which has been cleaned up. The bartender did not know how to make the favored drink, but took direction well.

I loved that there was a group of ladies sitting playing a card game in the late afternoon. It seems like a nice, friendly neighborhood place.

Waterfront Bar & Grill

I stopped in Menomonie last night. I was driving through town, and it was a pretty day, late in the afternoon. The sign for the Waterfront Bar & Grill caught my eye. I pulled into the municipal lot across Crescent Street, and walked it. The deck overlooking the lake was full, but there were seats at the bar. Most of those on the deck were eating, and they had what looked like a great special on the menu.

I sat down at the bar. After asking about the special (they were out), I ordered something else, which was just great. They have Leinie’s Honey Weiss (and a number of other beers) on tap. The bartender also makes a great Long Island (and bargain priced, too!)

I hung out for a bit. It was a very mixed crowd, and many came (at least at that hour) for the food. The waitress serving those on the deck was kept hopping. I got to chatting with a guy at the bar, who turned out to be the bartender’s father and part-owner. The other part-owner was the bartender! (And he was barely 30, would be my guess.) The bartender was very, very good. He heard the shouted orders from the waitress, and kept up. He clearly loves what he does. At slow moments, he did the usual “house-keeping” with help from his dad, brother, and others. You know, adding ice to the well, refilling the condiment server, etc.

It was a great place, and I highly recommend it!

Fox Run Tavern

Out in the Town of Seymour, on the way to Tower Ridge is a cute little bar. I drove by it last winter when I went snowshoeing out there, and decided to come back in better weather.

It is clearly a neighborhood bar. There was a crowd of regulars who were quite convivial and all seemed to know each other. It was a fairly homogeneous crowd, age-wise [Eau Claire is by definition homogeneous racially!]. Mostly 40+, and mostly couples.

The Long Islands were good, and reasonably priced. Only three tap beers, and the Leinie’s was the original (Red), not my favorite, Honey Weiss.

There is a great deck part of which is covered and part is not. It overlooks a softball field for the bar, plus horseshoe courts. There were signs up about a Tavern Horseshoe League. It is also clear that they do catering and events there. It would be a nice location for a party, or an informal wedding reception.

I’ll probably go back.

Wecome Matt

On Route 37, on the way out of town to Mondovi, it the Welcome Matt. (I assume that the two “T” has to do with the name of the owner.

It is clearly a Packers hang out, and the amount of promotional material is almost overwhelming. (In general people here go way overboard with the Packers. My brother the Packers fan, has a couple of items, a shirt, and the souvenir single share of stock hanging on the wall. It is tasteful.) Other than the Packers stuff, the inside is quite nice. There are very large beer glass-fronted coolers, into which the bartender regularly reached.

They have a couple of draft beers (Leine’s Red, but not Honey Weiss), and the drinks are reasonably priced.

Low Down Saloon

It sits on US-12 as you head towards Elk Mound, on the corner of a country road. It looks like a house plopped down at the edge of a field. I thought the name was interesting, and headed in the sheltered entrance. That was my first surprise, the stairs went down not up! Now the name made sense!

The bar is in the basement of the house. I actually looks like a rec room bar which has been expanded. The basement window sills are about 5 feet above the floor! There is a pool table which is in an addition to one side which has skylights to let in some natural light.

I was there after work on a weekday, and the crowd was clearly regulars. There is no draft beer, and even the set up behind the bar looks like an expanded “rec room.” At six o’clock, the bartender treated everyone to a drink. Very nice!

Reasonably priced drinks, and an interesting location.

Just out of town — Wander Inn

I’ve been away more than here lately. However, Saturday afternoon of the Belmont, I found myself out at the intersection of County T and County X. I guess it is technically in Chippewa County (and the Town of Wheaton, I think).

From the outside, it seems like a dumpy, country bar. However the interior has clearly been re-done recently. There is attractive pine paneling, nice tile floors, and a new counter top on the bar. There is a pool table, and a bunch of “slot machines.” At the time I went, the crowd was surprisingly young — all were under 50, and most under 40 (by my guess). The person next to me and the bartender were talking about working at Whiskey Dicks (which is diagonally across the city from here!).

It is a pleasant hangout, and clearly has a crowd of friendly regulars.

As an anecdote, one of the women at the bar was “all about” Big Brown in the Belmont. She did a couple of “Big Brown shots of Crown” one of which was with two others, and she called that “the triple Crown.” [I love the sense of humor.] She was sad (not heartbroken) when Big Brown lost.

Diversions — A visit

Well, my drinking buddy was in town, and she wanted to check out the changes.

Diversions used to be the bar known as “Fat Boys.”  They have done some re-decorating. The “glass” behind the bar has not only the beer company slogans/logos but the bar name (painted?) on.

It was clearly a LGBT friendly bar, but at the time we were there the emphasis was on “G” not “L” and clearly not “B” or “T.” Now, I will admit, we were early, but not that early. It was about 7 pm when we were there. Perhaps the “joint” heats up later. but the crowd at Scooters was more diverse!

At the same time, Chris, did pour an incredible Long Island (with Rose’s Lime juice!), which was almost more than my companion could drink. Strong and large. That’s the way she likes them!!!!

Name change/New location

Fat Boys has closed for renovations. It has a new owner and should reopen soon as Diversions. It will be interesting to see what the differences are.

The City Council has an agenda item for April 7/8 to approve a Reserve Liquor License for Red Robin Restaurants on Golf Road. Since it is a Reserve License, I expect that it will pass.

When licenses are renewed in June, I’ll have to check the master list again to see what changes I need to record here!