Brothers, Mona Lisa, Haymarket Grill

Brothers is yet another Water Street bar. I was carded! First time for me, but clearly they were carding everyone! It was very much a college bar, and on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, it was pretty busy.

We walked down Water Street, and it was nice enough out that we sat outside at Mona Lisa to drink. It was nice to sit at a table outside and watch the world go by. We glanced at the menu, but did not eat. Mona Lisa is part of a group of restaurants and bars owned by the same family.

Friday night we went to Haymarket Grill, downtown. We sat at the bar, and the owner (Doug?) was the bartender. We were late enough that we could try the classic cocktails. I was pleased that without cheating, I could name the ingredients for most of these drinks.

Golden Spike, Eau Claire Country Club, Fischer’s on the Green (Hastings Country Club)

The Golden Spike is actually in Altoona, diagonally across the street from the Altoona Public Library. It is a classic “bar” with food. They are currently recovering the outside, so it looks like it is under construction.

We went to the Eau Claire Country Club for an event. The bar was nice, and they do have Liene’s on tap, and the Long Islands were shaken.

The visit to Fischers’ was for Sunday brunch. From the outside, the building does not look promising. However, the restaurant (and bar) are the most elegant of any in Eau Claire. The Sunday brunch is great, and the view over the golf course was wonderful. We were early enough that we had the full, undivided attention of the wait staff.

Wagner’s Bowling Alley, The Joynt

Easter was at Wagner’s. We drank. We bowled. It was fun. Acceptable Long Islands, and not very crowded on this religious holiday.

The Joynt is on Water Street. There is no sign outside with the name, you have to know that it is there. However, they have custom coasters with a very interesting, almost suggestive, illustration. I’ll try to photograph and/or scan it. It is a little bit of a dive, but it was fun.

Outback, Famous Daves

Good news: two non-smoking bars. Bad news: both in chain establishments whose major focus is food.

Outback is one of the most southern bars in the city limits (Texas Roadhouse is across the street but was incredibly busy). We did not order Long Islands because they were not part of the happy hour deals. Their price for them was high, but the bartender was nice enough to point out that a 2 for 1 special for regular drinks was a better deal.

Famous Dave’s is harder to find, although it is right next to Festival Foods. That whole shopping center complex has its fronts towards US53, and therefore its back to the city streets. I find it odd. However, the Long Islands at Famous Dave’s were part of the happy hour (every day 2 pm – 6 pm) specials. We also got an order of onion strings. While not as satisfying to someone as onion RINGS, I thought that they were pretty good. The Leine’s on tap here did not have a canoe pull, but a paddle. What’s up with that?

Mousetrap, Houligans, Bottle and Barrel

The latest adventure was downtown. There, the bars are close enough together to park once and walk, although last night was plenty chilly. It wasn’t the cold as much as the brutal wind out of the North.

Our first stop was the Mousetrap. It is an interesting bar in the northern end of downtown. There were a bunch of regulars. The Long Islands were acceptable.

Houligan’s is the most “upscale” of the places we have visited so far (except perhaps the Bistro in the Ramada Inn). We walked in the door on Barstow Street, but sitting in the bar, it looked like there is at least one other entrance. I’ll have wander more during the day — when it is warmer. The Long Islands were not great, and were the most expensive we have had. They were the same price as in St. Paul! While they have a wide selection of beers, I did not see any Leinies on tap here.

Our last stop on this jaunt was Bottle and Barrel. From the outside it looks like a real dive, inside is not nearly as bad. This place is clearly set up to do a lot of “off premises” sales. There is a huge area in the main bar which is stocked like what a New Englander would call a small package store. I have even seen packies with less selection than this store! The Long Islands were good, and were cheap.

Photos — A first for "Drinking through Town"

Here are the first two photos:

The Wigwam

And:

The Last Chance Bar

(Ironically, it is my last chance to visit a bar when I drive home from work….although if I go past the driveway, I could visit some others!)

How many bars are there in Eau Claire?

Watching a City Council meeting, I discovered the answer to this question. The Council was voting on liquor licenses. In order to make their decision, they consulted a map which showed the location of all the establishments with liquor licenses in the City.

There are 82 full licenses, and four reserve licenses. (I am not sure what the distinction is.) That is a total of 86. Now some of the places on my list are not properly in the City limits. (It is hard to tell where Eau Claire ends and Altoona begins.) But with the latest, we are up to 41…..almost half way there!

Court’n House, Bull Pen, Jolly Jerry’s

No weekend bar crawling, but a Monday night special.

We started out at the Court’n House (over near the County Building). It is as much a restaurant as a bar, and the burgers smelled very good. We hit a bartending shift change. The first Long Island was not as good as the second, and the second bartender shook the drinks. It has a nice wood bar, and a nice atmosphere.

The Bull Pen was attractive because of the peanuts (drop the shells on the floor), and a couple of nice pool tables. Drinks were good. I won both games of pool (75 cents a game to play). The popcorn was old.

Jolly Jerry’s sits on the corner across the street from the Post Office. No Long Islands here. Only vodka/cranberry.

Sweetwater’s and Grizzly’s

Had a mid-week adventure, and went for a “pre-event” drink on Wednesday night. Sweetwater’s has a very nice sitting area, with a sofa and chairs around a coffee table, and a gas fireplace. There is also the nice bar area. It must have been because we were so early that it took a bit to get the bartender’s attention. Drinks were acceptable, and reasonably priced.

After the “event” we wandered over to Grizzly’s. It is a chain, but has a bar which clearly had regulars. The drinks were larger than Sweetwater’s, and the same price. One of the down-sides of having the regulars there, was the smoking.

It is funny when you visit many places how much you notice differences like the fact that in the Twin Cities all eating and drinking establishments are non-smoking. While restaurants in Eau Claire are non-smoking, bars are not.