Northwoods Brew Pub; Brewski’s at Trail Lodge

Northwoods is a traditional micro-brew pub which has been in business for about a decade. I was surprised to see smoking in the bar, but I guess they must have enough “off-sales” to mean that they don’t get 50% or more of their business from the food end. The Long Island was good. They have no Leine’s, but instead they have a large selection of their own beers. In a way this more than makes up for it!

On my way home, I decided to try one last time for Brewski’s. It was open! It is a very small room (as the bartender said, smaller than many people’s basement bars). When I was there the only other people were a couple playing the “slot” machines. The bartender and I had a congenial conversation. The Long Island was good, if not generous. It was served in a plastic cup. Will I go back? Probably not, but it was worth stopping.

Almost done

OK…the list had 82 Class B licenses and 4 “Reserve Licences.” But there are four which are not open: Galloway Grille has not opened yet; The Livery is not open, and the building is under construction; The East Room is “open by appointment;”  and Garfield’s (in the mall) closed recently.

Then there are the “special” places. On that list I include the catering halls: Florian Gardens, EC Regional Arts Center, and  The Best Western Trail Lodge. The latter is theoretically open, but it has not been open when I have visited: weekends, weeknights, middle of the day.

So: 86 minus the four closed/not open leaves 82. Eighty-two minus the three specials is 79. I have visited 77. The two left are: Northwoods Grill Pub and The Finish Line.

Once I get through, I will go back to write notes on the first thirty which mostly appear only on the list in an early post.

Stay tuned!

TGI Fridays, Bear Creek Grill

TGI Friday’s is in the mall. It is the standard chain, although they actually mix the drinks (and don’t use their own mix). It is old enough to not be non-smoking, but there are actual windows/doors between the smoking and non-smoking areas.

Bear Creek Grill is new. It is new, and next to Younkers (at the mall) but free-standing. I was there on a Tuesday night. On Tuesday they have a special sponsored by Philips Liqors: $3 Long Islands! Not a bad deal. Not only that….it is non-smoking.

Disappointment — Places on the Bar list who only serve beer and wine (whine)

There are three places on the list of full liquor licenses which only serve beer and wine.

The first I visited was Cicones (or Ciccones). It is an Italian restaurant at the corner of Claremont and Menonminie Streets. It has marginal food, and only beer and wine.

The two  Pizza Huts are also only beer and wine places. I ate in one (standard chain food) but was wise enough to ask before even entering the other!

Red Lobster, Stella’s Red Room

Just by chance, I visited the two “red” bars on the same night.

Red Lobster is a chain, and the “bar” is really just a holding pen for when they are busy. I had another Long Island from a bottle. They have only Bud on tap. They were using the bar primarily for storage of paper napkins and silverware. Probably not a return visit.

Stella’s Red Room, however, is really, really red. It opened this summer, and had a lively crowd. There are nice decorations including a very interesting version of the Mona Lisa hanging on the wall. Great Long Island, and the bartender did not miss a beat when I asked for it. They are in the process of building a “beer garden” with outdoor seating, but it will probably not be ready for this season. There is a pool table in the back room which has additional seating.

Elks Lodge

There were cars in the lot, the door was open, so I walked in and ordered a drink. After it had been served, Charlie came over and started talking. Well, it seems that this is a “private club” and I should not have just come in. They let me finish the drink, and gave me an application to join the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The Long Island was from a bottle (clear, at that) and not very good, and they normally don’t have beer on tap.

Buffalo Wild Wings

On the plus side, it is smoke free. However, it is a very loud bar. The bartender was great, a real pro. I admired his work. They have the largest selection of draft beers I have seen anywhere in Eau Claire, more than a dozen. Another plus was that they had NESN on one of the big screens. (NESN is the New England Sports Network.) I got a little home sick for New England watching the commercials.

Thirteen open bars to go!

Cancun (Highland Ave)

This one is much larger and more “upscale” than its sister location in the Mega West shopping center. The food is equally good, although instead of shredded beef they use a ground beef which I do not prefer. At this one I sat at the bar (which I have not done on the West side where I have always had table service). No Leines on tap, though. The Long Island was adequate and reasonably priced. Will I go back? Maybe as part of a group or to eat if it is convenient. I’m not sure I’d go out of my way. I am still looking for a good tamale, and this time of year is when you should be able to get green corn tamales. They don’t seem to be on menus here, and when they are, they have been horrid.

The Maple Lounge, Manny’s Cocina, Chuck’s on Clairemont (repeat visit, first review)

The Maple Lounge is attached to a motel, and is tucked away on a stretch of Hastings Way which has been cut off from the main drag by the rebuilding of Business 53. I find it fascinating that it is across the street and slightly south and east from Ole’s Southside Tavern which is in Altoona, but the Maple Lounge is in the City of Eau Claire. When I pulled in, it was hard to find a parking spot. I thought it odd that on a Wednesday night, it was so crowded. The bar is nice, with high ceilings, and lots of wood. (Are you surprised?) I hit the end of happy hour, and the bar was full. I then noticed that the next door restaurant was full also….but folks did not seem to leave very often. Then the light bulb went on — it was poker night! Decent Long Island, and Leine’s on tap.

Manny’s Cocina is a Mexican restaurant on the back side of the mall. It is a new building, definitely styled to reflect what people think is Mexican-style. Drinks were good. I had the beef tacquitos which were not bad. Drinks were expensive (for Eau Claire). It was very quiet on a Thursday night, and the bartender was quite friendly. A plus is that as a restaurant, it is smok-free.

Chuck’s is #1 on the original list of 30….back before I knew how many there were. When I first drove by, because of the A-frame style of the building, I thought it was a church which had been converted. Once you go inside it clearly is not a conversion. It can be a busy place, but it is smoky. It is, however, sometime convenient.

The remaining bars

Of the bars left on my list, most are restaurants. They are:

East Room (424 Water Street) — not currently open? there are not many chairs inside
The Livery (316 Wisconsin Street) — part of the North Barstow re-development and unfinished
Galloway Grille (next door to Scooters) — ready to be open soon
Best Western Trail Lodge (the bar has not been open when I have been by)

Red Lobster
Olive Garden
TGI Fridays (at the Mall)
Pizza Hut (2)
Northwoods Brew Pub
Bear Creek Grill
Buffalo Wild Wings
Manny’s Cocina
Cancun (Highland Ave)
Ciciones (Menominie and Clairemont)

Elks Lodge
Florian Gardens
Eau Claire Regional Arts Council

Maple Lounge
The Finish Line

Note the grouping. The top four are either not open, or may not be open soon. The second group are restaurants, mostly chains. The third are catering kinds of places (except maybe the Elks which has not been open when I have driven by). The last two are “real” bars, and for the moment, I am thinking it might be most appropriate to end with The Finish Line.