I found myself on Water Street on a very frigid night. After my errands, I decided to visit a few watering holes.

First I wandered down to The Joynt. It is the only bar in town without any exterior sign announcing its presence. It is very clearly an established institution, and I did blog about its unique coasters.  However, you can’t beat the $0.75 drafts….even if the glasses are small. There was a regular crowd, and it seemed like it would get hopping.

Next I wandered the length of the street to Dooley’s for a quick draft. As a non-smoking bar, it is always a great place to stop.

Then it was back to the car. I was walking by She-Nanigans and decided to stop it. It was quite early and I was almost alone. I did notice that the place next door, Lucky’s was also open, and when I got inside, I could see that they were connected! Lucky’s has been under construction for a while, and I asked the bartender. He said that they are the “same place” and that Lucky’s plays different music (country, etc.). It is done in light colored rustic logs, and looks clean and bright. When I asked if the weather was keeping business down, he noted that the UWEC students return this weekend for classes to begin on Monday.

I had a quick drink at the Wigwam, and then home to bed.

I have posted about the Wigwam Tavern before. They were on the original list, had a brief reference on St. Patrick’s Day, and the first photo. I did talk about their “branch for the summer,” the Sports Depot, in a summer time review. They are the nameless bar which was referred to with a good bartender and great fried onion rings in the post about what makes a good bar. However, I have not written about the bar itself.

From the photo, you can probably guess that it is a downtown bar. It is a free standing building, and Dave, the owner, lives upstairs. About the only drawback is that it is not smoke-free. Behind the bar is a great art-deco styled bar with mirrors and hand painted scenes of wigwams. It has a cove ceiling in true art deco style. The bar itself is curved and the linoleum top is worn in spots from years of service. Most of the bar stools have backs (a huge plus). There is a pool table, and game machines (darts among them), and there are booths.

Our favorite bartender (Todd) works every other Sunday, but lucky for us has been there the past two Sundays for our visits. He makes a killer LIIT, and is great to talk to. When we don’t understand some aspect of bar life, he can always explain it to us (like Shake-A-Day).

They have a great food menu, and the daily specials (bottom of the first page) are great. In good weather, there is a sandwich board out front on the sidewalk to remind you of today’s special. There are people who go there for the food…and don’t even have an alcoholic drink! (Guy next to me yesterday had two large glasses of milk with his meal!!!) Not shown on the menu is the Sunday morning special “Wamlet.” That is a three egg omelet with your choice of meat (bacon, sausage, ham), vegetables (mushrooms, onions, tomatoes — we even got olives once), and cheese. It is served with hashbrowns and toast. Great choice for breakfast.

The Wigwam is a favorite!

[Oh, and they have other good bartenders, too! It is just that Todd is our fav!]

Well, I have now had at least one drink in the 80 bars which are open in Eau Claire. Of the 86 bars there are two which are simply catering or special event halls (Florian Gardens, Eau Claire Regional Arts Center) and four are not open (Galloways [closed before I got there], The Livery, Galloway Grille, and The East Room [open by appointment]).

The Finish Line was the end. It is located in a fairly industrial area, but also near both some motels, and the Wagner’s Bowling Alley. It is just off Hastings Way. When we walked in, it seemed like deja vu because it is similar in layout to several other bars. The first bartender mad the Long Islands from scratch, and they were pretty good. The second bartender used “the mix” which resulted in mediocre drinks.

The initial quest is over. However, since I did not blog the first thirty, several are due for re-visits, and notes. This blog will not die. I need to decide how much further afield will I go? There are townships around Eau Claire (and the City of Altoona), plus Augusta and Fall Creek as incorporated municipalities. Then there is Chippewa Falls. Stay tuned!

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!

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.

It was a rainy, wet weekend — good drinking weather. I started on Saturday at the Barley Club. It is a nice, good sized room overlooking the putting green, and has a large deck with tables which would be very nice on a bright sunny day. It was incredibly quiet, but the bartender made a good Long Island.

Next stop was the Wild Ridge, but they were hosting a wedding, and even though there was a crowd drinking there, I did not stay.

So I headed over to the Princeton Valley Golf Course. It is a much smaller course, which also has what would be a nice deck on a nice day. The bartender, Megan, was definitely the cutest bartender in town, and pours a great Long Island. The only downside is that there is no Leine’s on tap. They only have three or four draft beers. All are Budweiser products (I think). It was also very quiet. I went back on Sunday, when they were running a tournament in spite of the rain. It was busier, but Megan was a cute as ever.

Sunday I went back to Wild Ridge. Since the storm was still on, it was even quieter, and the pro shop was getting ready to close. I had one drink (and was the only drinker), and left. Interesting that checks are to be made to Sweetwaters!

That brings me to sixty-five bars visited in the City limits.

We visited El Patio on Water Street on a Friday early evening. The very small bar was full (all eight seats taken), so we had to sit in the restaurant. No Long Island Iced Tea, no cranberry juice (vodka/cranberry is the 2nd favorite), white zin was ordered. No draft beers, I had better luck with a Dos Equis (XX). The server was very honest, and noted that the white zin was very bad, so a frozen peach margarita was the final answer.

We also ordered food. I was underwhelmed.

The next weekend I was on Water Street after 10 pm. The Brat Kabin was open, so I parked and walked in. It was very quiet. After a bit I was the only customer (other workers), so the bartender (Dave) and I had a great chat. Good Long Island, and Leine’s is on tap. Brat Kabin is open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday starting at 8 pm. [That is why I had not been successful.] It is a nice room, with a DJ area, and an unremarkable bar. It was starting to get busy as I left at midnight.