September 17, 2008 – The Old Fashioned
This was Erin’s choice, although she’d been there before. Brian had not. The original rule was that the person choosing the restaurant had to pick a place that they’d never been before, but that’s been revised to: the chooser has to pick a place that at least one of the four of us hasn’t been before. (Ehh… we’ve been violating that rule almost since the beginning. — erin)
erin says: Love the fries, love the cheese curds. I was not prepared for the fact that we would have to pay for each sauce (but it does say this in the menu). I liked the paprika, ranch, and garlic sauces, but did not like either of the tiger sauces. The first time I went to the Old Fashioned I didn’t like the seasoning in the burger. I didn’t like it this time either. With garlic sauce, cheese, egg, and bacon on the house burger, I don’t think extra seasoning is necessary. Let the meat flavor come through. I liked the atmosphere, but I would have liked it better with fewer customers. That’s certainly not something I can hold against the restaurant! For us, going down town is a special trip, so we probably won’t go back often. I do like it, so I’ll give them a 8 out of 10 based on my experiences there. I wish I had tried the lake perch fish fry.
Brian doesn’t seem to be doing much posting lately, so I’ll add that he decided he did not like egg on his burger. He has very clear definitions of what is breakfast (eggs are breakfast) and what is not (hamburgers are not breakfast), and combining things from two categories doesn’t go over well. I do think he liked everything else.
Pat says: There was a definite theme for this week’s dinner, and it was “rules and when to break them”. I was downtown for work, so I got to the restaurant about 5 minutes before everyone else. I was hot (wearing work clothes for the cool early morning and air conditioning when the day had turned warm) and thirsty. About a quarter of the tables were taken, and the hostess took my name but could not let me sit at an empty table until the rest of my party had arrived. I have a hard time understanding the logic behind this – do they really think that I’m going to scam them out of a glass of water and 10 minutes use of a chair and then leave? For the record, if I do plan such a ruse, I promise to leave a tip for the water.
2nd rule: breakfast food is not dinner food, but fried eggs are great on burgers and waffles are great for dinner. I had the grilled cheese with bacon – a favorite of mine, done very well here (would have been great with a fried egg). We had a good waitress who remembered to come back and fill our glasses regularly. Nice ambience but the acoustics made it almost impossible to carry on a conversation. There’s got to be a secret of how to have a level of noise that allows for private conversation but still makes it possible to hear the person across the table. All together, I’d give the Old Fashioned a 7 out of 10.
Kevin says: I liked this visit to the Old Fashioned just as much as the first couple of times I was there. Maybe it is “guy food” because I disagree with Erin. I like all of the garlic in the sauce, in the burger, etc. The atmosphere is great, too. Just a great, old fashioned bar room.
