Oconomowoc Night Out

My friend Kacey had his birthday last week and invited his friends out for a night of food, drinks and fun in Oconomowoc.We started at Lakerz because they have ample seating for a large group. Check out the birthday boy anxiously awaiting the arrival of his friends (or food, not quite sure which was more important at that moment - LOL).

Our server was absolutely amazing. She wrote down very little and remembered just about everything. At one point our group was up to 18 people and she kept on top of drinks and even separated all our checks at the end.

I was told their burgers are superb and they have a lot of them on the menu so I knew I was going to order one. I went outside the norm and order the Brie burger with chips. It had brie cheese, apricot chipotle spread, mushrooms and bacon. I made a wise choice as this was excellent. I like that the bacon is made into a circle and holds the sauce on the burger. The brie cheese melted from the heat of the patty and made it delicious. The burgers are cooked medium well, but mine was actually more medium. No complaints and I enjoy a my burgers a little more pink.

They also have cute presentations for some of the burgers. Everyone finished their meals with extremely satisfied bellies. But a discussion was started about which place in Oconomowoc has the best burger. The discussion was between Lakerz or Crafty Cow. It seemed to be a 50/50 split from those that have tried both. Unfortunately, I haven't eaten at Crafty Cow yet to try theirs, but they stuff the fillings between two patties to make a unique burger. I'm hoping to try it out soon and weigh in.

Kacey even got a free birthday shot - he let our server pick and we believe it was a Slippery Nipple because it tasted like butterscotch. He liked it until he found out the name.

Kacey's Birthday Gang at Lakerz.

Something interesting that Lakerz just added this past week is The Lobster Zone. I didn't believe it was actually a game at first, but sure enough, you can pay $2 and try to pick up a lobster. If you get it, you get it cooked for you for free. "You catch it, we cook it" is the slogan on the machine. Not sure it's my thing but it definitely drew people in to check it out.

Next up we made a stop at Crafty Cow for a some "fancy beers" as Kacey called them. Though the place looked really busy, the host quickly pulled tables together for our group and sat us near the back - yay for not having to wait! The only unfortunate thing about this spot is the slow closing back door. A wave of cold came over the table every time someone opened it. Apparently the door used to have a sign asking people to not use it unless necessary, but there was no sign and we shivered from time to time.

Crafty Cow has an industrial-art vibe on the inside - exposed heating and cooling vents and unique art on the wall. I didn't get a good look at the bar area, but they do have plenty of beers on tap and it changes often.

I was able to find some new beers to try and liked them. I would definitely come back for a beer atan and I definitely need to come back for a burger. But until summer, I don't want to sit near in the back of the bar.

Our last stop for the night was Splash.  I have been here before and really like the martinis. It also had a patio that overlooks a lake and is really beautiful on a summer night.

Kacey received a free drink on his birthday, but he has to show his ID. This began the discussion of all of us showing our IDs and how different we look since we got them.

I ordered the Wild Elderberry Martini that would be awesome to sip on a hot summer night. It was refreshing and lemony.

The favorite martini of the group is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and this is Splash's signature drink to. Our server told us the recipe is top secret and even the employees have to sign a waiver that they won't give out the recipe.

There was a band playing live music and our friends Angie & Jeremy that recently got engaged, went up and danced a bit. It was really cute to see them so in love.

All in all it was a great night in Oconomowoc with merriment had by all. Downtown Oconomowoc is similar to downtown Waukesha with the selection of bars and shops. I have never shopped in downtown, only enjoyed the eats and drinks, but I think I will have to change that soon.

Sweet Mullets Brewing Co.

My friends and I are really making an effort to get out to dinner and try new places (or new to some of us places) more often. Because we each live in a different city, we are trading off where we go to keep it fair.

Sweet Mullets Brewing Co. in Oconomowoc was suggested and we agreed to meet up on a Wednesday night after work and check it out. The sunsets are so pretty right now, so I snapped a quick shot on my way out to Oconomowoc.

If you haven't been to Sweet Mullets before, you might have a hard time finding it. It's all the way on the west end of Oconomowoc in an industrial park. They brew in the same building that houses the bar, so that's why they are in an industrial setting.

Once inside, you would never think you are in an industrial building. They did a great job doing an industrial,, but homey cabin feel inside the place and even have some games for people to play. Jumbo Jenga anyone?

The bar is against the back wall and the windows show the brewing area. We asked if we could take a tour and were told that we can call and schedule one with a group, but they aren't offering them regularly to the public at this time. The mugs on the wall are a part of the beer club and are created by a local artisan.

Our server came over and offered us some samples of new beers on tap to try. What a nice treat. Because I hadn't tried any of the beers before and those samples were decent, I decided to order a flight of beers and try them all!

My friend Tory followed suit while Kacey order cocktails made with Great Lakes Distillery's Roaring Dan's Rum. (Kacey has Celiac's Disease so he couldn't partake in the beers too much). Our other friends Angie and Jeremy have had some of Sweet Mullets beers before and just chose a pint or two to enjoy.

With all of this beer, we knew we were going to need to order some food. I chose the corn chowder, two others chose sandwiches and the others split nachos. Shauna was able to join us a bit later in the night and ordered the chili when she arrived.

I thought the corn chowder was really good with a ton of flavor and very filling. Shauna said the chili was great, but shouldn't be called mild as it had quite the kick. As for the sandwiches, they were just ok and a little bland on flavor. The nachos were interesting in that they came with cheese, olives and onion and then a chopped chicken breast laid over the whole thing. 

The food filled us up, but it definitely wasn't what we were there for. I did see that they just started serving pizzas as well from Slinger. In regards to the food, one suggestion I have for the company is to incorporate the beers into the food. They could already be doing that but the menu didn't say for sure. I think the jalepeno beer (see below for my thoughts) would be great as a marinade for the chicken on the nachos or as a little boost in the corn chowder. The chipotle beer could be used in the sandwiches and chili.

Ok - onto the main feature - the beer flight. A clipboard is hung on the edge of the table and has the menu of beers on it. I used this to help me keep track of my beers that I was drinking. To follow the picture below, start with the bottom row (moving right to left) and then proceed to the shorter top row (also moving right to left).

Celebration - Slightly heavier light beer - it was ok
Jorge -  Like a Jalapeño in a cup! A bit spicier but I think would be great to cook with.
Five o One - A nice easy red ale
Buckwheat - Resembles an IPA slightly...it was decent
Athletic Stout - coffee caramely--hoppy - it's an oatmeal stout
Black Hops - coffee and caramely - the more I drank, the more I liked it. It would be nice to drink alone and not with a meal.
Day Dreamer - wheaty and summery - this was my favorite.

Funk - pretty tart - almost sour - Wheaty, sweet smelling. I would not drink this with a meal.
Rasp - very tart, lots of fruit, super sour
Rafael - Really hits the back of the tongue with full spicy flavor. I couldn't even drink it aside from my initial sip but Kacey loved it. I think this would be good to cook with, though, for adding flavors to meat.
Eleven - Pretty hoppy, light in color
BIRA - slightly hoppy but still good.  Malty

My overall opinion of the flights was that the beer maker really knows what he is doing. The flavors are very complex and each beer was really unique. I will definitely come back here again and enjoy my favorites from the flight.

The beer maker took a moment to come over and thanks us for stopping in. He chatted with us a little bit about the beers as well. After dinner, our server brought us some complimentary peanuts to share at our table as well.

The place seems to have decent traffic as quite a few tables were filled while we were there. Good beer draws people in and keeps them.

Splashin' on a Patio

A few of my friends live out in the Lake Country area so to keep it fair, occasionally we head out in their direction for a night of fun because they come to Waukesha so often. Recently, we met up in downtown Oconomowoc at Splash Martini Bar on a Friday night. I have been here before and I love the martini selections, but they have beer, wine and cocktails too if you aren't a martini fan.

This time we were lucky enough to score a few tables on their patio that overlooks Lac La Belle. The weather was perfect as my friend nicely captured the sunset and posted on Instagram.

I saw a post on Facebook a few weeks earlier from Splash that if you signed up for its mailing list, you would get a free drink at your next visit. The signup isn't mobile friendly currently so you have to use a real computer to get on the list. Of course I signed up and encouraged my friends to as well. I got my voucher in time to use that evening, but we found out that the manager does updates to the list in batches so it's not an instant reward and my friends didn't get theirs in time. No worries, it just means we have to come back. And the drinks and atmosphere are still totally worth the price point.

I wanted to start with a martini that had St. Germaine liquor in it because it's a new favorite flavor for me, but unfortunately they were out of the liquor. Have no fear, there are so many more martinis to chose from, I easily picked one with peach in it. It was nice and refreshing.

My friends ordered other drinks, such as the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Martini, a dirty martini, a Flirtini made X-Rated liquor and champagne, Moscow Mules and Hacker-Pschorr and Spotted Cow beers.

If you have never had a Moscow Mule, they are served in a copper mug and some bars hold your license or charge a deposit so they ensure they the cup back. Splash does not instill these policies but they have a limited number of glasses so it could be a wait for the drink. A moscow mule is created with vodka, ginger beer, lime and mint that is refreshing with a nice kick from the ginger. Some of my friends enjoy it without the mint and others with it but either way they are yummy.

We chatted and enjoyed the free Juke Box that is provided every Friday. The music was all over the board - death metal rock to country to very sexually suggestive R&B. It made us laugh a lot at the randomness. 

My second drink was a raspberry martini - called something like "Kiss Me After Dark." It was very sweet with cherries in the bottom but it was still really good.

My final drink was White Peach Sangria (sorry no photo) - the bar's summer special. It was really delicious. The peach tasted fresh and delightful and a little kick of the whiskey or brandy they added to it. I highly recommend getting this before summer is over.

We enjoyed the patio well into the evening and even switched to a table that had a heat lamp over it, as this summer hasn't been known for it's heat in Wisconsin. A nice breeze came off the lake to keep the bugs at bay too.

It seems that Splash's website is in the middle of updates, but the Facebook page has plenty of information and if you sign up for the mailing list, you are sent occasional messages with specials inside.

For example - Mondays - Saturday (excluding Thursdays) they are now offering a late night menu of specials. From 11 pm - close, enjoy a $5 Martini Menu, $3.50 rail cocktails, $3.50 tap/imported beers, $3 domestic beers

Specials going on other nights of the week:
Monday - Industry Night - take 20% off your bill if you work in the hospitality industry
Thursday - Ladies Night - Buy one, get one 50% off (per person, ladies only - sorry guys)
Friday - Free Juke Box
Sunday - Fun Day - Open at 2 pm - Get 10% off all food and $5 drink specials (I couldn't find their food menu but Facebook says in-house appetizers)

I definitely recommend you check this place out the next time you are in Lake Country.

Girl's Night: Martini Style

One of my good friends Tory, recently moved back out to Oconomowoc into a brand new studio apartment. She invited me and Shauna over to check out the place, have dinner, and then go out for drinks at her favorite martini place.

First off, I have to say that I love Tory's place. Although it is a studio and smaller, the kitchen is very spacious and even has an island so she only had to buy two bar stools and not a table. The layout really makes it almost like there is a bedroom, just with a half walk. I really like it.

We made some simple wraps for dinner with tortillas, boiled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, ranch and bacon. The bacon was made in the oven, one of Shauna's specialties. Preheat to 400, lay bacon on a foil lined pan, cook bacon until it just starts to render grease, flip once and finish until your preferred doneness. This was fabulous. So fabulous, that we ate it all without me taking a picture :(

After our dinner, we drove over the Splash, a martini bar right in downtown Oconomowoc. Tory loves this place and wanted us to enjoy it as well. When you first walk in, it looks like a bar with high bar tables across from the bar. But beyond that is the back lounge area. We grabbed three comfy chairs and settled in. The place was decently crowded and it gave us some time to look through the martini book.

It was a rather large book with a ton of specialty martini's inside. I tend to go for fruitier ones and chose the Blackbird, with fresh blackberry puree and a ton of other things. Tory chose the Flirtini that is made with X-rated and champagne and Shauna got the peanut butter cup martini.

The martini's are shaken at the bar and then poured at the table. Shauna's was so thick and creamy, it took a while to pour out and Tory's champagne was added at the table as well. I don't think shaking a martini with champagne in it is such a great idea.

We cheers'd, sipped, chatted and relaxed. Two of Tory's other friends that live in the area joined us for a drink and it was a really fun night.

They don't have many food options except chips and salsa and a cheese tray, but you can order appetizers from Cornerstone. And they have live music on most Saturday nights - acoustic relaxing music to sip a martini or two with.

I did read that you can rent out Splash for special occasions, like bridal showers, birthdays, etc. I think that would be a really fun idea and got me thinking about Shauna's Bridal Shower, however Oconomowoc is a little bit of a drive. But I will definitely look into other bars for this as well.

I recommend checking this place out with your girlfriends, or whomever, and it seems that in warmer weather, there is a nice patio to relax on that overlooks the lake.

A Night Out: Wine Maniacs

Wine Maniacs - Logo from WineManiacs.com

I have been doing a really good job lately of using up Groupons that I purchased months and months ago. It has given me the opportunity to try new places and if you haven’t set yourself up to receive Groupons, LivingSocial or Google offers, I suggest you do! Especially if you are planning a vacation! You can get deals for the city you are traveling to, in order to cut out some expenses.

My latest Groupon brought me to Wine Maniacs in Oconomowoc. I was ecstatic when this place went on Groupon because I had seen the construction process on Facebook and the wall mural made of corks is right up my alley. So I was curious to find out what the place was really all about. My friend Tory lives in Oconomowoc and with Wine Maniacs being right off of Hwy 16 and Brown St., I headed out there to have dinner with her. 

The restaurant is located in a new “strip mall” that also houses a gym, dentist and chiropractor I believe, but once you enter the wine bar, you wouldn’t even know it was near anything else. The inside is painted in warm cream/yellow tones with dark woodwork and stone tile floors. There are tables located by the front windows, bar area as well as seats at the bar. They have a few tables outside, but the wind was a bit too chilly for us to sit out there last night. The fountain also seemed to be leaking and I wouldn’t have wanted to get sprayed.

Outdoor Seating around the fountain at Wine Maniacs

The tables inside are decorated with wine labels collages and a piece of glass laid over them. Some tables had random patterns and some were all the same labels. A candle with a decorative cork holder sits on each table. From our table we had a view of the wine store, a private room and the bar.

Onto the food. We were greeted by a pleasant server who dropped off cucumber water to us. It was refreshing but after a while, I really wished it was lemon water instead. I don’t know if there is a connection between cucumbers and wine to clear the palette? We looked over the wine menu first. Right now they have a huge list of “blowout” wines on the menu that if ordered by the bottle are 50% off. I didn’t get tempted by anything on that menu and we went for a bottle of Rigal Malbec, a French wine that was $24, which means to buy a bottle at a store, it will be around $8.

Wine Maniacs collage tabletops

Wine Maniac's candle holders with corks.

While we waited on the wine, we looked over the menu. It had a list of their small plate entrees available after 4:30 pm on one side and at first we thought that was all they had.  Then we saw the flipside of the menu had sandwiches and salads and we both picked items from this menu. I ordered “The” Panini and Tory chose the Bistro Bomber. We both chose pasta salad on the side. Unfortunately the menu online doesn't parallel the one we received, but it is similar.

The server came back with our wine and two pretty glasses. I was the one that got to taste it and just smelling the nose, I knew that I was going to like the wine. I swirled, sniffed, swirled and sipped! The first taste was delicious and I knew that we would like how it paired with both our meals. This was the first French Malbec, as most are from Chile that I have tried. It is a smooth wine, similar to a Bordeaux and not as dry as a Cabernet. I tasted some earthiness to it as I do with all Malbecs, but that is what makes it unique.  

Rigal Malbec

Our sandwiches came a few minutes later and I was very please with my presentation of the food. Tory wasn’t expecting her bomber to literally be an Italian Sausage link on the huge baguette, but more of a patty-style sausage. Her sandwich was impossible to eat as a sandwich, no matter how we thought to smash it down or take it apart. She ended up ripping pieces of the bread off to eat and then cutting up the sausage and eating it with the fresh mozzarella and basil. She said it tasted great, but unfortunately wasn’t easy to eat and she wouldn’t get it again for that reason only. 

Bistro Bomber

My Panini had chopped up chicken, bacon, tomato and cheese on it. I think the atmosphere and wine gave it a little edge over other paninis that I have had at other restaurants. I would think a way to improve it would be to put some spinach or basil in it before pressing it. The Honey Mustard was a nice surprise in the sandwich and had a heavier honey taste which I really liked. 

"The" Panini

We both agreed that the pasta salad was nice and creamy, however, whatever peppers they used in it, were way too spicy. The kick didn’t hit until you swallowed your bite, but it was quite the kick. Thank goodness chips came on the side of the sandwich too – great palette cleansers after the pasta. 

Gigantic Wine Glass with corks

After we finished our meal, we paid and then wandered the wine shop briefly. They had many wines that I had never heard of before, which makes it a place that I would like to come back and try again or buy a bottle for someone and have a better chance of getting them something really unique. I didn’t really look at prices to see how they compared, but the selection was nice. 

Cold Wines in the Wine Shop

The Wine Shop

Our server met us in the private dining room while I went to find the cork mural. He turned on the lights so I could get a picture and then explained a painted mural on the back wall that was of the trees from a vineyard and how they are this particular vineyards’ label. Unfortunately I can’t remember what vineyard it was – but I’ll look at labels the next time I’m in a liquor store and hope to report to you my findings. This private room is used on busy nights (Fridays and Saturdays), but the rest of the time, its closed off and only used if there is a tasting or reserved. The tables against the walls in this room have bench seating on one side and chairs on the other. The benches collapse flat against the wall to help save space if more room was needed. I thought this was a very smart way of saving space. I received information on upcoming tastings that will be held in that room, but with price tags starting at $50 per person, these are out of my price range currently. 

Mural made of all wine corks

I definitely suggest checking this place out to buy a bottle of wine, try some different wine flights, get a meal or just split a bottle with friends. Or if you want to enjoy a nice night with a fancy tasting, they have multiple each month to go to. Check out their website or Facebook page for all the details.

Until my next post, Happy Eating!