Horny Goats, Smokey Robinson, and Beer

Normally, mentioning something like that in the same sentence can elicit some really bad images. And sometimes it is the premise behind a joke on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Neither are the case this time. These three phrases actually go great together. Let me tell you about a really cool brewery I found in Milwaukee called the Horny Goat Hideaway. Well, I say, "I found", but the cool crowd in Milwaukee already know about it. It is located just a few minutes north of General Mitchell International Airport off I-94. They brew their own beer, have an awesome semi-outdoor and large bar area, and a really big outdoor dining area. They even sport about 8 beach volley courts. That can be nice entertainment on a summer afternoon.

Anyway, the place is a little hidden off the beaten path, hence Hideaway in the name. They have plenty of real estate for parking and the brewery is directly on site with tours available by appointment. The staff was friendly and attentive, even in the bar area. I found easy parking in the huge unpaved back lot. Upon arrival, the whole place was alive with lots of activity, live music, and beach volleyball going on in the back area of the property. This is not your typical hide away brewery. All of the eating is done outside. The bar has a modern industrial feel with roll-up doors all around and plenty of large LCD TVs sprinkled around. It's hard to find a spot that doesn't have at least one great viewing angle. I would have had to wait for a seat in the outdoor dining area, so I took a readily available seat at the bar and planted myself right in front of one of those TVs to watch the baseball game.

The menu was pretty simple. I had a choice of beer, burgers, salads, and appetizers. Even though it sounds bland, it was anything but. The recommended burger with the Smokey Robinson. A hamburger topped with pulled pork, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and barbecue sauce held between a large round bun with a toothpick that could have been used by Paul Bunion. Even though I already had a pulled pork sandwich earlier today, I was game to try this one. Here's something to remember when going to dinner later in the evening and it's going to be crowded, don't expect all flavors of their brewed beer to be available. They were out of the Hopped Up 'n Horny, and the Horny Blonde. I finally settled on the Belgian Wheat. I know, no fun name for that one is there?

My beer arrived rather quickly, the burger arrived about 10 minutes later. Right on time. The beer was very smooth with no bitter taste. It looked every bit of a wheat beer. I'll be honest. I'm not much of beer connoisseur. I know a good beer when I get a hold of one, though, and this was a good beer. It was smooth and consistent throughout the whole glass with no bitter after taste. Best of all, it went great with my Smokey Robinson. You can see the picture of this beauty below. The burger was piled high with all of the toppings. I didn't know if it was going to fit in my mouth or if I was going to have to cut it up. I guess I now know that I have a big mouth. Some of you may have already known that, though. The burger fit and I went to town on that thing. The burger meat itself was ok. Nothing spectacular. What set that particular burger apart from any other was the pulled pork and the rest of the toppings. The pork was tender, cooked evenly, and covered in barbecue sauce. The haystack onions added some great background flavor and the veggies were fresh. There's nothing worse than limp lettuce and under ripe tomatoes on a burger. These veggies were spot on for freshness and taste. As a side, I got tater tots with my Smokey Robinson. These were pretty good tots. I won't babble on about those, though.

I finally finished every last savory bite of my burger and washed it all down with the last few sips of my smooth, cold, and great tasting Belgian Wheat. That meal was worth every penny. I ended up paying a little under $20 with a tip included. If I could get away with eating like that every day I'd do it again tomorrow, but alas, I am over 35 and therefore am destined to have to eat like my mom taught me. Those meals will have to be fewer as I get older.

If you are ever in the Milwaukee area and want to find a good local brewery, you need to check out the Horny Goat Hideaway. Check out their website for any specials going on. You can also plan ahead for what you want to eat as their full menu is available there, too. I think I will sleep well tonight after that meal.

This has been a traveling review brought to you by the Nomad Consultant. I review all kinds of places wherever I stay during my travels. Stay tuned for more travel reviews.

Marriott Courtyard - Brown Deer, WI

So as you may have guessed, I am in the Milwaukee area this week. This is my third trip to the area in the last 8 weeks and my third hotel. The first one was awful. A Hampton Inn that got left back in the mid 1990's. The second one was the best. A Hilton Garden Inn that had nice amenities and decent food. The third ranks very close to the Hilton Garden Inn.
The staff is nice and attentive to your needs. I happened to forget my toothbrush and they gave me a new one. No, it's not the newest Colgate tooth brush that whitens teeth, removes tartar and plaque, and can jack up a pickup truck by putting a rock under it, but it does the basic job of cleaning the crud from my teeth. They have a nice mixer later in the evening with drinks for everyone. I just missed the end of it when I got in from seeing my movie at the Fox Bay Cinema Grill. Maybe I'll partake in it tomorrow night.
The parking lot is well lit and there's really not a bad parking spot on the premises. The hotel provides easy access to the main road going in either direction out front and there plenty of restaurants within easy driving distance. The Interstate is just a few miles away and Mitchell Airport is about 25 minutes away. So far the hotel has been quiet even though there has been quite a few partiers out front and roaming around the lobby for the past two nights.  Being right by the elevators I thought I would be subjected to a lot of loud noises. It has been pleasantly quiet.
I think overall, I would give this hotel a thumbs up. I will be coming back here again in the next few weeks and will probably stay here if the Hilton Garden Inn is booked up again. If you need lodging in the northern region of the Milwaukee area, check out the Courtyard. You might like it.
This is the Nomad Consultant providing a review while on the road. Keep checking back for more updates. I might review a spot in your town.

This has been a traveling review brought to you by the Nomad Consultant. I review all kinds of places wherever I stay during my travels. Stay tuned for more travel reviews.

Kravers Handled my Cravings

I went to a place called Kravers Frozen Custard for lunch today. This is a local restaurant in the Milwaukee area. It boasts over 100 items on the menu and good size portions at reasonable prices. One of the first impressions I got was cleanliness with plenty of sitting room. The other impression I got was that it was hardly any kind of custard shop. The menu board looked fairly intimidating spreading across about 25 feet of overhead space covering foods from Europe, Mexico, and the US, but I managed to get through the selections and find something that appealed to me, the pulled pork sandwich. This was a strange beginning to a restaurant considered to be fast food.

My food was served in about one minute. It was a good looking sandwich sitting in the black plastic platter plate next to a heaping helping of fries. I think I would have liked to see a little more pulled pork or a less bulky bun to make it a tad better, but it was pretty good as it was. The sauce had a good mixture of spiciness and tanginess, and was not too messy. The pork was pretty good, too. It was tender and the sauce certainly boosted the flavor. The bun was large and fluffy, and had a little of the sauce subtly seeping into the bun from the inside. It made the bun seem thinner than it was, which was helpful. The fries were nothing spectacular visually or taste wise, but were plentiful. They were just your typical Orida type wrinkle cut fries. The drink selections were the usual suspects of soft drinks.

The cool factor was the plasticware dispensers. Forks, knives, and spoons were held in lever activated dispensers. Pushing down a lever on the appropriate dispenser kicked out a fork, knife, or spoon. Out of all of the restaurants I have ever visited, and trust me there have been a lot, I have never come across something like these dispensers. The knife dispenser was the coolest. It actually jettisoned a knife out with gusto. I had to fight the urge to pick up the dispenser, face it outward, and start pushing on the lever like it was a semi-automatic weapon yelling like Rambo and swinging it around in slow mation. I think that would have been pretty fun. Even the drink lids were held in a nicely organized dispenser. Tables were well spaced and the booths had plenty of room. Unfortunately, the drink dispenser area gets a little crowded due to patrons waiting around for food to come out. The pickup area and drink dispenser are very close to each other leaving little space for congregation and those wanting to get a drink. That’s when you grab the knife dispenser and start shooting to get people to back off.

Ultimately, my meal was rather inexpensive, about $8, for what I got. I liked the pulled pork sandwich, but the bun could have been a little thinner. It didn’t overpower the sandwich, but it could have come very close rather easily had the sauce not slightly seeped into the bun and the bun not be as fluffy as it was. Those stiff, thick buns that I run into from time to time at other places would have ruined this sandwich. I would consider this a fast food restaurant with a choice for everyone. If you are craving anything from gyros to quesadillas to burgers to bbq, Kravers can satisfy the craving. The combination of selections, price, and time bring back memories of the old Sizzler commercials in the early 90’s. “I don’t have a lot of time. I don’t have a lot of money. I want a lot of choice.” You will have no trouble meeting that expectation at Kravers. You can judge for yourself on what you like the best. For me, the pulled pork sandwich was good, but I might try a quesadilla next time. I love quesadillas.

This has been a traveling review brought to you by the Nomad Consultant. I review all kinds of places wherever I stay during my travels. Stay tuned for more travel reviews.

Movie Night at Fox Bay Cinema Grill

Tonight I am at a local movie theater that is independently owned an operated in Milwaukee, WI called the Fox Bay Cinema Grill. It was originally opened in 1951 and then remodeled many years later. This theater holds quite a bit of charm and nostalgia just in the entry way alone. They left the original box office out front and the lobby has one of its original movie projectors. The reels it holds are about 22" in diameter. That projector is a monster.

I walked into the theater for my movie, Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon 3D, and it is definitely a modernized theater, but still holds some of that Hollywood Golden Age feel. There was a large red velvet curtain covering the screen. Three dimensional art work was delightfully mounted on the side walls about half way up the 40 foot ceiling to keep the cavernous space appealing.

The concept of a theater and grill is not new, but this place is better than the chain places I have been to. The food is all made to order and the wait staff is on top of it from the get go. I wasn't sitting more than 3 seconds before I had someone taking a drink order. I got the Buffalo Chicken sandwich for dinner. It was rather tasty and definitely had that homemade taste. It was worth the price.

So how does this theater stack up with a new 3D movie that was supposed to be seen in 3D? It did very well. The sound was fantastic! It easily filled the theater, but was not over powering like most eat-in theaters are. Their sound system has true power that doesn't have to over compensate by nearly blowing out underpowered speakers. It sounded well grounded and full. The 3D was state of the art. I had no complaints about how this theater presented the movie. It was smooth and bright.

If you are in the Milwaukee area and you have a chance to catch dinner and a movie go to the Fox Bay Cinema Grill. You will not be disappointed. The food is great, the wait staff was attentive and invisible when needed, and the atmosphere was how a movie should be enjoyed. They are located at 334 E. Silver Spring Dr., Whitefish, WI 53217.

This has been a traveling review brought to you by the Nomad Consultant. I review all kinds of places wherever I stay during my travels. Stay tuned for more travel reviews.