The Black Rose

The Black Rose
(Milwaukee, WI)



The only Irish pub's I've ever stopped into in Milwaukee are Trinity and The Harp and my experiences at those have mostly been surrounded by drunken people and drinking Sprite, so when I had some coupons to actually get some food at a Milwaukee Irish Pub I took my chance. The Black Rose has a great location, being located right on Oakland next to Solo pizza, the Miramar Theater and right across the street from Oakland gyros, it's a very easy to find spot. It is also attached to Solo pizza, which I wrote a review about before.


I think the atmosphere of the place was one of the better ones I've had in a bar. It was very super clean and wasn't packed, but it was an afternoon. It had lot's of sunlight coming in through the large front windows and they had plenty of big booths to sit in that were kind of similar to the ones at trinity but not as decorated. The bar was also very nicely set up with some packer decorations and a good amount of alcohol against the wall. If you get bored there they also do have a deer hunting arcade game! The bartender we had was also super friendly and made the experience there even better. Now that the atmosphere of the place is done with, let's go to the food.

While being a bar, an Irish place and a pizza place, there is a lot to offer on the menu from each of these of these categories. In the bar food category the menu offered burgers, starting at $6.95 for a plain cheeseburger and to $9.95 for the ultimate cheeseburger, and also nachos for $8.95, chicken tenders for $6.95, and Fish and Chips for $11.95. For the Irish options you got to choose from stuff like Shepherds pie for $10.95, Irish Stew for $11.95, and many peoples favorite the reuben for $8.95. As for the pizza it's the pizza from Solo, so if you wanna know pricing just read my last review for it. So even though the menu wasn't huge, it offered a lot of different things. As for what I ordered, I usually don't get burgers but I had a coupon for one so I went with it.


My coupon was that for $6.95 I could get any burger, fries, and a drink so I decided to try the most expensive burger, the Ultimate Cheeseburger. The burger was Angus beef topped with Cheddar, Jack, Swiss, and American cheese with some bacon and scallions also included. If you wanted you could get sauteed mushrooms, but those aren't for me. It also came with some bbq dipping sauce, which I actually didn't notice and I wish I would of. One of the most interesting things about this burger that made it different from most places is that it was on normal sourdough toast, no bun here, which was one thing I enjoyed about it, even though I couldn't really tell that it was sour dough. The burger itself was well made and very flavorful, thick, and juicy. I haven't had a burger in a long time so I'm not sure what qualifies as a great burger but I think this qualifies for one. All the cheeses were packed on nicely, and as a cheese lover, I couldn't of asked for more. As always though, bacon always goes well with anything and it went perfectly well with this burger. The fries that you got were your average fries, nothing special but still tasted good. The burger was a bit sloppy an wasn't presented amazingly but I won't knock it down for that because it still tasted good.

If your ever in the mood for a drink or a bite to eat I would for sure check this place out. With items starting out about $7.95 for appetizers and meals going up to about $14.95, for the Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, the prices are about what you'd find all around Milwaukee. With a unique menu featuring mac and cheese to reuben rolls, there is a good amount to choose from. Also with the friendly and clean atmosphere, it is a place to check out during an afternoon and probably even during the night. So if your on the Eastside and not near the bars on Water, check this place out, you may even like it more than Trinity.

Summerfest Round 3:

Pitch's/Miss Katie's Diner

This is one of the few places on the Summerfest grounds that I've never heard of before, and the fact that they had something called a fried Frito Pie makes me kind of upset that I never have. Located near the Chipotle and JoJos Martini Bar, it's pretty easy to find if you are heading over to the Marcus or the Classic Rock Stage.

While I have been taking a picture of the menu at these places, I have failed and didn't at this place, but from what I can remember there were ribs and a few other classic diner foods. The ribs were quite expensive, if I'm remembering correctly, but those didn't interest me as much as the fried Frito pie. The fried Frito pie is basically deep fried chili with Frito chips around it. They give you 4 decent sized little pies along with some salsa and some sour cream for $5.


I'm not going to lie to you and say that these things look appetizing, they actually looked like really weird chicken nuggets. I really didn't know what to expect or what these things really were. I was super surprised when I finally took a bite and found out that they were pretty delicious. The chili inside wasn't a spicy chili, it was more of a sweet chili with lots of beans in it. The Frito crust went quite nicely with it and added a little crunch to the soft center. Even though I didn't try the salsa that came with, they went really well with the sour cream. There's not much else to explain about it. If you like chili, and you don't mind having a nice crunchy layer around it then you'll probably enjoy this. I loved the beans and I loved the crust, and even though it wasn't very filling, I didn't feel to bad parting with $5 to try these things out.

If your super hungry, this may not be the thing to get because you do only get 4 of them but if you want a little snack, I'd say go for it. This is one of the more unique things you'll find at the fest and a surprisingly good one.

Summerfest Food Round 2:

Trinity
(Briggs and Stratton Stage)



My goal this time around at Summerfest was to find something that could top the amazingness that was my tamales the last time I was there. I looked far and wide and found something that sounded good enough that it just might be the one. When I think of Trinity, I think of a bunch of drunk people standing around in a crowded bar, because that's all I've experience there, but I guess they actually have food also! One of their items that I found interested enough to try was the Irish Nachos.


Homemade potato chips are always a good choice in most dining situations, and having them covered in cheese and corned beef sounded like heaven to me. While for $6.50 the portion wasn't as big as I'd liked it to be but it's Summerfest and that's what happens. The potato chips were probably the best part of the nachos. They were salty and crunchy and overall everything you want in a potato chip. As for the toppings, I can't say that they were amazing. The cheese sauce was your average cheese sauce, plain and only slightly cheesy. One of the most important parts, the corned beef, wasn't as good I thought it would be. While it had a nice salty meaty flavor, it wasn't a strong one. They did put a good amount of the corned beef on it, which I enjoyed, but it was not the best that I've had. One last problem with it was that there was just a little to much cilantro on the nachos and they kind of got in the way of the other flavors. It also came with a thing of thousand island dressing but that's not something I enjoy, so I left it out.


While it may seem like I hated these, I really didn't dislike them at all, it just didn't meet my expectations. The potato chips were great, and it was a nice, but expensive, little snack for me. If you like homemade potato chips I'd give this a try, but it shouldn't be high up on your priority list. Most of the other things on the menu were also $6.50, while some were $5. You can also see from the menu I posted above what other items you can get here, things such as shepherds pie and the popular Reuben roles, which from my experience are quite tasty. So if your hungry at the fest, this is a place to check out if your looking to get a little more interesting in food selection.

Summerfest Food:

Botanas
(Ethnic Village, Summerfest Grounds)

Everyone knows that the big part of Summerfest is the music but one of the other big aspects of it is trying foods from all over the Milwaukee area. One of the not so fun things about this is that they charge you way over the price they would just going to the restaurant, and in smaller portions. Besides this though, trying different foods is a great thing to do while your at Summerfest, so maybe while your out there, try something other than the Mozzarella sticks at Saz's. Located across from the US Cellular stage is where you will find the Ethnic Village and that is where Botana's is located.



They had your usual's such as burritos and tacos but they also had my favorite Mexican dish on there which is a pork tamale. You could either get 1 tamale for $2.50, or 3 tamales with rice and beans for $7, so I decided to get the $7 deal. I must tell you, this was the most food I ever received for the price at the fest. The tamales were pretty big and the portions of rice and beans were pretty average. As for the taste they were pretty good for things being made in the back of a small building. They didn't have the fullest flavor of many of the tamales that I've had and the lack of pork was a little saddening. I would also say the pork was a little blah with the flavor but even with these negatives, they were still delicious. I couldn't stop eating them even though they were quite filling and I was full after my 2nd one. I can say that this is the first time that I've been truly full after eating 1 thing at Summerfest because usually they give you so little that you have to go out and buy more food. The rice was also really delicious, even though it was pretty basic it still hit the spot, while the beans were about the same.


If you like Mexican food and wanna get full for probably the cheapest you can at Summefest, this is a place to go. While not the greatest Tamales I've ever had, they were still delicious and did a good job with something that they probably have to make thousands of in a day. If your down there at all the next 9 days, go check this place out.