Barnacle Bud's

Barnacle Bud's
Milwaukee, WI

I really wish I would of done this review sooner but I've been quite busy lately, but for those of you who can still find a nice day to do some outdoor dining, this is the place for you. Barnacle Bud's is a place that I think gets it's name around from word of mouth because before I came here, I've never heard of it before or saw anything about it. The even more interesting about it is that driving there makes you feel like your going to a back alley drug deal. Getting there involves driving down a street that is surrounded by what looks like warehouses and an area that you wouldn't think would even hold a place to eat. After driving some distance through this abandoned looking area, you finally come to a sign that says Barnacle Bud's. This place is actually pretty difficult to find, but I would say worth the search.

When you enter, you are taken to an area that looks like a large dock covered with tables, which makes sense since people with boats can drive up right to the place and dock for something to eat. I don't know if it's as busy now since Summer is almost over but when I went, this place was packed. There were a lot of tables to sit at but almost no room to move around. If you do happen to get a seat outside, you get a nice view of the river and all of the boats that go by, which makes for a really perfect summer view. The environment is a fun one and the people who work here are quite friendly also. While I liked what I saw around me, the food is what is really important here.

The menu had a great selection of different seafood's, such as a poboy, oysters and different seafood baskets. They also had 2 different kinds of burgers along with a pork and chicken sandwich and a few other choices. They even have different special's for all the different days of the week. What I was most surprised about were the prices. For being a place in Milwaukee it's usually tough to find something for less than $10 but at Bud's, I don't think there was one thing that was more than $10 (except a few of the specials.) I was with my family so they decided to get an appetizer which happened to be the Barnacle Bud Wings.

While I usually wouldn't order wings at a seafood place, I would have to say that I must change that policy after trying these. While not the best wings I've ever had, they were up there for sure. They only had 1 flavor of wings but that is perfectly fine in this case. They weren't very spicy but had a little bite to them, which makes sense because I believe that they used jerk sauce for the wings. They also had a sweetness to them and the jerk flavoring is always something that never fails to taste good. The amount of meat on them wasn't anything spectacular, but it gave you enough food to hold you over for your next meal. For being $8.95 and getting 10-12 wings its a little pricey but what you'd find at most places I guess, but these are worth checking out if you have the chance. For the main course though, since it was a Friday, there was only 1 thing that I could get.


Nothing is usually better than a good Wisconsin Friday Fish fry, and Bud's was great because you didn't just have to order cod like at most places. You got the choice of 4 different types of fish! There are not many places I've been to where you can do that. The choices for the fish included cod, cat fish, smelt and grouper and being that cat fish is one of my favorites, it was an easy choice. As for the price, it was pretty normal for what you'd find at most places for a fish fry, $9.95 and it also included bread, fries and coleslaw. One thing that made it a little different though is that it also included clam chowder. As you can see in the picture, you get 2 pieces of cat fish, which are a pretty decent size and a good amount of fries. While the cat fish tasted alright I have to say that I was still a little disappointed. I just think that there wasn't enough flavor in the fish, you could tell that they put some seasoning and such into the batter and everything but it ended up being more of a bland seasoned bready flavor than fish flavor. There were moments when the cat fish came through quite nicely but it was drowned out by the batter. I tried the grouper I believe and that was quite tasty and had more fish than breading so you could taste the fish a lot more. The same thing went with the cod, which was also very good. Lastly, while clam chowder is one of my favorite soups, I don't really know what they did with there's here. While most clam chowders are nice and creamy, they replaced this creamy with a thick potato soup that had small bits of clam in it. While I've had other clam chowders like this, I think this one was the thickest but if you don't let that bother you, it was still really good. Overall the meal was decent but I was a little saddened by the flavor of my cat fish but all the other fish I tried was delicious.

I have to say that this place is worth going to just because it's a perfect example of a summer restaurant. Watching the boats and the river on a sunny day just gives off a perfect summer atmosphere. If you are one for fried seafood or your basic sandwiches for a good price, this is the place for you. Be it a grouper Reuben ($9.95,) a brat ($6.95,) a 10 oz Big Bud Burger ($8.95) or some Kinnickinnic Chicken ($7.95) there's something for everyone to try for a good price. This is for sure a place to check out if your looking for a fish fry or just a good place to sit outside and eat on a nice day.

John's Root Beer

John's Root Beer
(Waukesha, WI)

One place that I've heard about the past couple years is a little place in Waukesha called John's root beer, which is supposed to have the greatest root beer in the world. For a little birthday celebration a week ago I decided that I would finally check it out and see what this place is all about.

When I first saw what the place looked like I already knew it would be worth the trip. What you get at John's is that awesome drive up restaurant that you don't get to see very often. Sure you can go to Sonic or something but they don't give that nice retro feel and that's what I enjoyed about John's. With it's florescent orange building to it's florescent orange garbage can and even tables it just gave off a very fun and old school vibe to it. Since you can't go inside the place, all the eating can take place inside your car or one of the many picnic tables that are on the side or in back of the building. As for the menu it has what you'd expect from a little place like this.

John's had all the fried food favorites and American classics that almost anyone can enjoy. With different variety's of hot dogs, a chicken sandwich, bratwurst, ice cream, french fries,mozzarella sticks, and of course root beer. As you can see there are a lot of different items to choose from and you are bound to find something you enjoy. I decided to try one of my favorite kind of sandwiches which is the pulled pork.

A pulled pork sandwich isn't a difficult sandwich to ruin, it had few ingredients and if you put them together right and have a good bun, then your good to go. For the price $3.57 I wasn't expecting a great amazing professional grade pulled pork sandwich and I didn't get that. What I did get though was just a good straight forward pulled pork sandwich. With a slightly sweet bbq and decent tasting pork you couldn't really go wrong for the price. They put a good amount of meat on it but not a lot to make it super messy. The sandwich isn't a big one, I think a finished it in a few bites but that doesn't bring the quality down at all. Overall the taste wasn't anything amazing and it didn't have a strong flavor but I still enjoyed it and would probably get it again.

While choosing my sandwich wasn't a difficult decision, choosing the size of my root beer was. With sizes starting at small for .71 and going to a large for $1.67. I ended up going with the large because it felt like the right thing to do. After hearing so much about this root beer, I was really excited to see what the hype was all about and I must say that it does deserve all of it's hype. While I can't say it's the best root beer I can say that is one of the more different ones that I've tried. While a lot of root beers are heavily carbonated, John's root beer is more flat and doesn't have much carbonation to it at all. It also has a nice real sugar taste to it (I'm not sure if it uses real sugar, but it sure tastes like it) which makes it a little sweeter than other root beers. It also seems a bit thicker than a normal root beer. Overall, I loved it and even though I was a little sad I wasn't offered a chilled mug with mine, I still thought it was a great root beer, and trust me I've drank a lot of root beer.


If your looking for a fun and cheap place to eat, John's is a place you should check out. With sandwiches starting at $2.14 and not getting anymore expensive than $4.84, it is a good cheap date place. If you are a big root beer fan like I am I would also say to check it out. If you like their root beer you are able to buy some to take home in a quart ($2.14,) a half gallon ($3.33) or a gallon ($5.23.) You can also get huge frosted mugs full of root beer that I believe are about a quart or so. If you like old school drive in's and good simple American and fried food, John's is a great place to check out. If you read people's comments about this place and all the memories they've made here you can tell that there's a reason that it's been open since 1937. If you are in the Waukesha area do yourself a favor and stop by, you won't be disappointed.

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.

Solo Pizza

Solo Pizza
(Milwaukee, WI)

If you know me at all, you know that pizza isn't one of my favorite things in the world unless you add something a little different to it. This is why my only pizza destination is usually Ian's but hey I'm always up for something new. If you've never been to Solo, it is pretty easy to find, located right across from Oakland Gyros and between Goodwill and the Miramar Theater located on Oakland Ave. While my first experience there wasn't the best, which I will get to later, lets begin!



When entering the place you can tell that they really went with a color pattern and stuck with it. I guess it represents the fire used to cook their pizza because their logo is a flame and the whole place is covered with orange and red, which I guess is a pretty creative idea. It's also not the biggest place in the world but it has a good amount of seating, with tables and booths, and also large windows that look out onto Oakland. It is also attached to an Irish bar called the Black Rose if that is more of an interest to you but I didn't get to check that out at all. Even though I liked the atmosphere, did I enjoy the food?

While looking through the menu you see your normal pizza place staples along with some Italian favorites such as ravioli and chicken Alfredo but at the top is their main focus, the pizza. Having three different sizes to choose from you have your personal pizza, which is called a Solo for $4.95, a Mezzo which is $7.95, and Doppio which is $12.95. You can also get a lot of different toppings added to your pizza such as pineapple, pesto, goat cheese, Gouda, Prosciutto, peppers, and a bunch of other stuff. They also have a pizza of the week, which just so happened to be chicken bacon ranch, and that is something you can't pass up. We asked the waitress if the Solo price for $4.95 worked for the special pizza and she said yes so we went for it and let me tell you, it was amazing.

The first thing I must bring up is the crust, it was perfect! It was crunchy and thin, but not super thin, and had a nice freshly cooked flavor to it. The toppings themselves were great also. Having a ranch based sauce on a pizza is new to me and I must say that it worked very well. It wasn't a super strong ranch flavor but it added so much to the pizza. The amount of cheese put on was also great. I'm a huge cheese fan and they put on enough to satisfy me and the bacon mixed into the melted cheese made it even more delicious. I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes though, and they piled them on like crazy, but the pizza was so good that they tasted perfectly fine with it. They did add a little to much of the green stuff, I forgot exactly what it was, but it had a little bit of an overpowering flavor over the other toppings but didn't impact my decision over how good the pizza was. Overall, besides Ian's, this was one of the better pizzas I've ever had in my life. For a personal pizza, it was huge and left me full and satisfied, that is until I got my bill.

Sadly, the $4.95 price tag was to good to be true and when I got the bill it ended up being $9.50, a little more than I wanted to spend. We clearly asked the waitress if this pizza was $4.95 and she told us it was. What we didn't know is that they charge you $.50 for extra toppings they put on the Solo pizzas. Which I guess is better than the $.75 they charge for the Mezzo and the $1.50 they charge for the Doppio. I was very upset that this wasn't mentioned when we asked the waitress, which kind of upset me but didn't take away that I still got a good pizza, just a little more expensive than I wanted. I will say that it was a large amount of food for under $10, and that's sometimes hard to come by in Milwaukee. If you do plan on going here, plan on spending a little over $10 for anything else, except the sandwiches starting off at $8.95, and most of their pasta starting off at $10.95. Even though I'm still a little upset about the price situation, I would recommend checking this place out because it really was one of the better pizzas I've ever had.