Brew City Bar-B-Q

SEPTEMBER IN MILWAUKEE IS ONE of the best times of the year to enjoy outdoor dining and the city’s barbeque specialties. And one of the best places to find both in the heart of the city is Brew City Bar-B-Q.

Brew City is centrally located at 1114 N. Water St. in the heart of Milwaukee’s premier entertainment area. While Water Street’s many restaurants and nightspots offer a variety of dining options, Brew City is the place for those hankering for a great meal in a fun atmosphere, inside amid Milwaukee memorabilia or outside on the restaurant’s expansive patio.

Indoors, the décor evokes Milwaukee’s brewing history with lots of mementos from famed breweries, past and present. Sports fans will appreciate the over-size, flat-screen TVs that are strategically stationed throughout the bar and dining room.

The key to the meat masterpieces served up at Brew City is the restaurant’s special smoker. Meats are slow roasted over hardwood, a process that infuses food with a sweet smoky flavor. This careful preparation also preserves moistness and gives meat a mouth-watering tenderness.

There are lots of appetizer choices, from fried potato skins and catfish fingers to a BBQ baby back sampler. Those craving a sandwich can choose from the Brew City Pig (chopped smoked pork shoulder served on an onion roll), Cajun Style Catfish, smoked turkey, tuna steak, and other options.

The sides that accompany the sandwiches and platters are special as well. The coleslaw features red and green cabbage in a sweet creamy dressing, while the potato salad holds its own with a great dill dressing. And the Brew City baked beans have a homemade flavor that is far from ordinary.

Rib lovers have two choices: baby back ribs and spare ribs. Both are rubbed with Brew City’s own spice blend, smoked with Wisconsin-grown hickory and topped with the house BBQ sauce. Those who like it hot should ask for a squeeze bottle of the sauce with extra “kick.”

Entree platters include rotisserie chicken, smokehouse prime rib, brisket, catfish, jambalaya, breaded shrimp, BBQ pork shoulder and a New York strip steak. If you can’t make up your mind, choose from rib combos that team ribs with shrimp, brisket, prime rib and rotisserie chicken.

The entree salads are huge. Diners can choose from Cobb, grilled chicken Caesar, and chicken salad. For soup lovers, Brew City serves up a baked French onion soup, gumbo and a soup of the day.

Brew City is one of the few places downtown that is a great choice for families. Family BAR-B-Q Feasts serve up the restaurant’s specialties family-style. There’s also a kids menu available.

It’s a challenge to save room for dessert here but worth the effort. Mississippi Mudd Pie, Chocolate Volcano, or Bourbon Pecan Pie are among the end-of-the-meal goodies.

Hotel guests will be pleased that take-out and catering are available at 414-278-7033. Travelers also will appreciate that Brew City is open every day, serving from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The bar is open until bar closing times. For more info, visit www.brewcitybarbeque.com or phone 414-278-7033.