A Short Road Trip
I had some photos from my cell phone I tried to e-mail to my self. Well, don't have e-mail on my phone. You'll have to use your imagination. I include a link to The Beach House, however.
The other day my friend, Jeff Kelly, and I met for a couple of beers at Mickey's Tavern. I updated him on some of the craziness that was going on in my life, which I won't go into here. Suffice it to say, sometimes one person can be like a tornado ripping through a trailer park in terms of the impact they can have on those around them.
So, we had a couple pints of beer (I went for the Bell's Two Hearted, lots of hops, nice ABV), and a couple of greasy ruebens, the small thin slices of rye bread were soggy and the pastrami was chewy. Not impressed. The ruebens at the Harmony Bar are the way to go. After hanging out on the couch, appreciating the sunlight of the impending spring, Jeff asked if I wanted to check out this place called The Beach House on Lake Waubesa, in McFarland. I'm always up for a roadtrip, no matter how short. I always appreciate the opportunity to see something new and, yes, get out of Madison.
After a couple of wrong turns we found ourselves at the Beach House, a squat, unassuming structure beside a parking lot overlooking a still frozen Lake Waubesa. The bar and restaurant had big windows with a view of the lake. If you wanted to sit at the three tables in the dining room closest the picture windows during busy meal times, you needed to reserve them, Jeff informed me. He had gone for the Saturday breakfast/brunch special, Walleye and Eggs, which he said was excellent. Apparently the portions are pretty generous as well.
Well, we were just here for a beer, and I got a big thick mug of Spaten. There seemed to be a number of regulars who knew each other, drinking mostly light beers and smoking cigarettes. We were definitely not in Madison anymore. There were some video gambling games and a digital juke box playing pedestrian pop-country music. Overlooking the lake side were all windows, the rest of the bar had fake wood paneling, much like the trailer homes I was familiar with, and some nautically themed decorations. A couple left the bar and got on a snowmobile that was parked at the end of the boat ramp and rode off over the lake. In the summer there are docks where you can park your boat, and come in for a couple of drinks and/or some food. I saw some specials on the placemats, like prime rib, but didn't get a chance to check out the full menu.
After drinking our beers, it was time to roll, so we stepped out into the fresh almost-spring air, and took a couple of photos on our camera phones, and headed back to Madison.
Later that night I went to the Harmony Bar 20th Anniversary Party at the Barrymore. It was a hoot and I got to chat with a lot of people from the neighborhhood who I'd gotten to know over the years. It was my tenth year of going to the Harmony. Apparently, I'd recently gained quite a reputation however, though I'm not sure what'd been said about me, but one regular Harmony customer, who shall remain nameless, ran up to me and blurted out, "You're such an asshole! I can't even talk to you!", and scurried off just as quickly. I was definitely back in Madison…East Side, yo!
The other day my friend, Jeff Kelly, and I met for a couple of beers at Mickey's Tavern. I updated him on some of the craziness that was going on in my life, which I won't go into here. Suffice it to say, sometimes one person can be like a tornado ripping through a trailer park in terms of the impact they can have on those around them.
So, we had a couple pints of beer (I went for the Bell's Two Hearted, lots of hops, nice ABV), and a couple of greasy ruebens, the small thin slices of rye bread were soggy and the pastrami was chewy. Not impressed. The ruebens at the Harmony Bar are the way to go. After hanging out on the couch, appreciating the sunlight of the impending spring, Jeff asked if I wanted to check out this place called The Beach House on Lake Waubesa, in McFarland. I'm always up for a roadtrip, no matter how short. I always appreciate the opportunity to see something new and, yes, get out of Madison.
After a couple of wrong turns we found ourselves at the Beach House, a squat, unassuming structure beside a parking lot overlooking a still frozen Lake Waubesa. The bar and restaurant had big windows with a view of the lake. If you wanted to sit at the three tables in the dining room closest the picture windows during busy meal times, you needed to reserve them, Jeff informed me. He had gone for the Saturday breakfast/brunch special, Walleye and Eggs, which he said was excellent. Apparently the portions are pretty generous as well.
Well, we were just here for a beer, and I got a big thick mug of Spaten. There seemed to be a number of regulars who knew each other, drinking mostly light beers and smoking cigarettes. We were definitely not in Madison anymore. There were some video gambling games and a digital juke box playing pedestrian pop-country music. Overlooking the lake side were all windows, the rest of the bar had fake wood paneling, much like the trailer homes I was familiar with, and some nautically themed decorations. A couple left the bar and got on a snowmobile that was parked at the end of the boat ramp and rode off over the lake. In the summer there are docks where you can park your boat, and come in for a couple of drinks and/or some food. I saw some specials on the placemats, like prime rib, but didn't get a chance to check out the full menu.
After drinking our beers, it was time to roll, so we stepped out into the fresh almost-spring air, and took a couple of photos on our camera phones, and headed back to Madison.
Later that night I went to the Harmony Bar 20th Anniversary Party at the Barrymore. It was a hoot and I got to chat with a lot of people from the neighborhhood who I'd gotten to know over the years. It was my tenth year of going to the Harmony. Apparently, I'd recently gained quite a reputation however, though I'm not sure what'd been said about me, but one regular Harmony customer, who shall remain nameless, ran up to me and blurted out, "You're such an asshole! I can't even talk to you!", and scurried off just as quickly. I was definitely back in Madison…East Side, yo!
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