David wanted to take me somewhere to celebrate my new, big client this weekend. We thought of a few places, and we went to one that had too long of a wait and then another that closed. Then I thought of Bartley House. I'd never taken David there before, so as we drove up he was making faces and couldn't believe which building it was when I pointed it out. (I thought I'd find a picture online, but I'll have to go snap one next time I'm at the courthouse and post it so you can see.) Bartley House is a modest, cinder block building on the corner along a street that runs the side of a viaduct under the train tracks in my home town, about 5 blocks from where I grew up. The area is sketchy to the point of having a security guard outside the restaurant. It's the kind of place Guy Fieri should visit, because it's a total dive with great food and great service and a cult following, only the cult is old school Kenosha, and everyone is dressed in nice clothes.
When we walked in, David was surprised. He thought the place was really neat. It's old school, like the old fashioned supper clubs, with a big bar where you can wait for your table and the waitresses will walk your drinks over to the table on trays when you're done. As you first walk in, there is an open grill where the steaks are being prepared. They sat us at an intimate table in the back. The place was packed and dimly lit, which was good for the mood. David said, "I can't believe you never brought me here before. This is so cool." It was love at first sight.
We started with drinks and the char broiled shrimp appetizer. It was quite charred on the outside, but perfectly done and delicious, and just enough to whet our appetite, which is what an appetizer should do. We had plenty of other food coming, trust me. He ordered an 8 oz filet mignon, medium, with a baked potato and I ordered the prime rib special with the signature hash browns with peppers and onions.
As we waited, they brought us an assortment of crackers and our soup and salad. I tried the "famous" clam chowder and David had a salad with Roquefort dressing. His salad was great, and I dipped my bread stick in the extra dressing. I didn't care for the soup. It was a red clam chowder, not my preference, and aside from that, the cream had broken and it was quite bland and overcooked. I had a few bites but had plenty more to look forward to. The waitress brought us rolls and a big cup of pats of butter sliced up and ice cold. This was the highlight of dinner for David. He said, "This is my kind of place! Who does that? Most places give you those packets of butter you have to peel open or one slice of butter and that's not enough." He couldn't stop talking about the butter. I had 1/2 of a pat. :) While you wait for your entree, Bartley House serves you their brand of cottage cheese, which is small curd and very cold with garlic and chives mixed in. It's surprising at first, but addictive. They also bring kidney bean salad, and it's tasty too, with a creamy mayo dressing.
Our steaks came with our sides of potatoes, and everything looked fantastic. They were perfectly done, great smelling and we were just about to find out how they tasted. The prime rib was to die for. I didn't need a steak knife. It literally pulled away every time I wanted another bite. It melted in my mouth. I ordered it medium rare, and it was. I ate nearly all of it, sharing 2 bites with David, who wished he'd ordered the prime rib. His filet was also delicious and cooked perfectly. It had a slight char on the outside and was slightly pink inside and the flavor was rich and buttery. He added quite a bit of pepper because he enjoys it that way. I had a couple of bites of his steak and thought it was just as good as mine. His baked was served with sour cream that I also used on my hash browns. The browns come almost like a potato pancake with onion and peppers grilled in, and are excellent with a dollop of sour cream.
I finished every bite of my meal, except for the fat. David could not believe what I ate. Then I wanted dessert. I was celebrating! Little did I know I should not have ordered dessert because it was going to be so good that we'd eat it all. I asked the waitress, who had given us perfect service all night at just the right pace so as not to rush us or delay, what the dessert offerings were again. David said, "It's up to you. You can pick any banana cream cheesecake you want." It's our inside joke. He chooses everything, but he tells me it's up to me and somehow lets me know by how he tells me it's up to me, so I've told him to just tell me what he wants because I'm onto him. We did order the banana cream cheesecake because I miss New Orleans banana cream pie and thought it might satisfy my craving.
Even the coffee was good! When the cheesecake came, we immediately knew it was going to be to die for. It looked that good, with tons of fresh whipped cream on top. I assure you we were not watching our waste lines that night, but we did share a piece. We took our first bites and David asked me a question about something behind me to try to trick me so he could eat the entire dessert. This was a fluffy, creamy, real banana cheesecake, not some banana flavored concoction. It was definitely a dessert to fight over, but we were both so full that we shared well and by the time I took my last bite I knew I had overdone it. I actually felt kind of sick for about 20 minutes after we ate, and I haven't felt that way in a long time. I can't even remember the last time I ate that much or that rich a meal.
I always try to review the restrooms in these places too. Theirs is old school, like the rest of the place, with the towel that revolves, but it was clean and there was plenty of it to pull down and use. They had a very old sink, but hot and cold water and soap. The ladies room was clean, well stocked and in very good working order. The entire place was great, except for that people do smoke at the bar and there is no real barrier to smelling like smoke when you leave. I suspect they will change that in July when all Wisconsin restaurants go smoke-free.
The total bill with all of that and 4 mixed drinks with call liquors and a soda came to $90 plus tip, and we tipped the security guard on the way out. David opened the door for me and the security guard said, "Who says there aren't any gentlemen left in the world?" It was a perfect evening and a perfect meal with David the Perfect (that's from another conversation I had today). Earlier, he brought me a dozen white roses and a card that was written for coaches that said I make everyone feel special, and he wrote a nice note in it too. I am a very lucky woman, I know.
Oh, and if you're interested in visiting the Bartley House, they do have other items including Friday Fish Fry for $6.95 (unheard of). It's located at 1212 - 58th Street in Kenosha and you will have to park on the street, most likely, unless you're with Jerry Seinfeld's parents (the 4p.m. crowd).
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