Sobelman’s Bloody Mary has been getting lots of great, well-deserved national attention!
Unfortunately, when I visited the restaurant to review it in October, it was pre-burger addition. Sobelman’s is definitely on my list to re-review in the near future!
Lee’s Cleveland Pub, New Berlin, WI.
Tonight I went to Lee’s with friends. It was my first time here so of course I had to try the bloody. I wasnt expecting much on a Thursday night, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise!
Spice: Good amount of spice.
Mix: Unsure, but likely homemade.
Chaser: Miller Lite
Fixin’s: lemon, lime, two olives, pickle and beef stick.
Price: Approximately $6
Bluephies Restaurant & Vodkatorium in Madison, Wisconsin
After reading about the Top 15 Over the Top Bloody Marys from Eater.com, I was excited to see that three of the 15 were from Wisconsin (represent!); I had already been to two (AJ Bombers and Sobelman’s) and I made it a point to check out Bluephies the next time I was in Madison.
Then I remembered that, as luck would have it, I was traveling to Madison today for work. I convinced my coworker that we had to have dinner at Bluephies.
We arrived and were presented with two menus—the drink menu was larger than the food menu—and a long list of specials from our waitress. I immediately inquired about the bloodies. They have four different kinds, including a Bloody Mary flight which allows you to sample three of the four.
I chose the one with the most fixin’s, which also seemed to be their signature drink: The FAT BOY Bloody Mary (you’ll see why, read on).
Spice: Not very.
Mix: They use spiced tomato juice and typically include a bacon-infused vodka.
Chaser: None offered.
Fixin’s: celery, jalapeno stuffed olives, cocktail onions, pickled asparagus,
pickled mushrooms, a strip of bacon,and string cheese
Price: 8.75
After dinner, back in the car, I told my coworker that I wasn’t sure that Bluephies deserved to be on the top 15 list. And then I remembered that I had had to order it sans alcohol since we were on our way to our work function. That will usually make a big difference in the rating, especially since this one is typically made with bacon-infused vodka. Oh well, there will be more trips to Madison to find out! Had I been in it for the long haul,I likely would have ordered the flight to review here. On the other hand, the restaurant was odd—it had a very family-dining atmosphere, not at all what you’d expect from a place with the word “Vodkatorium” in its name (but maybe that’s because we got there at 5pm for the earlybird special). The food was also all over the board—everything from burgers and noodle bowls to meatloaf and enchiladas. I wouldn’t probably go out of my way to return, but if I ever find myself in the area, I just might give the bloody another go.
Cheers!
Matty’s Bar, New Berlin, WI.
Today was a very special day. Today marked the first time ever that my dad had played golf in all 12 months of a calendar year (a big feat in Wisconsin)! Yes, as Molly was enjoying her Bloody at Wilde in Chicago, dad and I hit the links at Morningstar Golf Club just after 12p.m. this afternoon.
We both played pretty well, so we decided to hit one of my favorite Bloody Mary spots, Matty’s Bar, to celebrate and of course, add to the blog.
Brian introduced me to Matty’s sometime last year; it is near his office out in New Berlin. I promptly fell in love with the huge, fixin’-filled Matty Mary and look for any excuse to go to this place which is usually pretty far out of my way.
Spice: The bloody itself is not very spicy, but it is very, very good. The salt around the rim is mixed with a barbeque-like seasoning, which reminds me of Kruncher’s BBQ potato chips (in a good way).
Mix: Matty’s makes its own mix from what I understand, and uses their own vegetable-infused vodka. Another one of my favorite bloodies is also made with veggie-infused alcohol (Juniper 61 in Wauwatosa)….maybe that’s a secret to success?
Chaser: A mini stein of Miller Lite.
Fixin’s: A mini-beef stick, pickle, asparagus, Brussels sprout, two olives, pepperoncini, pearl onion, cherry tomato, celery stick and string cheese.
Price: $8.50
Wilde Bar & Restaurant in Chicago.
I started this blog because it became known in my circle of friends that I was a Bloody Mary connoisseur. People would come to me for recommendations, ask me to rank my favorites, etc. Thus, it became necessary to formalize my review process in some way. Now, since starting this blog, I’ve often received submissions from friends and family. It seems that when they’re drinking bloodies, they think of me and that makes me feel happy.
Today was once such instance. My friend and colleague, Molly, was in Chicago for the weekend, checking out Wilde Bar & Restaurant, when I got a Vox from her. (Vox is a voice/text/picture message sent through Voxer, a really cool app that Molly introduced me to). This Vox was a photo of a bloody. The accompanying text said “Bloodys at Wilde in Chicag. Thought you’d like to know for future reference they’re pretty good ones.”
I asked her to write a guest review. Here you go!
Spice/Mix: Molly rated the mix and 8/10… “Just the right spice for me!” she said.
Chaser: “A baby Miller Lite! I give it a 7/10 but only because of the adorable little glass bottle.”
Fixin’s: “I give the topping a 1/10. Pitiful. Celery stick, some strange pepper (we think it may have been a pickled cherry pepper (?) courtesy of Google images) and a lemon wedge.”
Price: $8
Thanks, Molly, for thinking of me while you were enjoying your brunch, and for adding to the Out for Bloodies blog! Hope you had a nice trip!
For everyone else, don’t hesitate to pass your recommendations and reviews on to me! So many bloodies, so little time, I will never get to them all myself!
Bloody Mary Dip.
I purchased this Robert Rosthschild Farm’s Bloody Mary Dip on my recent trip to Door County, from Seaquist Orchards.
The dip, a blend of tomato, dill, lemon and worcestershire, has the perfect amount of zip and retails for $9.99 at Seaquist.
A quick Google search also led me to the company’s website, where it is available for a comparable $10.49. According to the company, suggested uses are: as a zesty addition to a turkey wrap; blending with mayonnaise and using to dress a seafood salad; or pairing well with crunchy kettle chips.
My use? I brought it over to share with the fam on Thanksgiving as an appetizer. We served it with celery, cherry tomatoes, carrots and crackers. It was very yummy and you could definitely taste the horseradish.
I would definitely recommend trying this dip—it’s a change from the typical dill/ranch dips and I will also try it as a spread!
Today, I played a round of golf with my dad. I thought I had stored my sticks for the season, but when it’s 60 degrees on November 18 in Wisconsin, you have to take advantage of it!
Via Twitter, I had been alerted to the Bloody Marys at 4th Base in West Milwaukee, right near Miller Park. So, when we finished our round, I told dad I was taking him for Bloodies there while we watched the end of the Packers game.
4th Base, for those of you who haven’t been there, is a sports bar/restaurant with a unique twist—there’s no menu. All the food is made to order and they specialize in everything from burgers to steaks & seafood. It’s a little hard to wrap your head around at first, but when it comes down to it, it’s fun and different.
We arrived in the 4th quarter of the game and the place was rocking—it was very loud between the TVs, the piped in music and the rowdy crowd. We sat in the corner and ordered up two Bloodies. Here’s my review.
Spice: The drinks had a nice flavor to them, but I wouldn’t call them spicy.
Mix: Unsure.
Chaser: Choose from a variety of beers on tap; you get a whole pint glass full, so choose wisely. It’s like two drinks in one!
Fixin’s: Pickle, Asparagus, Beans, Snap Peas, Broccoli, Zucchini and the kicker—it’s topped with homemade onion straws.
Price: $8
For the bragging done up front about their bloodies, I think 4th Base came through in the end. Definitely worth the price and something different!
While we’re on the topic of Chicago, I wanted to post this review of Rockit’s Bloody Mary Bar from my trip there in June.
This is one of the top Bloodies that I have ever had and I was bummed that I wasn’t there on a Saturday or Sunday during this trip to partake.
My trip there was on a Saturday for the Acoustic Brunch. The food was excellent, the music was amazing and the Bloodies were Bloody Awesome!
This is by far the largest BYOBMB (Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar) that I’ve ever seen and, at $5 all day, this is a terrific value.
I highly encourage you to check out Rockit next time you’re in Chicago! Or, make the drive down just for the Bloody. You won’t be disappointed!
Howl At The Moon, Chicago, IL
This week, I took a short trip to Chicago for work, so of course I wanted to scope out a bloody while I was here.
The only problem was that I wasn’t able to order one until after I got done with some work and met my colleagues out…at a piano bar….at 10pm.
For those of you who haven’t been, Howl at the Moon is a piano bar that is popular in quite a few states. It is know for its yard and fish bowl drinks… not its Bloodies and now I know why.
I was not very impressed with this Bloody, but to be fair, I also didn’t expect much. Go for the atmosphere instead.
Spice: It had a little kick to it.
Mix: Unsure, but not homemade. It was a bottled mix that I didn’t recognize.
Chaser: None.
Fixin’s: Lemon, two Olives
Price: $8
You’ll want to clear your schedule for next Sunday, November 11. It’s Milwaukee’s Biggest Bloody Mary Party at Great Lakes Distillery!
This is the third year that I’ll have attended this fun event (not sure how many years it has been going on). I highly recommend you come check it out between 10am and 6om.
Join Great Lakes Distillery, Jimmy Luv’s Bloody Mary Mix and Klement’s in building and drinking a 100 gallon Bloody Mary—for a good cause! Proceeds benefit The Hunger Task Force.
Details:
– FREE Admission – non-perishable food donations encouraged
– $5 Rehorst / Jimmy Luv’s Bloody Marys w/ Klements beef stick
– Free Klements samples
– Raffles throughout the day (Earn raffle tickets by donating food)
– Bloody Mary garnish building competition
Out For Bloodies 