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If you head to Dobie's Restaurant and Lounge, 4136 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in St. Francis, looking for the type of steak you'd find at a Downtown steakhouse, you're likely going to be disappointed.
But if you visit this multi-generational family-owned, classic supper club looking for a classic meal with good food, service and cocktails, you'll walk away feeling warmth in both your heart and your stomach.
Dobie's, which opened its doors in 1954, began as a custard stand and later morphed into what can only be described as a classic Wisconsin supper club, complete with perfectly muddled hand-crafted cocktails and a lazy susan relish tray including wonders such as homemade cheese spread or liver pate, pickled beets, corn and sweet pickle relish and Swedish meatballs.
Dobie's takes pride not only butchering its own meats, but cooking on live charcoal in the same manner as when the place opened 54 years ago. The menu features down-home favorites like fried chicken, fried shrimp, pork chops and of course steaks, which are definitely good quality, but better when doctored up with a little steak sauce, which is present at all the tables.
Dinners at Dobie's come with soup or salad in addition to a basket of bread and the aforementioned relish tray. Shrimp and steak dinner ($26.95) pairs Dobie's enormous fresh and hand-battered shrimp with a small filet. Expect the shrimp, dipped in a cornmeal and flour batter that makes them easily four inches long and tender and crunchy, to take center stage. At first, I thought the batter a bit heavy, but after a few bites I was sold on the freshness and the obvious love that went into hand-dredging it.
Breaded perch ($11.95) was again slightly heavy for my taste, but definitely lake fresh. Paired with cole slaw from the relish tray and a baked potato, which steamed from within but had a lovely terseness to the skin, the perch, served Thursday through Sunday, made for a good fish fry. This is just one of the things that makes Dobie's charming-they serve classic favorites just about every day they are open, never leaving one wanting for fried fish on a non-Friday or Swedish meatballs just about any day of the week.
The standout dish at several Dobie's meals was the tenderloin tips ($17.95), which featured a char-grilled steak cut up over delicious gravy permeated with fresh onions and peppers. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the mixture of homemade gravy and noodles was a delight, with crisp vegetables, tender steak and flawlessly al dente noodles.
Perhaps the most heartwarming aspect of a meal at Dobie's is the service. On two separate visits, we encountered servers who obviously enjoyed their jobs and were very proud of the place where they worked. The owners' enthusiasm showed in their attention to decorating the restaurant seasonally.
With fall upon us, expect to see Halloween decorations and a window display featuring scarecrows and pumpkins, just like everything else at Dobie's-done in-house, by hand, and with love.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
