Open the door at the new Oak Creek bar and restaurant on South 27th Street. The first thing you see is Albert the Bull, as in mechanical bull, staring you in the face.
You clearly won't be ordering shrimp scampi or pad thai here. Welcome to Bootz Saloon & Grill, a ribs, catfish and dancing establishment that recently debuted in the former Arizona Grill space.
On Sundays the Packers march up and down the field on a couple of 150-inch screens. If you prefer to watch the Green and Gold more privately, most of the 14 booths have their own flat-screens.
On Thursdays, you can take free line dancing lessons, and females get drink deals that include Pomo Passion cocktails on the house. Drop into Bootz on Saturdays and hear live country music from local bands.
This is a new business with a clear identity. The menu is Southwestern, the theme is country, and because we cheer for champion cheesehead sports teams, video screens are almost as big as a stadium scoreboard.
Bootz is owned by three fellows – Ryan Sell, Chris Clausen and Ron Robinson – who previously worked at Fanatics Sports Bar & Grill in the Historic Third Ward. Sell had also done some front-of-restaurant managing at El Fuego and El Beso.
Robinson's family is in the ribs business in St. Louis, and that gives the partners an expert in operating the wood-burning smoker that supplies many of the restaurant's signature menu items with their flavor. Bootz offers a variety of southern barbecue platters that come with two sides and corn bread.
St. Louis-style ribs range in price from $15.99 to $21.99, based on the quantity. Other platters feature rib tips ($11.99), beef brisket ($12.49), shaved pork ($12.99), chicken ($7.99 and $11.99, depending on the portion size), and a chicken and pork combo ($14.49).
Bootz also grills its boneless wings ($6.99 for six) in the smoker. Traditional wings are a dollar less.
The restaurant's sides include a zingy Texas corn, spicy rice with peppers and onions, and baked beans with pork and bacon.
Bootz's country theme is even reflected in its Friday fish fry ($8.99), when it offers catfish as an alternative to the more common haddock. Cole slaw, choice of a side and bread are included.
The wood-burning smoker also gets a workout on the sandwich side of the menu. Beef brisket and shaved pork sammies are priced at $9.99, as are the non-smoked reuben and steak sandwiches.
Half-pound Black Angus burgers range from $8.49 for a cheeseburger to $10.99 for the over-the-top Bootz burger, made with pico de gallo, provolone and Swiss cheeses, a fried egg, jalapenos and chipotle mayo topping the beef patty.
Bootz offers chicken and beef quesadillas ($7.99), a variety of wraps ($7.99 to $9.49) and salads ($8.49 to $8.99), and fajitas ($11.99 for chicken, $13.99 for steak).
Eight American beers are on tap, and a fully stocked bar promotes the Knocking Bootz cocktail ($8), which consists of shots of whiskey, cherry rum and an energy drink.
The spacious facility can accommodate 220 persons.
Co-owner Sell emphasizes that Bootz, which opens for lunch every day, is an entertainment venue as well as a restaurant. Karaoke, DJs, Badger and Texas Hold 'em poker, and Packers game specials are featured, in addition to the live music and dancing.
And then there is Albert the Bull. I asked how the beast is doing. "I think we are wearing him out," Sell said.
Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.
During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.
Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.
