The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Eat & Drink, 2007. The results of this readers' poll, including an editors' pick, are available in this series of articles that run all month long in the Bars and Clubs section of OnMilwaukee.com.
Both the readers and the editors of OnMilwaukee.com can agree on this: The Nomad, 1401 E. Brady St., throws Milwaukee's best happy hour.
It's not because they do any two-for-one specials, offer free food or anything else that seems to go hand in hand with the traditional happy hours in town. In fact, the only special Nomad offers is pretty untraditional: the "Prix fixe," which is a shot of Jameson, a can of Pabst and a cigarette for $5.
So why do we all love The Nomad? Maybe because we can sit outside on their tiny patio during the summers and watch the hustle and bustle of Brady Street while we sip a microbrew. Or maybe because in the winter, we can hunker down in the eclectic interior, virtually guaranteed to strike up a conversation with an interesting patron.
Maybe we've all just been going there for so long that it feels a little like home. Especially when a dog or two is lying at our feet.
The Nomad isn't new anymore, but so many great bars have spawned from managers and employees (Highbury, Burnhearts, to name a few). It's that legacy that keeps us coming back to the bar on Brady's Street that started it all.
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: The Nomad World Pub
Runners-up:
2. Flannery's
3. Hooligan's
4. Taylor's
5. Rascal's
6. The Harp
7. Palomino
8. Hi Hat Garage
9. Rosie's
10. Miller Time Pub
11. Vitucci's
12. Comet Café
13. Art Bar
14. Red Room
15. The Highbury Pub