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Take a look at Google Maps and you’ll quickly see that there aren’t many restaurants in the immediate area surrounding The Slow Buffalo, the new bar and restaurant at 3892 S. 92nd St.
It’s one of the big reasons why business partners Joseph Vagnini and Jeremy Chounard chose the location for their newest endeavor.
“There aren’t a ton of local food establishments in the area, so we looked at this as an opportunity to provide a place for the neighborhood to gather,” Chounard says, noting that they purchased the building in September of 2023. “At first, we were going to just operate it as a bar, but then we decided to go with what we know.”
That means operating a friendly neighborhood bar that offer customers not only craft beer and cocktails but a menu filled with largely scratch-made fare and excellent service.
Chounard and Vagnini also operate The Hale House in Hales Corners and The Local in Muskego, both local gathering places that are known as much for their upscale bar fare as they are for their convivial environments. So when they took over the former First Choice, a neighborhood bar that had operated there for over 20 years, they decided to take on a more dramatic remodel.
Take a peek
They replaced the former horseshoe bar with a large square bar with a polished Amish pine top, adding amenities like purse hooks, outlets and recharging stations. They pulled down dark wood chair rails, replaced black paint with light grey and – most dramatically – added a kitchen.
They also installed televisions in both the bar and dining area, which will largely broadcast sports.
The walls are decorated with a few bar signs (namely a thematic Buffalo Trace sign) and black and white art, including portraits of Chounard’s grandfather pictured with some of his U.S. Navy colleagues and Vignini’s grandfather bartending in the former Schlitz Brewery after a tour.
Most of the seating for the small bar and eatery is concentrated in the front bar area. But The Slow Buffalo also has a small dining room, which is separated from the bar by a wide hallway filled with various casino games, including at least one with a buffalo theme.
And then there’s the name of the bar itself. If you haven’t caught it already, it’s an homage to the Slow Buffalo Theory proposed by resident wise-cracker Cliff Clavin on Episode 10 of Season 5 of the popular television series, “Cheers”.
On the menu
At the bar, guests will find the usual suspects, along with a collection of 12 rotating taps mostly stocked with local craft brews, along with standard domestics like Miller Lite.
On the food side, guests will find a fairly large menu showcasing appetizers, wings, tacos, salads, burgers and sandwiches. Best sellers include their “cheese curds”, a carry-over from Hale House featuring crispy fried squares of queso blanco cheese served with chipotle ranch dipping sauce ($12).
Wings are lightly breaded and fried with a choice of sauces or rubs, including Ruin Your Day(s) (hot!), Buffalo, Buffalo Bonus, hot garlic, hot honey, Louisiana dry rub, garlic parmesan or Asian Zing (priced six for $11 or a dozen for $19).
There are also nachos topped with a choice of meat, cheese sauce, pico, sour cream and lettuce ($13); lightly breaded Bang Bang Shrimp ($14); and crispy fried brussels sprouts halves tossed in Louisiana dry rub with bacon and garlic aioli ($11).
Tacos are filled with roasted pork carnitas, steak, fried chicken or bang bang shrimp ($16-$17); and salads run the gamut from standard house and Caesar to Steak ‘n Bacon Chop or Southwest Shrimp Salad ($11-$18).
On the burger side, there’s the Slow Buffalo (six ounce bison patty, arugula, tomato, sauteed onion, cheddar, garlic aioli, $17); and a collection of double smash burgers made with a blend of beef short rib, brisket and chuck.
Options include a French Onion Burger (Swiss, sauteed onions, crispy onions, French onion aioli, $15); the Honey Brie Burger (brie, arugula, bacon and honey aioli, $16); and the Dill Pickle Burger, a pickle-forward concoction featuring white cheddar, bacon, pickle chips, ranch, dill pickle seasoning and shredded lettuce ($16).
From there, guests will find a variety of sandwiches including Spicy Chicken Bacon Ranch ($16); Bacon Cheesesteak ($17); a Steak Sandwich ($18) and a Shrimp Po’ Boy ($17) along with Honey Chicken and Hot Honey Shrimp Wraps ($16-$17).
Burgers and sandwiches are served with fries, side salad or soup of the day, with the option to upgrade to sweet potato waffle fries or cheesy bacon fries for +$2.
And yes, there is a Friday fish fry featuring a choice of fried cod or shrimp served with coleslaw, tartar sauce, lemon, salted cocktail rye bread and a choice of fries, housemade potato pancakes, side salad or soup of the day ($17).
Vaginini says that once they get a sense of the menu items that go over the best, they will also be introducing weekly specials.
Folks are invited to follow The Slow Buffalo on Facebook for news, events and updates.
The Slow Buffalo kitchen is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the bar open until close.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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