"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun bars and club articles -- including guides, unique features, drink recipes and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Bars & Clubs, 2009. 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.
It doesn't take a lot of creativity or effort for a tavern to be known as a "sports bar."
A couple decent TVs. A couple pennants or posters. A dartboard. Cold beer. Oh, and some sports-crazy customers.
Fanatics Sports Central, 185 N. Jefferson St., went the extra mile in terms of amenities that fans crave. The bar has 42 high-definition screens, including a 180-inch video wall in the "stadium" section. It has a game room. It has a luxury box. It has a full menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads and chicken wings.
And, it has the distinction of being named Milwaukee's best sports bar for 2009 by OnMilwaukee.com readers. Fanatics, which opened in the fall of 2007, edged out venerable spots like Major Goolsby's, 340 W. Kilbourn Ave., which finished second, and Hooligan's, 2017 E. North Ave., which was third.
When it came time to make an editors' pick, the staff was torn between the soccer-friendly vibe of the Highbury Pub, 2322 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., and newcomer Rounding Third, 6317 W. Bluemound Rd.
Rounding Third, which caters to pre- and post-game Brewers crowd on the busy Bluemound strip, carried the day with its 17 hi-def TVs, 12 tap beers, a creative menu and a large non-smoking room (a rarity in large sports bars).
As is the case with teams, there are plenty of sports bars out there and all of them have rabid fans. But, there can only be one winner.
Editors' choice: Rounding Third
Runners up:
2.Major Goolsby's
3.Hooligan's
4.Zim's
5.The Highbury Pub
6.BBC
7.Karma
8.Kelly's Bleacher's
9.Wicked Hop
10.Long Wong's
11.Steve's on Bluemound
12.4th Base
13.Rookie's
14.Carleton Grange
15.Rounding Third
16.Fire Pit Sports Bar & Grill
17.Romine's High Pockets
18.Prime Time Sports Bar
