I recently visited the wonderful state of Wisconsin, home of the cheese heads and home of my beloved employer. Our head office is based in a city just 8 Miles outside of Milwaukee. I get here every once in a while and have had a chance to dabble at a few eateries, nothing earth shattering but this small little city has some nice pockets of urban renewal that give it as a close an experience to big city life. Obviously those who are looking for that will venture down interstate 94 to Chicago!

Upon checking into my hotel I asked the front desk staff where I could go that was in walking distance. There were two option each providing similar menus; The Chophouse and then Butch's. I was in the mood for something casual and frankly not too pricey as it was late and wanted a quick bite. My colleague was joining me as well who had already eaten and was going to just hang out and provide table side company while I chowed down. Butch's was the favored venue offering a laid back environment without the stuffiness of some of the more conventional old school steak houses and at bargain prices.

http://www.butchssteakhouse.com/

Walking up to the place you start to reconsider your selection! It appears run down and worn out with cheesy big writing on the outside of the building proclaiming it's world famous steaks and seafood. At this point I am committed. We get in and it definitely has character, rich wood bar, tables, and staff that look like they have been working here since the place was founded greet you. The bar is loaded with blue collar patrons that argue about the Brewers and Packers and know the staff well.

The waitress looks mean but is very sweet and walk you through the simple menu. The appetizer of choice is the cheese with marinara. They make their own cheese and roll it in house. The marinara is also made from scratch and is a house specialty.

The entree recommended by the staff is their steer filet. I did not know the difference between a filet and steer filet. It was defined to me by the waitress as corn fed, dry aged, organic beef. Well sure I guess is my first response, for the extra 10 bucks why not go all out! I ordered the 6 oz steer filet that came out topped with sauteed mushrooms and a baked potato with the fixings. The meat is pretty good, steak is tender and cooked to order.


Understanding that this is not a fancy joint and on the blue collar side it may not be for everyone. But if you want to mingle with locals, and have decent meal for a relatively cheap price, this is the place!


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Still in Memphis, I was looking for a nice place to eat out for dinner. I was in the mood for a steak and gone are the days of expensing Ruth's Chris or Morton's. I checked with the concierge and some local customers for recommendations.

Over and over, I was referred to The Butcher Shop. Interesting name to say the least. One of the ladies we asked said she was a vegetarian but even she would consider eating the steaks from that place! Pretty impressive reference! Here is a link to the website and menu.

The restaurant was only a few blocks away from our hotel. The atmosphere is very laid back and casual. To be frank, I was not a big fan at first glance and first whiff. The place kind of stunk - it smelled like a dive bar with beer on the floor, etc. Not appetizing.

Well, no turning back - it was getting late and this was probably our best bet in the area. After looking at the menu we decided to get the Cajun shrimp appetizer and we both opted for the salad bar to start our meal.

The salad bar was OK, nothing special, I have seen better salad bars at Jason Deli's or even Ruby Tuesdays.

When we came back from the salad bar our shrimp app was served nice and hot. Surprisingly, it was really good! It was supposed to be Cajun and had some of that Southern spice and heat but was served in a scampi format with a little more sauce that the shrimp were floating around in. Still very good and very rich.

For my entree I ordered the 8-ounce filet with a baked potato. The steak came out and it was cooked to my liking, medium-well. Typically, I would order that cut of meat cooked medium, but the questionable atmosphere pushed me to medium-well.

For the price ($30.00 per head) it was a reasonable steak.