Dining Out
Hereford & Hops Steakhouse & Brewpub Wausau, Wis.
As seen in Ski Magazine
By Jim Neff (Three miles from Granite Peak Ski Area) Although it’s one of the newer restaurants in Wausau, Hereford & Hops feels like an old-time European neighborhood pub. Skiers coming from Granite Peak enter an atmosphere steeped in the Bavarian heritage that typifies the Wausau area, a region with a brewing history dating back to the 1860s. With its European architecture and collection of convivial dining rooms and alcoves, Hereford & Hops could easily be perched on a hillside in Austria.
The pub room is the place to be for après-ski. Seven handcrafter brews are always on tap, including the golden Whitetail Ale and classic German Pintail Pilsner. Special seasonal beers, like the Rib Mountain Rye, Dopple Bock and Christmas Ale, are usually available during ski season. And for a uniquely Wausau treat, locales top off the thick Stumpsitter Stout with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, making a “Stout Float.”
Dinner at the H&H is meant to be memorable and it usually is exactly that. Start your evening with beer-battered cheese curds and smoked trout spread. Then dive into the restaurant’s real specialty: do-it-yourself dining. Build your own salad, grill your own meat and top your own baked potato. Smaller appetites can share a steak ($11 each), but those with competitive zeal may opt for the “Butcher’s Challenge” ($26): Finish a 40-ounce sirloin, a salad, a baked potato and Texas toast in 73 minutes and you earn a gift certificate and a souvenir glass, plus you get your picture taken for display.
You won’t need a souvenir to remember your experience at Hereford & Hops. But you will have to remind yourself that you’re in Wisconsin, not Austria.
Information: 715-849-3700 * Prices and items may have changed since the publication of this article. *
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