Wisconsin's Restaurant Guide

People come to this West Side Irish pub, which has a crowd as diverse as the neighborhood, more for the food than for a pint of Guinness. As the grill is tiny, the specials change from day to day. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday feature jumbo tacos while the other days have a budget-priced New York strip steak sandwich. Burgers and chicken breasts are available every day. Naturally the sandwich that really stands out is the corned beef. The slow-cooked briskets are trimmed of fat. Then the chef slices it and lightly pounds the meat into chunks. The meat is then heaped on the bread, a miniature mountain of at least a half pound. Then a dab of horseradish mustard is added and sauerkraut if you ordered the reuben. The best of all this tasty mouthful costs just $5.

At McBob's Pub & Grill, a really stupid customer mistake is to ask for a fork. "You've never been here before, have you?" is the likely stiff-lipped reply. More than that, the Reuben sandwich is so damn good, you won't want to take your hands away from it. But it's so juicy, there's a knack to eating it - keep your head close to the basket and don't let go. Dissected, it's thick, well-trimmed corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, slathery horseradish mustard and sauerkraut jammed between two slices of toasted rye bread ($5.50 - $6.50). Your hands and wrists may get wetter and wetter, but just keep moving in for the kill.

MCBOB'S HAS TWO CLAIMS TO FAME-NOT BAD FOR ANY BUSINESS. ONE IS THE IRISH TACO SERVED ON TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS. TWO IS THE REUBEN CHRONICLED IN OUR "BEST OF MILWAUKEE" (AUGUST 2001). IF YOUR HUNGRY, IF YOUR COLD, IF YOUR CHEAP, MCBOB'S IS THE PLACE. THE CHUNKY CHILI IS A BIG BEEFY PORTION, WORTH THE TRIP ON MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS - THE ONLY DAYS ITS SERVED. THAT "IRISH" TACO, BY THE WAY, IS A 10-INCH FLOUR TORTILLA STUFFED TO THE BREAKING POINT WITH BEEF OR CHICKEN, CHEESE, ONION, TOMATO, LETTUCE, SOUR CREAM AND SALSA($3-$3.50). ASK FOR A FORK AND THEY'LL KNOW YOU'RE A NEWBIE. ONE OF THE BARTENDES WILL GIVE YOU A HELPFUL LESSON ON "EATING WITH YOUR HANDS" AND PRESENT YOU WITH A CHARMING BUMPER STICKER-DON'T TRY TO CLIMB UNDER THE TABLE, CLAIMIMG SHYNESS. EXCEPT WHEN A PRODUCTION LIKE THAT TAKES PLACE, MCBOB'S IS ALL ABOUT LAID-BACK. CHEAP WOULDN'T BE WORTH A LOT OF SHENANIGANS.

"No cold, no way you know what this month is, don't you? National Eat Chili Month. All right, we're joking. But even so, it's a fine time to warm up with McBob's meat chili smothered in melted cheddar cheese. Your spoon will meet kidney beans, tomatoes and a side of onions, if you ask for it. And you know who gets the most bowl time? Well, the ground beef, of course."

Most people think of Milwaukee as the city of great fish fries, which it is and of America's best custard, which it is also, and of butter burgers, which are pretty fine too. Not to mention beer. But Milwaukee has another claim to fame, little known to outsiders and yet deeply appreciated by the local culinary cognoscenti. That is corned beef. Here you will find some of the most delicious corned beef, and hot corned beef sandwiches, anywhere in the U.S.A.

In fact, we went to McBob's for it's fish fry, which is something to rave about-a choice of perch, walleye, or grouper, or a combination of two or three, the crisp-fried fish served over a layer of thin, onionly potato pancakes. The two Milwaukeeans who clued us in to McBob's, Jessica Zierten and Brad Warch, insisted we try the corned beef too. Wow, are we glad we did! And we are especially glad that Bob Rubner shared his recipe with us. He even explained how McBob's prepares its corned beef.

Best Reuben. Best chunky corned beef served every day. A corner bar atmosphere. All making a winning trifecta for Milwaukee's pub grubbers, those who appreciate a touch of Irishness here and there in the decor, even with the tacos.

When we decided to find the city's best chili this year, we ran into two major concerns. One, we needed judges that know the art of hearty slow-food. And two, we needed to make sure that bringing together the city's best chilis didn't leave a smoking crater in the ground. The answer was clear: firefighters... We turned to the brave men of the St. Francis Fire Dept. and they sniffed, tasted and delivered their verdict.

McBob's Reviews