Sobelman's Pub & Grill — Milwaukee

Sobelman's was mentioned by BuddyRoadhouse in this thread and this one. I think it deserves one of its own.

The building is a beautifully restored and maintained Schlitz tavern built with Milwaukee's characteristic cream-colored brick.



Inside it's a classic Milwaukee tavern, crowded and dark, friendly. I decided I might as well start with a Bloody Mary.



The garnishes were absurdly overdone (as I expected and wanted) but it was a darn good drink, one of the better Bloody Marys I've had in a while. I don't believe I've ever had a beverage garnished with both sausage and cheese (welcome to Milwaukee!).

I decided to try a Sobelman-burger, not knowing what that might be.



Turns out to be a very good beef patty (cooked close to medium, as requested) on a very tall egg bun. Garnishes include a huge quantity of cheese (three kinds) and an unusual pepper relish, rather like a cooked giardiniera. It was very good but I might prefer a plain cheeseburger or hamburger. The beef and bun were good enough they didn't need any additions. Sobelman's does a huge lunch business and is well set up to handle the crowds.

I haven't explored the burger situation in Milwaukee much at all but clearly there are some good ones. Upscale, I enjoyed the burger au poivre at Elsa's; downscale, a Swissburger at Gillie's hit the spot. I know I've barely scratched the surface but so far Sobelman's is the one to beat. Thanks, Buddy, for mentioning the place.

Sobelman's is just south of the Marquette campus but is rather isolated from it by the highway. I wouldn't consider it hard to get to but I made it a challenge because of poor planning. If you're not familiar with the area, I'd suggest looking at a good map.

Sobelman's Pub & Grill
1900 W St Paul Av
Milwaukee WI
414-931-1919

Thanks for the credit Rene! Full disclosure, I was turned on to Sobelman's by a gentleman who goes by the screen name MilwFoodlovers who, like myself, posts frequently at Roadfood.com. Not sure if, or how often he posts here. MLF has a remarkable knowledge of all levels of dining, from lowly greasy spoons to high end white tablecloth restaurants in southeastern Wisconsin (his knowledge of Chicago restaurants isn't too shabby either). Last summer he hooked us up with nearly a dozen outstanding Roadfood type restaurants when we were touring that area on Barbecue Business.

If anyone is ever traveling up that way and is in need of a rec, head over to Roadfood and do a search on MilwFoodlovers' posts for that area. You can put any of his suggestions in the bank!

As for Sobelman's, I'm glad you enjoyed the experience. Your pictures instantly took me back to a warm summer evening, a cold Bloody Mary, and a juicy Sobelman Burger (Sobelburger?) all enjoyed with my Dad after a hard day hawking sauce at Sendik's.

Not sure what the construction situation is like at the moment, but when we were there, it seemed like every road that should have brought us to Sobelman's was closed off due to the mess where I-94, 43, & 794 is all dug up. We actually went around in a very large circle three times before we figured out the exact route for getting down to the lower level where Sobelman's is located. Hope your trip was a bit more direct.

Buddy

I am looking forward to my visit up to Sobelmans this Saturday for lunch on the way up to Sheyboygan and the final day of the annual Brat Days on Saturday afternoon & evening.

I have heard about the hamburgers and the bloody mary's, I am not a vodka drinker I was wondering if they would flip out if I asked them to put my drink of choice, tequila in this drink and serve me a bloody maria with all the garnish.? If not I may have to tough it out and try it with the vodka anyway.

Not sure about the tequila, but they will make you a virgin Mary. Yeah, I know, not what you were looking for. My feeling is, it's a bar, they should make you a drink any dang way you want it.

I've been meaning to try the onion rings, they look really great! Get an order for me, please.

Buddy

Tangent Alert!

jimswside wrote:I am looking forward to my visit up to Sobelmans this Saturday for lunch on the way up to Sheyboygan and the final day of the annual Brat Days on Saturday afternoon & evening.

Brat Days?!?!

Click here for more official information about Brat Days.

By apparently happy coincidence, I'm going to be in the Sheboygan area on Friday and Saturday. Is this event worth attending? I'd love to hear about some of the details from anyone who's attended in the past (on another thread if that's more appropriate).

Thanks!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Is this event worth attending?

Sheboygan is the brat epicenter of the known universe, there will be, according to the web site
Single Brat
Double Brat
Brat on a Stick
Brat Egg Rolls
Brat Pizza
Brat Tacos
Brat Buritos
Brat Nachos

All that's missing is Brat Ice Cream.

How can you even consider not going if you are in the general area.

G Wiv wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Is this event worth attending?

Sheboygan is the brat epicenter of the known universe, there will be, according to the web site
Single Brat
Double Brat
Brat on a Stick
Brat Egg Rolls
Brat Pizza
Brat Tacos
Brat Buritos
Brat Nachos

All that's missing is Brat Ice Cream.

How can you even consider not going if you are in the general area.

LOL! I saw that and thought someone here might be able to 'decode' it for me. Perhaps not. Sometimes a brat is just a brat . . .

=R=

Ronnie,

I went last year for the first time, and had a great time. We went 2 days last year Friday, and Saturday, and condensed the trip this year to just a one day, and night excursion.

Great event, good food, and the company of some of the finest folks in the midwest, the friendly, good times-ready people of Wisconsin. Lots of beer, brats, music, and entertainment. There also is a brat eating contest, and Kobiashi(sp) won last year.

This event is now on my list of must attend events.

jimswside wrote:Ronnie,

I went last year for the first time, and had a great time. We went 2 days last year Friday, and Saturday, and condensed the trip this year to just a one day, and night excursion.

Great event, good food, and the company of some of the finest folks in the midwest, the friendly, good times-ready people of Wisconsin. Lots of beer, brats, music, and entertainment. There also is a brat eating contest, and Kobiashi(sp) won last year.

This event is now on my list of must attend events.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if all the brats served are Johnsonville brand or are other producers represented?

=R=

Ronnie,

Johnsonville is one of the sponsors, so I believe most of the places will offer their product. They also roll out the Johnsonville grill that is the size of a semi trailer, they held the brat eating contest on a stage in front of the semi, and cooked the brats for the contest on this huge grill.

I watched the Jaycess cooking their brats last year, and they cook them the full time over the grill, no parboiling, and I have adopted their cooking method. They have large two sided grates they put the brats in and then have two guys flip the entire grate when the time comes. They also baste them with what I believe is a beer, and butter mixture as they cook.

I cant wait.

jimswside wrote:Ronnie,

Johnsonville is one of the sponsors, so I believe most of the places will offer their product. They also roll out the Johnsonville grill that is the size of a semi trailer, they held the brat eating contest on a stage in front of the semi, and cooked the brats for the contest on this huge grill.

I watched the Jaycess cooking their brats last year, and they cook them the full time over the grill, no parboiling, and I have adopted their cooking method. They have large two sided grates they put the brats in and then have two guys flip the entire grate when the time comes. They also baste them with what I believe is a beer, and butter mixture as they cook.

I cant wait.

Thanks again, for the information. I'm pretty sure we're going to check it out.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

jimswside wrote:Ronnie,

Johnsonville is one of the sponsors, so I believe most of the places will offer their product. They also roll out the Johnsonville grill that is the size of a semi trailer, they held the brat eating contest on a stage in front of the semi, and cooked the brats for the contest on this huge grill.

I watched the Jaycess cooking their brats last year, and they cook them the full time over the grill, no parboiling, and I have adopted their cooking method. They have large two sided grates they put the brats in and then have two guys flip the entire grate when the time comes. They also baste them with what I believe is a beer, and butter mixture as they cook.

I cant wait.

Thanks again, for the information. I'm pretty sure we're going to check it out.

=R=

Brat Days 2007 (sorry for the temporary hijack).

=R=

Thanks to everyone for this thread, We went last weekend and it was quite and experence. One of the best burgers I have had. I encourage anyone in the area not to miss it...and dont forget the Bloody Mary with the Beer Chaser

Rene G wrote:Turns out to be a very good beef patty (cooked close to medium, as requested) on a very tall egg bun.

Rene G,

Nice call on Sobelman's! Well managed burger, good quality ground beef, cooked to requested med-rare and fairly priced. Burger, which comes with fries, and a soda was $6.

Sobelman's Burger


Building, as you mention, is a beautifully restored Schlitz tavern, and even though the joint was jumping service was friendly, efficient and very polite.

Sobelman's seems a convivial place to have a drink or three, though as I was driving back to Chicago I went with soda. My wife loves a good Bloody Mary I can't wait to take her to Sobelman's for the over the top Milwaukee version.

Enjoy,
Gary

I wanted to thank Rene as well, thanks to his post Sobelman's has been my go-to place for lunch when I go up to Milwaukee. The first night I went was the night of UW at Marquette, about two hours before the game. It was a zoo, but the owner realized it was my first visit and made sure that the help care of me.

Little touches of service, great burger, close to the highway and to the casino... darn, I need to do a Milwaukee day trip some weekend soon.

How about a little love here folks? I'm the one who sent Rene G to Sobelman's in the first place. Rene even mentions this in the first sentence of his initial post (thank you Rene).

Gee whillikers, I'm accused of talking about nothing but Burt's and when I do make an unrelated and worthwhile contribution, somebody else gets the accolades. Harrumph, some poor bastards can't win for losing.

Oh well, I'm glad you guys enjoyed Sobelman's. Truth be told, I was sent there by a remarkably knowledgeable guy who hangs out at Roadfood.com. MilwFoodlovers has the Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin restaurant scene cataloged and filed in his massive brain. He has sent me to many outstanding places for good eats whenever I have been working up in his expanded neighborhood. If you're ever in need of recs in Southeast Wisconsin, head on over to Roadfood and call out his name. I know he lurks around LTH occasionally but I think he's a little shy around new people.

BTW, we'll be meeting a bunch of Roadfooders from Wisconsin this Saturday, March 29th, 12:30pm, at The Big Star hamburger joint in Kenosha. From there it's off to Tenuta's and then some kringle shopping. We'll head up north to Mekato's Columbian bakery, near Milller Park in Milwaukee with dinner plans up in the air. Possibly Thai BBQ or Ilija's for Serbian. A Kopp's stop (flavors of the day are tiramisu and Butterfinger candy bar) rounds out the evening before a long, bloated ride back to Chicago. Anyone who wishes to join us, be in the Big Star parking lot at 12:30 on Saturday and look for a large group of salivating individuals.

Buddy

Big Star Drive In
1500 Washington Rd
Kenosha, WI 53140
(262) 658-1572

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Gee whillikers, I'm accused of talking about nothing but Burt's

Geeeesh, do you have to mention Burt's in each and every post you make to LTHForum?


Joking, thanks for the initial reco

G Wiv wrote:

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Gee whillikers, I'm accused of talking about nothing but Burt's

Geeeesh, do you have to mention Burt's in each and every post you make to LTHForum? Joking, thanks for the initial reco

No, Burt's I Burt's don't Burt's have Burt's to Burt's mention Burt's Burt's Burt's in Burt's every Burt's post Burt's. Sometimes Burt's I Burt's do Burt's it Burt's just Burt's to Burt's see Burt's if Burt's anyone Burt's will Burt's notice Burt's.

My pleasure on the Sobleman's rec.

Burt's BuddyBurt's

Stopped in Racine for some Kringle (Bendtsen's) today and then up to Milwaukee for a burger from Sobelman's. 3rd time I've been there with the family.

I like the bun that the burger is on, but I don't think the burger is as good as it used to be. It looks pre-formed, and it just didn't have great flavor or any heft to it. It's definitely not a hand-packed burger. Fred's in Burlington is much better.

The place was packed, and I heard the guy at the table next to me, clad head-to-toe in backers gear, state that "this may be the best burger anywhere." I disagree.

We did stop at the Jelly Belly store at the plant in Pleasant Prairie. In addition to the normal flavors, we also picked up the following flavors: baby wipes, barf, booger, rotten egg, canned dog food, and centipede. We entertained ourselves on the ride back trying the different flavors. Centipede was the worst; canned dog food may have been worse, but after smelling it, no one was brave enough to try it.

saps wrote:Centipede was the worst; canned dog food may have been worse, but after smelling it, no one was brave enough to try it.

Thanks for the chuckle.................

We were going to be up in the area(Vernon Hills) yesterday so a trip up to Milwaukee & Sobelmans for a burger and a Bloody Maria was a no brainer.

No problem getting the vodka subbed out on the Bloody Mary with tequila, making it the Bloody Maria. Drink was spicy salty, and interesting. Loved the skewers of snacks that it came with(sausage, shrimp, olive, pickle, mushroom, asaparagus, etc.). Also enjoyed some High Life's of course.

The burger, I got the Sobelman medium rare. Perfectly cooked burger, but the beef was lacking flavor. but overall a decent burger(3 pieces of cheese, bacon, grilled onion, and grilled jalapenos). The standout is the bun they use for sure.

Just a tip if you dont specify how you want your burger done they will cook medium well as the default temp. Also it seemed that folks who did not specify a temp. for their burger, their burgers came out darn quick, leaving me to wonder how they are accomplishing that My cooked to order(and perfectly cooked) medium rare burger took quite a bit longer to come out vs tables that just went with the default temp. Chicken wings were good, but again came out too fast to have them being cooked when ordered.

Overall a good lunch, not worth a 2.5 hour drive as a destination, but a place I would hit again when in Milwaukee or up in near the border.

I want to get over to AJ Bombers in Milwaukee who is supposed to have a good burger.

finally got around to downloading my pics from Sunday.



Sobelman burger:




Bloody Maria:

Holy moley, that Bloody Maria is a meal!

Thank you Buddyroadhouse!!!! What a great stop on our way to Sheboygan. I feel like I am so late to the party on this one. I have seen the picture of the Bloody Mary with the sidecar cheeseburger for ever now, but finally made it in for one. Not only was a cheeseburger slider attached, but an asparagus stalk, brussel sprout, shrimp, cheese, sausage, pickle spear and assorted veg. Completely over garnished, the way I like it. The burgers were fantastic and I bought two bottles of jalapeno ketchup to bring home. Fantastic! $9. The regular cheeseburger was pretty good too. I liked that the size wasn't over the top.

Aw shucks, it weren't nuthin'. I just told you about Sobleman's; it's not like I actually cooked the burger for you.

But thank you for the "Thank You", it's nice to be appreciated. Truth be told though, I can't take full credit for the rec. I only knew about Sobelman's because somebody else told me. He's a good buddy up in Wisconsin who used to post frequently at Roadfood.com under the name MilwFoodlovers. He's got an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge of Milwaukee's restaurant scene, from fine dining to the lowliest hash house. I've encouraged him to post here at LTH, but he's been reluctant. Even his posts at Roadfood have dwindled in the last few years. MFL (as his interwebs friends call him) has been responsible for some of our best meals in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin.

Anyway, glad you liked Sobelman's. I'll let you know if MFL has any other Burger advice.

Buddy

Just visited Sobelman's for the first time this weekend. We arrived around 2pm on Saturday, which appears to be prime time as there were quite a few people waiting for tables, so we opted to sit at the bar where a couple of seats had just opened up. The Deluxe (with the slider) Bloody Mary with a beer back is quite the bargain at $9.00 considering you can really make a meal of that alone. Not the best Bloody I've ever had, but quite fun and something I'd likely order again. The regular burger I ordered came out medium rare, as requested. I opted for swiss cheese only as I wanted to be able to taste the beef. Fairly bland, it really needed some seasoning, but a pretty good burger overall, I particularly liked the nice eggy bun. The fries were quite good skin on types. Incredibly nice staff, neat space, we'll definitely be back for another round.

It was just in the MKE business journal that they have closed their east side location.

We had errands to run in Milwaukee yesterday. I remembered Sobleman's on St. Paul from a previous visit. Though we were literally across the street from the Marquette University location, it doesn't have the charm of the original in the old Schlitz tavern. So off to St. Paul Avenue we went. (It was a five minute drive so not like we went out of our way.)

Classic bloody Marys to start, onion rings (no photo), burgers. A perfect lunch stop.

Funny story about the beer back: Mr. X asked for a different beer . The chalkboard menu had a Mexican lager by City Lights, a microbrewery just up the road from Sobelman's. They also had a coconut porter. When he asked for the City Lights beer in place of Miller Lite, we ended up with the porter. Turns out, they were out of the lager. A coconut porter is not a good match for a bloody Mary. The second beer back of a Spotted Cow was much better. We split a Schlitz to finish the lunch as Mr. X didn't recall ever having one. He doesn't need to try it again.

Always a good stop. We went skating the oval at Pettit on Saturday. Afterwards we went to Wild Roots. WOW, that duck fat burger melted in your mouth. Incredible.