Brisco County Wood Grill, Menomonee Falls, WI

Brisco County Wood Grill

N96 W16865 Cumberland Court
Menomonee Falls, WI 
http://www.briscocounty.net/

I drove up to the northern suburb of Menomonee Falls
to visit the Brisco County Wood Grill on the recom-
mendation of one of my "work friends," as my daughter
calls them.  The Menomonee Falls location has been
there for years and I have seen it for years from the
expressway but I had never been tempted to turn in
that direction, even when using that exit to go else-
where.

In fact, there is something about the very placement of
the Menomonee Falls location that seems designed to
discourage the patronage of black people.  For a public
place of business it is tucked into a not so convenient
cul-de-sace  and has what can almost be construed as
a "secret entrance," i.e., if you haven't been forewarned,

it is easy to miss.  Fortunately, my "work friend" gave me
a heads-up and my daughter and I had no problem finding
the restaurant entrance.

It was winter in Wisconsin when we visited the 
Menomonee Falls location but nothing compared with the
chill we experienced when we walked through the door.  
Geez Louise!  You would think the patrons had never seen
black people before.  And it is possible they hadn't as my
daughter and I were the only black patrons in the restaurant.

If the dagger-like looks the elderly-looking gentleman
working the open wood grill gave us could kill, my daughter
and I would be dead.  

Brisco County Wood Grill is decorated like a western lodge
and we were seated in a rustic alcove with four wood plank
tables and benches.  Our server was an energetic young man
who was amiable and attentive.  

The menu offered an array of reasonably priced meals
focused primarily on steaks and chicken.  On the
recommendation of my work friend, I started with the
excellent onion straws ($6.95).  The generous appetizer
was battered, prepared to a light brown crisp and came with
a sharp flavorful Cajun horseradish sauce.  

Each meal at Briscoe County comes with a complimentary
basket of bread and each basket of bread comes accompanied
with a mason jar of homemade apple butter.  I hadn't had apple
butter in thirty years and never had I had homemade apple
butter.  It brought back fond memories.

For my entree, I ordered the 12 oz. Ribeye steak ($19.95)
and given a choice of salad or soup to go with my baked potato,
I choose the soup.  On the good advice of my work friend, I
selected the chicken dumpling soup.  It was a great choice.

It is the dumplings that make chicken dumpling soup and
the dumplings in Briscoe County's soup were excellent.  

The ribeye steak arrived on a cast iron skillet-plate with
succulent mushrooms and a delicious au ju sauce.  It was as
I ordered, seasoned and grilled to perfection.  I have had better
steaks but they came ala carte and cost almost twice the price.   
 

I brought my daughter along with me because I wanted to
know if the rotisserie chicken was as good as I heard it was
and my daughter always orders chicken.  Of course, she
ordered an Briscoe Burger ($7.45).  All of Briscoe County's
1/2 lb. burgers are made with Certified Angus beef and
are served in a basket with seasoned fries.  The burger and
the fries were delicious.

I have it on good authority that the rotisserie chicken - slow
roasted to lock in flavors - is excellent.  There are five
rotisserie chicken choices:

Quarter white: $8.45

Half Chicken: $10.95

Half Dark: $8,95

Half White: $11.95

Whole Chicken: $11.95 (take out only)

Briscoe County Wood Grill also offers a fascinating array
of wood grilled pizzas including BBQ Chicken, Chicken
Tostado, Hawaiian, Supreme, Veggie and Cheese  and
ranging in price from $8.05 to $17.45.

All that and I haven't even mentioned the fajitas or wraps. 

Ordinarily when encountering food this good, I would have
made several return trips by now but, frankly, I am still
feeling the chill from our first visit.  Everybody outside of
the chef were nice enough and our waiter was great
(I tipped accordingly) but even in exiting the restaurant
I could not shake that funny vibe.  

The food was excellent but the way the chef glared at us
as we left, I can't help but wonder if he spit in our food.

On the Eating While Black scale:

So good you'll slap your mama!
It made my mouth happy!
Aiight!
Better than dirt.

Service: Reserved and courteous
Comfortable for black people?:  Not so much
Recommend to your black and white friends: Yes, with caveats
Recommend to just your black friends: No
Recommend to just your white friends: Yes