American Legion

If you are looking for a friendly pub frequented by regular salt-of-the-earth folk, Shorewood is not the neighborhood to search. You could look for a long long time before you finally found the basement bar of the local American Legion Post.

Here is a great hole-in-the-wall that you would expect to find in a blue-collar enclave like West Allis, far away from the liberal bistros and soccer moms of the North Shore. It's open to the public, though I'd wager more than a few of the regulars have served or are military family.

The place is exactly what you'd expect: cluttered chairs, heavy oak ceiling beams overhead, and old beer advertisements featuring soldiers. They always keep a POW/MIA table set as a vigil (better not to disturb that on your way into the bar). The pints are served in frosted mugs and they have New Glarus brews on tap. Otherwise it's the typical Miller and Old-Style beer selections.

I wasn't not expecting a lot here, but tried out the fish fry and it was amazing! The fried cod was perfect and the potato pancakes were the best I've had in the state. So what if the cole slaw was entirely forgettable and the bill was a tad high? For the convenience and the authenticity, I'm not about to quibble! I'll have to soon try out their Italian dinner Saturdays to see what else the kitchen turns out.

Overall, I'm a fan after my first visit. This place is a much-needed dose of reality in an area overrun by frou-frou restaurants.