Essen Haus

Pretty cool German restaurant/beer hall.  It's a really big place and they have a lot of outdoor seating. They've got 16 imported German beers on tap which was awesome and the prices were really cheap ($3.50 import pints) but they might have had a special going on  -- I went on a Thursday night. I didn't try any food so I can't comment on that, but it's a cool atmosphere to drink in. The only reason why they don't get 4 stars is the bathrooms -- they were horrible. It reminded me of the bathroom from the episode of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" where the water zombie attacked the kids in the basement locker room of the old school pool...and if this scene isn't burned into your mind from countless nightmares....the link is below (around minute 19). But yeah, the bathrooms are nasty.

Pros: ton of imports, great beer garden, cheap prices
Cons: bathroom that could potentially house a drain monster

<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dhoi3GuxiA7A&s=e720c91396366ace85d7fb18b4e90925a30fa866af9fe58c74cc0b651e69b976" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>

great food and atmosphere

Essen Haus- Just as I remembered it over 20 years ago when I was a student. Okay, I memories of the Essen Haus are all fuzzy with boots and pretzels.
Back in town for a reunion, this was one of the 'must have' stops for us. We decided to go with the 1 liter boot because we are old and lame and the sight of the 2 liter boot gave me chills. Well, my two old friends and I managed to get through three 1 liter boots before heading out to a formal dinner.
The pretzels right out of the oven were fantastic paired with the housemade mustard and horseradish. It was so nice on the patio that we decided to come back the next day for breakfast with a larger group. This time we sat on the Essen Haus porch but ordered off the Come On In menu. Bloody Mary and BLT bagel hit the spot before heading to the airport.
I often think if my days in Madison over 20 years ago. Things change in life but it's nice to see that some things stay the same.