The Local

I'm not even sure where to start. This place was AWFUL. No ifs ands or buts about it. This is McCarthy's under a different name.

The menu was intriguing. Not what I expected from a bar. However, the burgers were also not what I expected from a bar.

Really what does a good bar and grille need? Tasty greasy burgers and friendly service. We had neither.

We went on a worked late didn't feel like cooking evening. The bar was empty. Still service was S-L-O-W. The tortoise would have done laps around our server.

My burger was burnt. It was past well done somewhere in the land of hockey pucks. To add insult to the death of this cow, it was bland. Despite being doused in farmed in gordon foods bbq sauce it was still bland.

On to the beer. . .um since when is a beer from Wisconsin an import? Did Wisconsin just secede from the US? 1.50 for domestic draughts should include semi craft beers shipped from the land of happy cheeseheads.

Simply McCarthy's failed for a reason and without improvement it will not shock me if I see a for lease sign in the window at the Local again.

You know "local" is a lame marketing cliche that's ran it's course when they start painting over crap hole green bars (like McCarthy's)  and hanging some micro/craft brew signs up and think it's going to fool someone. OVER!

NOTE:  This is a review of the food, eaten during dinner time.  To a review of the atmosphere and libations served during "bar" hours, look else where.

This is the old McCarthy's...  The menus still say so, the charge on your credit card will say so.  This place is a pit.  Obviously serving food is not their primary concern.  

The wife and I were out and about on one of those "we don't want to cook" nights and saw that McCarthy's was sporting a new name and was now called "The Local."  We decided to stop in and give it a shot, figuring that a new name might mean new and better food.

No one seems to work at this place.  After walking in the door, we had to seat ourselves, and after sitting looking around for help for more than five minutes, a girl at the bar pries her (personal) cellphone away from her head for long enough to tell us that she'll be "right over."

Another five minutes pass and the bartender finishes up her call, and comes over.  She informs us that it is "Happy Hour" and pints of domestic draughts are $1.50.  We both order Leinenkugel Summer Shandy.  When she comes back with the beers, she also has menus.  Emblazoned at the top is "McCarthy's," the name of the old establishment.  My heart sunk to the floor.

Looking over the menu I expected to see greasy bar food, instead I saw a menu put together by someone obviously more concerned about "flexing culinary muscles" and paying off student loans than preparing ambiance-appropriate food.  Since it was too late to bail, we both ordered burgers.  She ordered some western burger (you know the drill, cheese, bacon, barbeque sauce) and I ordered a southern/mexican themed burger (jalapenos and black bean and corn salsa).

The burgers come with a side of fries, which while decent were not enough to redeem the awfulness that was presented to us.  My medium-rare burger was cooked to shit on one half (think 12 to 6 on the face of an analog clock) and almost raw on the other half (6 to 12).  Did the chef decide to only put half of the meat over the fire?  Worse yet, it was BLAND.  It takes real skill (or lack thereof) to cook with jalapeno peppers and end up with bland food.  The wife's burger didn't get much better reviews from her.  The bacon was gross, and the barbeque sauce was shopped in, rather than homemade.  Oh yeah, and the burgers were TINY...  barely a quarter pound, and the prices were $8-10 each.

We finally get the check, and this ghastly meal has set us back close to $30 before the tip...  Oh yeah, and Leinenkugel, brewed and distributed by a company owned and operated in Chippewa Falls, WISCONSIN is apparently NOT A DOMESTIC BEER?!? !  You might make an argument a few years ago that it was a craft/micro brew but in today's marketplace, you can find Leinenkugel beers at just about every watering hole.  It is certainly mainstream, and domestic.

Needless to say, there is no reason for us to ever return to this culinary abortion.  The prices are too high, the quality too low, and the "Happy Hour" specials left us feeling anything but happy.  Take your business to any of the many other pubs and bars in Lakewood where they know how to make an honest cheeseburger.