rev:text
| - What's the first thing that comes to mind to have for dinner before going fire-dancing with friends on the summer solstice? Brats, right? Of course! What? No? It's just me? Well, that's what happens when you're at Olbrich Beach catching some rays and are subjected to the craving-inducing scents from 1,000 Father's Day celebration BBQs going on at the park.
Surprisingly it's not that easy to find a local place on the east side that you can just walk into and order a brat. Enter Harmony, the harbinger of good things to come. I'm not one who enjoys going out alone, especially to bars, but that's something I'm trying to get over. So it was a relief to see the place only half filled with low key, relaxed people who barely noticed I was there. I was however, immediately noticed by the friendly, smiling young bartender (who looked all of fourteen), so I was put further at ease. Also delightful was a live band playing happy zydeco music in the other room, a genre which I adore. I sat at the bar and ordered my 'beer brat'. With sauerkraut, it's only $5.25. Win! They also had a fairly good selection of craft brews on tap, and mine was cold and delicious. Brat, beer and fries for $12.
The brat is pre-cooked and then browned in the tiny kitchen just off the bar, and it's always fun to watch food being made (if you're me). They also grill the kraut, a nice touch. It's served on a big, somewhat fluffy sesame seed bun, which seemed like an odd choice, but it worked. The fries are good, too, and the order is huge. I would have sprung for the deservedly popular pub chips and bleu cheese dip, but they were twice the price of the fries. It was a lot of food, and totally satisfying, and I finished every last bite. I think this is a place I can feel comfortable going to alone or with others in the future, and I plan to, often. :-)
Note: cash only.
Five stars instead of four if only they had a fire grill and not just a flat grill.
|