Sausages Still King at Shorewood's Milwaukee Brat House

by

The Milwaukee Brat House has been a fixture on Old World Third Street for years now, serving up sausages of all kinds in a classic Wisconsin tavern setting. It’s a popular spot for barhopping and shuttles to events like Brewers games, plus it’s one of the bars on that strip with better-than-average bar food.

A second Milwaukee Brat House location in Shorewood builds on those same strong points, but in a more reserved neighborhood. If you’re looking for the same sausages and convivial atmosphere but prefer to avoid roving gangs of barhoppers on Saturday night, then the Oakland Avenue location is the one you’ll want to patronize.

Thanks to the original location’s proximity to Usinger’s, the latter is the sausage of choice on the menu, but they’re not the only brand to choose from. Specialty sausages from Bunzel’s, a local butcher on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, are available as well. Except for the Vienna Beef brand hot dogs, all encased meats are local to the city.

There are two menu options to get your sausage topped the way you want: a build-your-own and a number of set sausage-and-topping combos. To build your own, start with one of five sausages, including bratwurst, Italian, smoked Polish, hot Hungarian or hot dog ($6.95-$8.85) and then add on as many toppings as you like. Most vegetables, pickles and relishes, like sauerkraut, tomatoes and roasted poblano peppers, are 50 cents each. Cheeses, bacon and avocado are all $1 to add. That same list of toppings is available for a build-your-own burger or brat patty ($7.95) option too.

For more traditional toppings, stick to the classic sausages portion of the menu. The German Style ($8.95) is a bratwurst topped simply with sauerkraut and sautéed onions on a pretzel roll. The Farwell ($9.95) brat is a little more far-fetched with onions, roasted poblanos, diced bacon and melted pesto gouda cheese.

The specialty sausages section of the menu is where you’ll find some real winners. The Thai style Tiger Brat ($9.95) is made with a massive Bunzel’s smoked sausage with a crisp casing. In a riff on a banh mi, it’s topped with spicy Tiger Sauce—like a mashup of hot buffalo and sweet Asian chili sauce—and pickled julienned carrots and cucumbers. The sauce has a lot of heat, but the crisp veggies cool it off.

The Johnny Utah ($10.95) is for those with a hearty appetite. A Usinger’s Kentucky bourbon smoked sausage is surrounded by pulled pork in the hefty roll and topped with coleslaw. The sausage is smaller than that of the Thai brat, but the shredded pork makes up the difference and then some. Get the pork mixed with barbecue, hot barbecue, teriyaki or Tiger Sauce. Stick with one of the barbecue sauces because the Asian flavors will overpower the sausage in this one.

If you’ve got a group interested in sharing, the Brat House sausage sampler ($15.95) lets everyone try a number of sausages. The platter comes with a brat, Italian, Polish and hot Hungarian, all sliced partway through for easy doling out. They’re served on a bed of sautéed onions, red peppers, sauerkraut and mushrooms along with a pretzel roll.

Though the focus is clearly on sausages, the menu goes beyond with a Philly cheesesteak ($9.95), the Third Street Reuben ($9.95) with beef brisket, and a chicken bacon chipotle wrap ($9.95). There are burgers, too, including the belly buster ($13.95) with a beef patty and brat patty. All sausages and sandwiches come with a side, including skin-on fries with a heavy dose of seasoned salt.

When you walk into the Shorewood location, there are two things that you notice first. One is the sheer amount of TVs, and the other are the garage doors that open to make the space open air. Both go a long way to making this location a community hot spot, whether you’re here to watch a Packers game in fall or hang on the street-side patio with your dog as you greet your neighbors that walk by. This location, I imagine, has a host of regulars who live nearby, making it a low-key alternative to the original.