Haase's, Borth - Saturday January 27, 2018

Although getting there for most of you will require a bit of a drive on some twisty, turny roads, Haase’s (pronounced with a hard “A”) is a must for any supper club lover.  It’s located in the town of Borth, near the southwest corner of Lake Poygan between Poy Sippi and Winneconne. 

 

We arrived on Saturday shortly after 6pm. The barroom was crowded but everyone was nice and friendly.  We were able to find two seats at the bar that had just been vacated by diners called to their table.  The bar itself is a small oval and everyone around it seemed to be enjoying the evening.  I observed something that is common to most supper clubs, but seemed more obvious at Haase’s.  There is no dress code and diners seem to wear whatever makes them happy, whether that is a sport coat or a Carhart jacket and a baseball cap.   We checked in with the bartender who estimated a 45 minute wait.  She didn’t take our names, but had an interesting system involving a variety of colored pens, two notebooks, and a bottle of white-out to manage the waiting list.

   

We ordered Brandy Old Fashioned Sweets with Olives, the most popular of the Old Fashioneds, although I heard others around the bar having the whiskey or sour variety.   I may try the sour next time.  Haase’s, like many supper clubs, prepares its own mix of muddled fruit, sugar and bitters in bulk to dispense drinks quickly without suffering quality.   The Old Fashioneds were served in a larger than typical high ball glass, and once again I found mine to be just right.

 

Haase’s offers an alligator appetizer, which we have had in the past but didn’t try tonight.  I realize that is not very helpful, but I’m sorry to say that I don’t recall having any real reaction to it one way or another.  After about an hour, the waitress appeared and took our order at the bar.   She soon returned to say that Table 5 was ready when we were.

 

The dining room has a large moose head and many “stuffed” birds, including a wild turkey and various types of ducks.  Haase’s serves both soup and salad with your meal, which makes it challenging to maintain an appetite for the main course.  The salad was a mix of fresh baby greens and was very good.  They had two choices of soup, a creamy vegetable and French onion.   We both had the French onion, served in traditional style with croutons and melted cheese, which didn’t help my effort to save my appetite for the main course.

 

Paul had the New York Strip and the twice backed potato.  The twice baked potatoes are a meal by themselves, stuffed with cheese, bacon, and broccoli.  The New York strip was exceptionally tender and very tasty.    I had the smallest of the prime rib dinners (14oz), medium well.   The prime rib was very good, only slightly rarer than I prefer, so I may try “well” next time.

 

Before leaving our table, we had decided that if there were open seats at the bar, we’d indulge in an after dinner cocktail.  Haase’s specializes in them with a sign advertising the Grasshopper, Brandy Alexander, and Pink Squirrel among others.  The bar was full.  No after dinner drink for us.  Next time for sure!

 

Paul recalled dining here with his parents many years ago and noted that not much had changed. Everything about Haase’s, including its rural setting, epitomizes the Supper Club experience.