Count gangster John Dillinger among the early-day customers. Wisconsin’s supper clubs started as taverns, resorts and dancehalls where fried chicken and perch were served along with a beer. Eventually these places transformed their food and decor, and as a result, the classic menu we know and love came into being: Friday fish fry, Saturday prime rib, Sunday broasted chicken and ribs. What began as roadhouses for gangsters moving moonshine during Prohibition quickly transformed into thriving establishments. Many classic cocktails are tied to a particular place. Lawrence Frank, a Milwaukee native, is credited with opening the first supper club in California in the 1930s, and while they reached their peak popularity in the 1950s, these beloved institutions continue to thrive here in Wisconsin. The inland supper club began business as the Slipper Inn tavern in 1929, grew from there and has always been owned by the same family. Book: Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience by Ron Faiola Article by Brette Sember. The Wisconsin supper club has a rich history that dates back to the 1920s. The concept had me imagining cigarette girls drifting among tables, flaming baked … These tender cinnamon-sugar behemoths are a specialty at the Inn at Pinewood, 5 miles east of Eagle River, Destination: Wisconsin. Many supper clubs are located off the beaten path, along the highways and byways of rural Wisconsin. This doesn’t happen many other places; that of cocktail recipes changing based on your location. I found this recipe in the 1960s cookbook “Cooking With Wisconsin Celebrities” in a dusty corner of a Milwaukee antique market. Um--we do, every time we go to a supper club, and Beloit, Wisconsin (50 miles southeast of Madison), has a bevy of them. Supper clubs are a Wisconsin birthright. And you should know that the bartender will ask whether you want yours sweet or sour. The Guides Inn – Boulder Junction. The Manhattan was created at New York City’s Manhattan The hearty portions, paper menus and friendly owners make these throwback, dinner-only restaurants legendary.Pictured: The Key lime 615-tini is a big seller at The 615 Club … TASTY TRAVEL. While supper clubs are little-known in much of the country, they thrive in the upper Midwest, a fact proven in Mary Bergin's Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook. Liberace was born in Wisconsin during the dawn of the Wisconsin supper club scene, and surely his lite beer piano style was popular in 1950’s Wisconsin supper clubs. Praise be to the Wisconsin Supper Club! A supper club sounds glamorous to me, something from the era of crinolines and fedoras when dinner in a restaurant was an Event you put on your finest for. Where a juicy steak or Friday night fish fry await and the (brandy) Old Fashioned is king! That recipe changes without warning when you place your order in a Wisconsin supper club, where brandy takes the place of bourbon. 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