Brass Ring
In a word: Sinks almost every shot on the table.
The specs: #0114
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Judy's Book, Yelp, Madison Date Night, Madison Fish Fry, collected at del.icio.us; official web site;
JM ate the Chicago chili dog and a lemonade.
Nichole ate the buffalo burger and a Coke.
The bill was $19, or $9.50/person, plus tip and a game of pool.
JM gave the Brass Ring an A; Nichole gave the Brass Ring an A- (see our grading rubric).
Latest Brass Ring news and reviews
Brass Ring is an upscale bar and pool hall. It features an admirably deep menu and succeeds at being what it tries for.
JM's was a good dog, though the chili flavor was nothing special. The fries were tasty. He appreciated that they used "au jus" correctly on the menu. Overall, he was just plain impressed that a "pool hall" would put this much thought into a chili dog, let alone a whole menu.
Nichole's buffalo burger was about a 8.5 of 10 overall.
- Bun: toasted.
- Meat: real buffalo with great texture and flavor. From Northstar Farms. Knowing its provenance was a big plus.
- Bun/meat ratio: perfect.
- Cheese: sadly forgot to ask for it.
- Misc.: BBQ sauce on the side was deliciously spicy with a slow kick. The tomato slice was of the pink styrofoam variety, but the lettuce was fine.
While the results of the pool game were hotly contested due to a late scratch that may or may not have been on the eight ball, JM won but Nichole played a good game.
Looks good. And on my side of town! And a kids menu? Does it seem child friendly?
Posted by: Kari | September 21, 2005 at 03:47 PM
I can't remember seeing a kids' menu or high chairs, but it was really laid back & spacious. Plus, political feelings aside, the smoking ban has made a lot of these experiences better than they would have been 6 months ago!
Posted by: nichole | September 21, 2005 at 04:37 PM
looks like the brass ring reviewed at judy's book is over off of commercial ave. perhaps not the same place?
i'm just a little biased cuz i am friends with one of the cooks at the east wash location. :)
Posted by: bekee | September 22, 2005 at 08:23 AM
You're right - good eye! I removed the link. Too eager to include those Judy's Book links, and they're often down...hm.
Posted by: nichole | September 22, 2005 at 08:30 AM
I wrote the review of Brass Ring on Judy's Book, and it is the same restaurant. I just have the wrong address, which I will go and change right now! (I have to be more careful with the autopick address engine they provide for reviewers)
Posted by: Rachelz | September 22, 2005 at 01:15 PM
Just had a take-out meal from the Brass Ring, and it was uneven but overall pretty good.
I had the buffalo burger too (coincidentally), and it didn't exactly come cooked to medium as I asked. I know buffalo can be tricky, though, and I like my home-grilled burgers crispy, so this wasn't really a problem. The bun was too doughy. Needed to be toasted more, although the ride home might have taken the edge off the toasting. Everything else was very good.
The lady had the aforementioned roast beef au jus, and from her opinions and the bite (okay, bites) I had, it was really really good. Didn't even need the mushrooms and onions.
Let me just say, at this point, that if you're going to the Brass Ring on a Saturday night, don't get take-out. Unless there's a trick I'm missing, the parking is so absurdly scarce that we had to park around the block just to walk in, pay, and walk out. And it was raining. Yish. Better to dine in so you don't feel like you've wasted your effort.
Memo to Brass Ring: love the food, hate the parking.
Posted by: Kyle | October 21, 2006 at 09:16 PM
I rather like the roast beef au jus sandwich here, really can't go wrong there. And their vegetarian friendly offers are not half-assed.
Posted by: delysid25 | January 23, 2012 at 07:43 PM
I like that french dip too, but it's so salty. I usually go with the Bayou chicken sandwich, which goes great with fruit as a side, but unfortunately they charge like 80 dollars to swap out a few pieces of melon for your fries (that may be a slight exaggeration, but still, it's freaking melon).
Posted by: Jason | January 26, 2012 at 05:27 PM