Locker Room

In a word: They put more thought into their food than other bars of their type.

The specs: #0334
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Madison Fish Fry, collected at del.icio.us; official web site;

Latest Locker Room news and reviews

JM ate the grilled ham and cheese with fries and a lemonade.
Nichole ate the cheeseburger with cheddar, onions and mushrooms.
The bill was $11, or $5.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave Locker Room a B; Nichole gave Locker Room a B- (see our grading rubric).

Locker Room is located right behind Oscar Mayer's on the north side, and caters pretty much exclusively to the working crowd, right down to two "Power Hours" per day. Even though it claims to be a sports bar, we're guessing that the eponymous locker room really refers to where you shower after a long shift.  It was a great reprieve from typical Madison foofiness which we'd OD'd on lately. On the downside, don't come here looking for any brews less macro than Miller.

There was not much swivel factor (thanks, Kyle!), since the patrons inside were either talking trash across the bar, or glued to video poker. We did, however, have to run a gauntlet of smokers (with their own enclave just outside the door) to get in.

The bartender was friendly, the restrooms were clean and spartan, and the food was good honest bar food. JM's grilled ham and cheese was greasy but tasty. He chose American cheese but cheddar and Swiss are also options. The crinkle cut fries contained warm blasts of potato in each bite, and outshone Nichole's low-budget potato chips by a mile.

Of the cheeseburger:

• Bun: toasted with real butter, perfection. Dual purposes - it gave something nice and firm to grab onto, and was delicious.
• Meat: hand-formed, lightly seasoned; not super-high-quality but OK.
• Meat/bun ratio: just right.
• Cheese: real.
• Other: mushrooms and onions thickly cut and scrumptious. About a 7.5 of 10 overall.

It was just nice to go to a casual bar where somebody cares about the eats.

Comments

[MJ]

Great to learn about a local spot for a quick burger. The northside is not loaded with these. God bless the smoking ban!

[John S.]

I'd guess the name comes from the joke, the same reason there are bars I've seen called "The Office" and "The Library" (Stout, I think). You know, you leave work for a few minutes, the boss asks where you were, so you tell 'em, The Locker Room.

[Otter]

"Meyer"?
My bologna has a second name it's "m.a.y.e.r"

Been to the Locker room several times after mallards games for drinks, but never tried the food. Sounds like I might have to try a burger. On a side note, just to let you know what kind of tavern it is, first time we were there, There was a family there. Mom at the bar, Dad at the video poker on the other side of the room, and the 3 year old running back and forth between them. Oh, it was 1:30 am!

[nichole]

Whoops. Fixed the spelling.