Q: negative

A: Been in Brews Brothers twice since they opened. The first time I was in a hurry and thought I'd grab a quick burger. After sitting there for over 5 minutes without even a hello or eye contact from the 4 people working there, I decided to go get a sandwich next door. They weren't all that busy and there were 2 empty tables besides mine. Figuring they were new and it was just growing pains I stopped by at 1:00PM today. The first thing I noticed was the smell of fryer oil, strong used fryer oil. Since the fryers are near the back I once again gave them the benefit of the doubt. This time I sat at the bar and was eventually greeted, although one bartender looked at me twice without saying anything. I asked what sodas they had and the response was "All of them". They serve soda by the can ($1.00) and they have both Coke and Pepsi products. I would have loved to have taken advantage of their decent draught selection, but I can't have alcohol at lunch where I work. The menu is burgers and only burgers. You can get a brat patty on your burger, but it has to be a burger. Encouraged by the fact they say they use local meat, I gave it a shot. I got the basic cheese burger with cheddar. An interesting twist on their fries is that they offer 4 or 5 different seasonings for them. I decided to try the parmesan garlic. At $5.60 for the burger and $2.50 for the fries, this could have been a great bargain. Unfortunately at this establishment you get what you pay for. The burger itself was seasoned and cooked well however the bun they served it on reminded me of the cheap buns one used to get from the now defunct Wonder Bread outlet stores. It may have been nicely toasted, but there's only so much you can do to enhance something like that. The end result, a bun that barely holds together and gives the entire burger a mealy mushy mouth feel. The fries were really disappointing too. They're a hand cut style fry similar to the ones used at a place like Five Guys. Unfortunately they were woefully undercooked and some were stuck together in clumps of 2-4 fries, so the centers were basically raw. The seasoning didn't help much either. Very bland, almost like one of those flavored popcorn seasonings. As I was finishing up, I noticed that they were in the middle of changing their fryer grease. When I was walking out, one of the cooks was toting an uncovered 5 gallon bucket of waste oil to the dumpsters out back. The worst part of the experience is, now that I'm back in my office, I realize my sweater and hair smell like used fryer oil. I was only in the place 45 minutes, but I smell like a grease trap. It looks like this is the second location in WI for this company, the first being in Weston, WI (near Wausau). This formula may work up there, but here in Madison there are an awful lot of places with extensive draught lists. Without a great burger, great fries, or something special catering to the lunch crowd at the nearby businesses, they're going to have a tough go. If they're still around in a year I might try them again, but I certainly won't be back soon.

Q: positive

A: We went here because we received a gift certificate and wanted to check the place out-- the pasta was delicious! I ordered the italian sausage/goat cheese rigatoni, she ordered the vegetable penne. I totally thought the veggie penne was going to be the generic, safe, boring dish, but the staff recommended it and it was great! Light while still remaining flavorful. And the portions are definitely large, at least in the pasta department-- like "Carrabas giant bowl of pasta" large. We ate the leftovers for dinner the next night. Wine was delicious as well-- lots of nontraditional Italian stuff. Only issue is the ambiance-- the spot was definitely bought from somewhere else before that had a different vibe. Tile floors, huge high ceilings, giant windows-- sort of the opposite of "cozy italian" that you'd expect from Mother Francesca. But overall a great experience, and we'll definitely be back!

Q: negative

A: Saw this place (now called The End) on Bar Rescue so I really wanted to check it out. Big mistake. I didnt have the opportunity to try a drink, since the 2 bar tenders where too busy in the conversation to take an order for my group. Outside smelled like puke. The inside smelled like Simple Green and Puke. It was pretty empty (-10 people) on a Friday night, but it was only 11PM which is OK for Vegas. Guess I was expecting a lot more, but I guess, TV has a way of doing that.

Q: negative

A:
I recently had dinner with some friends at this establishment and noted the following: -good wine shop -bad waitstaff and average food...especially for the price -ugly comment by bartender about having previously worked at Viaggio and how owner pours cheaper alcohol into more expensive bottles...wow...pretty sour grapes That said, there are plenty of places to buy wine other then this restaurant/wine shop. If you want a culinary adventure in a Henderson independent restaurant try Todd's Unique Dining.