Restaurant Shout Out: The Bar- Wausau, WI

My original goal for the weekend was to eat myself silly at the WI Gluten Free Expo. Teasing emails arrived in my inbox with promises of a fish fry, beer, pizza, and pastries. And although they did deliver on all of these fabulous treats, I found a hidden treasure generically named The Bar, in Wausau, right next to the center where the expo was hosted.

After making the rounds at the expo, we decided to do “lunch” (not sure what to call that meal on Saturday after stuffing myself full of pizza samples and desserts from Life Beyond Wheat in Antigo, WI. Clearly it was after the lunch hour, but my calorie count was almost too high to call it dinner). Al and Peg joined us. Al is the moderator of THE greatest forum.  We have become expo-friends. They were giving out coupons at the expo for wings, and if you know me, you know I heart wings. Sadly I have not had them in a bar/restaurant since going gluten free. Most restaurants do not have a dedicated fryer = no wings for me. Sadly, most places drop their bar baskets of breaded goodness into the fryer with fries, wings, or anything else on that bar menu. So for those gluten free peeps in the crowd, this was a BIG deal.

Now, you won’t find The Bar gracing the pages of Food and Wine magazine, and it may not have been voted “best bar food” by the Shepherd, but they can hold their own. Visit them here: http://www.meetatthebar.com/pdfs/menu_7.pdf Yes, it seems like only a few items, but to eat bar food, without any explanation or my usual statements of caution, made my day.

The wings. BBQ. Delish. Mark was my partner in crime. Helped me finish off wings and fries. With a pizza to-go. (I think we all know the whole pizza did not make it back to Milwaukee.)

Their pizza crusts are from Sysco, which provides products to restaurants all over Milwaukee. If they can make this happen at their chain, in Wausau, then it should not be a problem here should it? I think I have a new project.