I’ve decided to broaden our website again. It was all about golf when we started in 2009 but was quickly expanded to encompass travel writing opportunities as well. That became more and more of a need as both the golf and travel industries were constantly changing.
Since then – in part to accommodate our own variety of interests – we incorporated book reviews (and the books were on a wide variety of topics) and special events (among them those in our hometown of Ocala, FL. – the Horse Capital of the World).
Now we’re going in still another direction – dining destinations. We’ve touched on that area many times during our travel pieces but we’re intrigued with one particular segment of the restaurant world. That’s Supper Clubs.
We’ve toyed with this topic for a while but decided to give it a go after a family dinner at Hob Nob, in Racine, WI. While there’s no official number of Supper Clubs in the country, Wisconsin seems to be the hotbed for them. Ron Faiola, who has written several fine books on Supper Clubs in his state, has reported that the number currently in operation there tops 50 in 22 counties.
That’s good because the two Supper Clubs we’re most familiar with are Hob Nob and Ishnala, which is near the Wisconsin Dells overlooking Mirror Lake State Park. Ishnala opened in 1953, Hob Nob a year later. Ishnala closes for the season on October 25. Hob Nob is open year-around. Both provided us great dining experiences.
The series we envision on this topic won’t be limited to Wisconsin, though. We’ll try to find as many Supper Clubs as we can. We tried a similar approach in searching for CoopersHawk restaurants after the popular chain was started in the Chicago area. We hit 14 CoopersHawk locations in several states but our hopes of hitting them all were deflated when we learned that this wine-restaurant combination is now at 70 and growing.
Supper Clubs are another matter. They were apparently born in London in the late part of the 19th century and started flourishing in the United States in the Prohibition era – 1920-1933. That’s when they became adult playgrounds that offered dancing, dining and drinking nationwide.
Supper Clubs vary around the country but basically they offer a traditional dining experience and also function as a social club. They’re known for Friday fish fries, relish trays, a wide variety of cocktails, and a relaxed setting with frequent weekend entertainment options.
That sets the tone for the Hob Nob, our first official Supper Club visit.
Hob Nob’s menu included steaks, prime rib and a long wine list. Signature drink is a Brandy Old Fashioned. Their popular dessert drinks are Grasshoppers and Brandy Alexanders made with real ice cream. There’s also outdoor seating and live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s been labelled as having “the ambience of the classic Wisconsin Super Club.’’
I doubt we could find a better place to begin what promises to be a fun dining adventure. Next stop will be in Florida. There’s several within an hour’s radius of our place. We’ll be checking them out.
