I was in Madison recently and took one of my dealers out for dinner at J.T. Whitney's, a brew pub on the southwest side of town (see map). J.T. Whitney's has been around since 1995 and they brew some pretty good beers to go along with some pretty good food.
It had been a long time since I'd been into J.T. Whitney's. My dealer's store is not far from the place and he suggested going over to have a couple beers and a sandwich, nothing fancy for dinner. I don't know if I'd ever had the food at a J.T. Whitney's, other than appetizers, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
J.T. Whitney's is owned by David Bookstaff, and the head brewmaster is Richard Becker. Actually, one of the original co-owners of J.T. Whitney's was my friend Paul Zach and his father, Skip, who also owned The Avenue Bar in Madison. (Skip passed away a few years ago and Paul is the owner/manager of The Avenue Bar.) Paul told me they sold off their interest in J.T. Whitney's a few years ago after the place got established.
Richard Becker continues a long heritage of brewers in his family that dates back to the late 1500's in Germany. His family owns the Mahrs Brau Brewery in Bamberg, Germany and an uncle runs it today. Through the years, the family's specialty was to make smoked ales. And preserving the family tradition, Richard Becker has made a number of smoked ales over the years. I have to admit that the J.T. Whitney smoked ales that I've tried in the past have been outstanding. I especially remember a Scotch Smoked Ale that I first had at the Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival a number of years ago.
We walked into J.T. Whitey's just before 8 p.m. on a weeknight. A band was setting up getting ready to play. A number of people where in the place, including a number of younger kids making a lot of noise while their parents ate and drank beer.
My guest and I bellied up to the bar and he was greeted by name by one of the bartenders. I said, "So, I guess you come here often."
He said sort of smiled and said, "I've been here a few times, yes."
My dealer told me he liked the place because all they sell is their own-brewed beer. No Miller Lite, no Corona, just the beer they brew. In fact, more than once we heard people asking for a name beer while we were seated there. "Sorry, we only serve what we make." I don't find many brewpubs like that.
We got food menus and the beer menu, and ordered up a couple of beers. My guest got the Badger Red and I got one of the Smoked Porters they had on tap. Now, I'm not a big fan of porter beers, but I have to say the Smoked Porter from J.T. Whitney's is just outstanding. It's light and superbly flavorful with a hint of the great smoked flavor I remember in their smoked beers.
We ordered up an appetizer of boneless chicken wings in a Buffalo/Ranch dressing. We sat and talked about things enjoying our beers until the appetizers came out a little while later. As they set the boneless chicken wings down, there were nine little pieces of boneless wings in the basket topped with this Ranch dressing with some Buffalo wing sauce mixed in. I was sort of disappointed and felt they were somewhat overpriced ($7.95) for what we got. But I didn't bitch.
We ended up getting a couple more beers and ordered our food. Even though J.T. Whitney's does have full dinner entrees, we went with sandwiches. My guest got the Reuben and I went with the French Dip sandwich topped with mushrooms and swiss cheese.
We finished our second beers as the sandwiches were brought out to us. My sandwich was OK, nothing special. In fact, the au jus sauce was very salty. But the meat was piled high and the mushrooms gave it a nice flavor.
My guest's Reuben looked very good - corned beef piled high on dark German rye bread topped with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. I sort of wished that I'd gotten that instead, but I've been on such a Reuben kick lately - mainly since I first saw this picture on the cover of the most recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine - that I didn't want to get burned out on them. I was satisfied with what I got.
We decided to take off just before the band got to playing, which was probably good. J.T. Whitney's has a lot of wood throughout the place and there were a lot of younger people in the place whooping it up. We were having trouble hearing each other even though we were seated next to one another. When the band started, we wouldn't have been able to hear each other at all.
Like all bars and restaurants in Madison, J.T. Whitney's is smoke free. That's certainly a plus when you go into a place for food. And even though the food at J.T. Whitney's is just a step above average, I have to say the beer is much better than the food. I may have to get a growler of the Smoked Porter the next time I go to Madison. But I'll pass on the boneless chicken wings.
(Update - JT Whitney's closed their doors in March of 2009. They have since been bought and replaced by a brewpub called Vintage Brewing Company. I still have not given that new place a try.)
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