Sibling Revelry

The Brothers Lounge Is Fun Place To Enjoy Surprisingly Good Food

By Douglas Trattner

Volume 15, Issue 60- Free Times
Published June 25th, 2008

It is difficult enough to succeed with one business plan, let alone three. But that is precisely the assignment taken on by the Brothers Lounge owners Rodger Riggs and Christian Riemenschneider. When the club opened a few months back, it did so with a trio of diverse ventures under the same big top. In addition to the live-music venue, which had been the historic club's original focus, the 11,000-square-foot complex also now boasts a neighborhood pub and tony wine bar. Surprisingly, apart from the expected bumps in the road, the juggling act seems to be working for it.

Of course, some ambitious proposals had to be tabled. Originally, each zone was to feature its own unique menu, meaning that a wine bar patron might be tucking into a fine sheep's milk cheese just as a lounge lizard was tossing back wings, but not vice versa. For now, though, the same menu applies regardles of one's zip code.

Spending close to $1 million over three years, the owners did a remarkable job transforming a derelict space into a neighborhood anchor. A sharp double storefront, restored to its original 1911 condition, offers guests two separate points of entry. The door to the west leads folks into the pub, where Amish oak flooring abuts a magnificent mahogany bar. Travel east to door no. 2 and enter the wine bar, an elegant world of wood and plush leather seating. Even the generously sized music hall, host to rock and blues acts, is outfitted top to bottom with luxe touches.

Though the menus at the pub and wine bar may be identical, the experiences are anything but. The pub is that convivial neighborhood spot where you meet your buddies for happy hour and end up staying through the Tribe game. A high-tech tap system ensures that every pint of Magic Hat ($4.50) is as fresh as the day it was brewed. Sure, bar jockeys can snack on the requisite basket of wings ($6.50), but why bother when an additional $2.50 scores a bounty of delicately fried popcorn shrimp? Served in a wax-paper-lined cone, the buttermilk-battered beauts beat the heck out of a fried flapper any day, even if the cucumber aioli is runnier than ranch. For simpler tastes, two fat, soft and unapologetically salty pretzels ($6) fit the bill, especially when dragged through the sweet and punchy mustard dip.

Because they taste so damned good, I'll forgive the kitchen's laziness in passing off quartered hamburger patties as sliders ($9/four). Like a square peg in a round hole, the V-shaped burgers don't match their square buns. But cooked medium-rare, gilded with crisp fried onions and rich Danish blue, and tucked into a buttery griddled bun, these sliders rock, round or not.

On a date? Skip the pub in favor of the wine bar, where an intimate bowed bar stands in for its neighbor's stick-straight version. Padded leather stools and benches are designed for comfort not speed, and provide a snug roost from which to enjoy the live piano music. An ambitious wine list includes loads of fun and affordable bottles, from a $30 Prosecco to a $45 Pouilly Fuisse. The natural choice of starters here is the cheese and charcuterie board, which changes with the whim of the chef. While pricey, the house salad ($9) is a mouthwatering mélange of greens, candied walnuts and dried cranberries in fig vinaigrette.

Entrées are the best deals in the house. For a couple of bucks more than that salad, diners can dig into a grilled and sliced flat iron steak ($14), topped with a mushroom-studded wine sauce. And while better-suited to autumn, a two-finger-thick maple-glazed pork chop with caramelized apples is a square deal at $16. Too much salt spoils the sautéed spinach that accompanies each dish, but the steak's whisper-thin frites save the day.

On my visits, service and timing have been spot-on. But I've never dined at Brothers while a popular show was in progress, so I can't predict how the crew handles a crowd. Given this building's storied past and bright future, let's pray the kitchen can keep up.

The Brothers Lounge: 11609 Detroit Ave. 216.226.2767. Kitchen Hours: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-midnight Friday; 3 p.m.-midnight Saturday; 3-11 p.m. Sunday.