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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Hagemeister Park Restaurant Review in Green Bay, WI

I went to eat at the newly opened restaurant, Hagemeister Park. The new restaurant and bar is located in downtown east Green Bay, right next to the children's museum. The front of the restaurant has floor to ceiling picture windows and as you enter there is a very roomy lounge area to the left with an eye catching massive floor to ceiling black and white picture of the first Packer football team in Hagemeister Park, the park where the team first practiced and played. There is a hostess stand to the right and directly behind is a very long large bar. To the left are booths and tables for dining. The restaurant is very large with the capacity to seat 300 people. It has vaulted ceilings and the decor is contemporary, all done in black and white and accented with dark wood work. The flooring is cement painted black, with black vinyl booths, black iron tables, black painted vaulted ceilings, with many large black and white historical pictures adorning the walls. There are twenty flat screen TVs hanging above and throughout the restaurant. Towards the back of the restaurant are more cocktail tables with a few dart and game machines. The back of the restaurant also has massive floor to ceiling doors which lead out to a huge outside patio on the city deck. The patio has large and comfy sofas, iron tables with iron chairs, and features a heated canopy. The outside patio offers a pretty view of the Fox River and the Neville Museum, which is located across the river.
There was a wait to eat so I sat at the bar and ordered one of their special cocktails, a Bloody Mary, which looked very delicious as I glanced around and saw other patrons drinking them. I was asked if I would like a beer chaser with that which I replied that I would. I was confused and disappointed for my Bloody Mary looked nothing like the other Bloody Mary's that I had seen. I checked the drink and food menu and there was nothing printed regarding different choices of Bloody Mary's. A manager happened to be walking by behind the bar and I asked him why my drink was so different. He told me there are two different types of Bloody Mary cocktails: mine which was just a regular one in a tall glass with a lemon wedge, pickle, and house vodka for $4.00 and the other type is called their Ultimate Bloody Mary for $7.00 with three shots of Absolute vodka in a tall hurricane glass with more garnishes like a pepperoni stick. Both Bloody Marys' have the same mix which I saw is just a store bought mix. I questioned him how would I know there is a difference and he said that all the bartenders are to inform each customer of the difference and ask which one they would like to order. This never happened in my case so he just apologized and just walked on about his business.
When my table was ready I was sat at a booth and given a menu. My server was soon there to take my order. Their menu is an upscale version of bar food and is very across the board, ranging from salads and pastas, to broasted chicken, to gourmet burgers, to chili and booyah. While sitting at my booth I noticed that the acoustics of Hagemeister Park echoed and were very loud. In addition the overhead lighting was very dim which made it difficult to read the menu. I decided on the Meister Burger for $9.50 that comes with a choice of crinkle fries or homemade potato chips; I chose the fries. As I waited I noticed that they were busy and they did seem to have enough staff on hand for the crowd. The Meister burger consisted of a half-pound of Angus beef char grilled with beer braised mushrooms, a duet of German cheeses, Dusseldorf dijonaise mustard, and topped by sweet and sour slaw, which I requested to be put on the side. The food arrived soon. The fries were hot, lightly browned, with a good flavor, and not greasy. The burger was definitely a half pound. The red slaw was served on the side like I requested and it was very fresh and crispy with a sweet sour taste. The burger was juicy and very flavorful on a large pretzel bun with one slice of Jarlsberg (a Norwegian cheese) and one slice of Gouda (a Dutch cheese), but there were only two small slices of mushrooms. I went to put ketchup on my burger from the squeeze bottle on the table but it was empty so I had to flag down a different server and was quickly brought out another one. Except for the lack of mushrooms my Meister burger was delicious and very satisfying. Hagemeister Park restaurant also has a separate room for private parties of 25 to 60 people.

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