As I have written previously, this is a tavern that transcends the new era of the sports/entertainment what-can-you-do-for-me-as-a-patron style of taverns, and the old wood interior Wisconsin tavern presentation. While Karaoke is belted out on Wednesday night, the old stuffed taxidermed moose on the back wall dangles his perennial cigarette from his big snout. There are a few flat screen televisions behind the old bar usually tuned to sports.
As mentioned in my "Breakfast" Category, the Looking Glass puts on a dandy breakfast during the Saturday Janesville Farmer's Market and all year actually. The Farmers' Market is from May to October. The Looking Glass has the breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. every Saturday morning. For a blue-collar sum, you can get scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and French Toast. But what gets my attention is they also offer Corn Beef Hash.
Normally, The Looking Glass is a late night haunt in the tavern district of downtown Janesville. But, the Saturday breakfast is a departure from the bar scene.
The cooks are around a good portion of the open hours. You will find a variety of drink special offerings posted on the wall. At times on Sundays, you can find certain beers for one Buck - "Crappy Beer Night."
The crowd is eclectic and breaches several generations. You will not find a jukebox - the music is a la carte via computer. The big window lets you keep an eye on Main Street.
The bar, floor, and furnishings are mostly old wood and distressed - as they should be for it is an old Wisconsin tavern. It is a typical long and narrow brick building with a high ceiling - the classic Nineteenth Century American downtown architecture. There is a newer patio out side. And like so many old storefronts, there is a large picture window to admire Main Street through.
The staff is easy going and sociable.
They usually have a salad and soup offering during the noon-ish hours Monday through Friday.
From time to time, I find myself in The Looking Glass in the late afternoon for a burger, beer-battered fries, and a pitcher of Miller Lite beer. The burger is cooked just right for my taste, not too red, not too well-done. I opted for a slab of Parmesan cheese on the affair. I order the beer-battered fries to finish off the burger basket. A few pickle slices accompanied the presentation. To top the whole chow extravaganza off, I ordered a happy-hour pitcher of Miller Lite. On Mondays, they offer a two for one burger option.
The burger, fries, pitcher, and tip, and my general debauchery, will never set me back to much.
The first fish fry review I did for Looking Glass and to accommodate my sporadic work schedule, I ducked in The Looking Glass about one o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday for a fish dinner. I ordered the two-piece Cod basket with onion rings. The rings tasted like they were beer-battered as well. Two large chunks of fish come with the affair. The Cod was lightly breaded and very tender on the inside. The tarter sauce was tasty and the cole slaw was good and fresh. A lemon was tucked on the side. The whole presentation came in a good-sized wicker-esque basket.
This most recent fish fry expedition found me popping into the Looking Glass a few weeks ago this time on a rainy early August evening. I was about to participate in the Janesville Story Tellers' Club which was starting at 8:00 p.m. on said Friday night at the coffee shop next door. Dadio told some dandy whoppers, all recorded live on Janesville Community Radio.
Dadio participates in Story-telling night hosted by Open Mick, Friday, 1 August 2014
Two crispy logs of deep fried Cod on a hot bed of lettuce was the main entree. The cup of cole slaw was beyond tavern. The tarter sauce was smooth. Hot French fries covered the dinner. Dark toasted and buttered marble bread topped off the presentation.
Similar to the burger basket, my fish basket, pitcher of beer, and tip did not set me back too much at all.
{ 6 July 2010 fish fry review } WordPress backup
The Looking Glass is cool with Cool Dadio. It is certainly worth having a beer and some eats there. Try it once before you die. Find them at 18 North Main Street, in downtown Janesville. Call (608) 755-9828 for more information.
Note: You can find a chronological list at the Cool Dadio Media Fish Fry Page of these fish frys as we have visited them. The list presents the most recently visited fish fry at the top, in lieu of alphabetical order.
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