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Le Tigre Lounge - Madison - Wisconsin-esque taverns
This entry was posted on 3/11/2010 2:35 AM and is filed under Taverns Wisconsin.
Can't let this review get past me before I die. For a couple of years in the early 1990s, I used to live down the street from Le Tigre Lounge up in Madison, Wisconsin. Back when I was doing what guys do - tinker with old trucks, boats, and motorcycles, I would swing buy Dorn's Hardware at the north-side corner of the Beltline and Midvale hunting some unique screw or bolt and always wonder about said bar next door. And, oddly enough this is back in the days when I could not crank up a lawn mower without drinking three Leinenkugel beers before one blade of grass was murdered. But, I did not go in bars for a few years, trying to avoid the cost. One day the curiosity finally broke me down and I went in Le Tigre after I bought some truck knob or boat hook or some such nonsense in the hardware store. Keep in mind this whole presentation is in an old 1960ish strip mall.
I remember telling Heide about the eclectic tiger place and her response was, "Whatever, finish mowing the lawn." Seventeen years later now or so as I peruse around the Web looking for taverns-bars-eateries and fish fry ad nauseam I happened across a mention of Le Tigre.
I was pulled back to the old neighborhood like a Salmon swimming up stream. The joint had not changed a bit. Inside, the place is narrow and there is a lot of stuff crammed into the small venue. There are statues of tigers, stuffed-animal tigers, pictures of tigers, and figurines of tigers. Pictures of Elvis are spattered amongst the tigers. The old juke box brags 200 songs - of course it overflows with Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Elvis.
The bar has an ample arm pad and a polished ceramic bar-top. There is a step to put you tired feet on. There is a nifty seven-chair horseshoe table with dated lounge chairs on the way to the back door. The cooler is the old chest-type with sliding doors. The carpet is tiger design - hokey of course. And part of the wall has a similar covering. Part of the wall is brick, probably fake, and a fake fire place. Next up is a wheeled popcorn machine...with...popcorn. The place is dark and the colors of course give off an African and tiger timbre.
There is no tap beer, but there is no room to keep the kegs I suspect. There are 1960ish vertical blinds on the storefront windows. There are a few silver-framed kitchen tables and chairs tucked against the wall.
The day I was there the bar-keep had two cute, well-behaved doggies behind the bar. Mini-Greyhounds/Whippets? The bartender meticulously prepared chow for said puppies. That just rather capped off the whole event of going in the place.
I have heard a rumor that swearing is forbidden in the place. No signage that I could see - must be word-of-mouth. No pun intended.
The Le Tigre Lounge is brutally unapologetic for its demeanor; and, it is still cool with Cool Dadio. Find it at 1328 South Midvale Boulevard, Madison, Wisconsin; north of the Beltline. Call (608) 274 - 0994 for more information.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist John O. Tollefson, 22, was killed by a bomb while on patrol in Ashraf, Iraq, on July 27, 2005. He was from the Fox Valley city of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. John was a 2001 graduate of Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac. Specialist Tollefson was with the 411th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas. At the time of his death, John was survived by his parents Walter Tollefson of Fond du Lac and Mary Steinman of Rosendale, and two sisters, Katie and Jessica. Specialist John Tollefson was the 42nd Wisconsin service member killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
95,593 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,411 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,386 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1009 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
317 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
656 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,716 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
5,190 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
101 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
140 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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