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708 Club - Janesville - Friday Night Fish Fry
This entry was posted on 1/27/2012 1:30 AM and is filed under Friday Night Fish Fry.
During my humble foray into getting a college degree as an old guy, just one of the many things I noticed was that college professors don't seem to like cliches. Rather, they seem to defer to 15 minute explanations that use 50 Dollar words to describe otherwise humble observations. I love cliches, and when a guy get's older nowadays, you ain't got time to waste 15 more minutes.
"If these walls could talk," is the good old cliche I think of every time I pop into the 708 Club down on Jackson Street in Janesville. I bet if you were one of those scratch golfer types, and you used a one-wood and tee up from the front of the 708 Club, you could probably get your ball up to the gates of the old General Motors Plant just down the way across the river.
The 708 is nestled in the old residential neighborhood that butts up against downtown and the bend in the Rock River on Janesville's near south side. The small adjacent parking lot is so small, people double park knowing they can just ask a fellow customer to move when needed.
Architecturally, I think there is a hint of utilitarian Art Deco in the place's mix somewhere. The old building is a single story smooth cement structure that has been painted white and has a subtle rounded roof. On either side is the old false front style construction. You will find three big windows made of the glass-block style. But enough about building construction, a subject I know little about.
I know a little more about interior designs of taverns because well, I have been to..., a couple. Inside you will find a cozy low ceiling affair. The bar is L-shaped with room for a dozen stools. The floor sports red and white checkered tile. There'll be three or four raised bar tables of different sizes. So now before breaching into some type of professorial speel, I think a good way to sum it up might be, this joint here is the consummate neighborhood bar/tavern.
The night in question, patrons could not remember a time this old place was not some kind of tavern. One of these days I will have to do the necessary journalistic work on the origin of "Club" in the name - or I could just ask - but it's time we talk fish. They start serving it up at 5:00 p.m.
Heide had eaten a light lunch so she ordered the three-piece dinner. I took up the rear with the two-piece. The Cod came in tender long bricks. They whip up a special house batter for the deep fry. Our basket presentation came with ample French fries and cole slaw. The cup of tarter sauce was of the creamy style. With each meal deal came two thick and toasted slices of fresh marble bread. Heide topped off her meal with real Coca-cola from the bar gun. I of course, got a Miller Lite on tap.
They put together a dandy cheeseburger basket as well. On Mondays they offer up a two-for-the-price-of-one burger special. On Sundays during the noon time, they serve up fish bites and some discounted prices on tap beers.
The 708 Club is cool with Cool Dadio. Find them at the corner of Rockport Road and Jackson Street on Janesville's near south side. The address is of course, 708 South Jackson Street. Call (608) 754-1291 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 Sergeant James W. McDonald, 26, Neenah, Wisconsin, died on Monday, November 12, 2007, at Fort Hood, Texas, while recovering from a severe head wound sustained in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq in May of 2007. He was assigned to the Rear Detachment, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Hood, Texas.
The Web site iraq.pigsty.net using information from the Washington Post and Associated Press notes that after the bomb blast, Sergeant McDonald was treated in Germany and had later underwent extensive facial surgery in August, 2007, after returning to Fort Hood. He was found in his barracks deceased. At the time an autopsy could not determine the exact cause of death. Before he died, Sergeant McDonald had worked on the base at a weapons room and the post office. He had plans to leave the Army in January of 2008 and pursue a career in firefighting. The Web site posting went on to say McDonald was remembered as a strapping 6-foot-3, 200-pound man and soldier. He had served two tours of duty in Iraq and was also remembered for his love of the military.
The publication Isthmus, out of Madison, Wisconsin, says Sergeant McDonald was knocked unconscious in the roadside blast. The Isthmus noted that according to the Government Accountability Office, 30% of U.S. troops evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered brain injuries. Sergeant McDonald's symptoms included headaches, short-term memory loss and massive nosebleeds. The nosebleeds had become particularly frequent and profuse in the weeks before his death.
The Web site findagrave.com notes James McDonald was born on July 14, 1981. He graduated from Neenah High School in 2000. He participated in football, choir, drama club, Youth Go, and the Wisconsin National Guard Cadet program. He entered the United States Army in 2002. Some of Sergeant McDonald's awards and medals include: the Purple Heart; Army Commendation Medal; Good Conduct Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; and, Army Service Ribbon.
At the time of his death Sergeant James W. McDonald was survived by his parents Doug and Joan McDonald; two sisters Jennifer and Kimberly; two nieces Justyce and Jade; paternal grandparents Wayne and Elaine McDonald; aunts and uncles Duane and Carrie McDonald, Dorothy and Greg Scovronski, Donna and Tom Mills, Mike and Sue Keyzers, Janet and Dennis Ponschock, Raymond Keyzers, Joe and Sharon Keyzers, Jim and Lynn Keyzers, Jean and Paul Biesterveld, Dan and Karen Keyzers, Jane and Tim Cason-Gossett; and, numerous cousins, friends and other family members. Sergeant McDonald was laid to rest ot Greenlawn Memorial Park in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Sergeant James W. McDonald is the 107th military service person that has been identified by Cool Dadio Media as having Wisconsin connections and that either died in Iraq, or died due to injuries sustained there since the Spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
104,967 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003 (actually documented).
10,125 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,487 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1886 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
990 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011.
32,226 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
592 Wisconsin military service persons have been wounded in Iraq since Spring 2003.
15,262 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
192 Wisconsin military service persons have been wounded in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
37 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
3 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in the U.S. related to "The War on Terror" since September, 2001.
151 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since September, 2001.
5 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
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; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
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