Hobnob in Racine - Set the Wayback Machine, Sherman

I’ve driven past Hobnob countless times on my Wisconsin journeys. This place just screams old school Wisconsin Supper Club, but their limited hours have always kept me from visiting…until now.



Last Saturday, The Chow Poodle and a group of friends joined me for my maiden visit and, I’ve got to say that Hobnob delivered on the supper club experience in spades!

Hobnob (or is it The Hobnob?) is a caught in amber relic of 50’s style Wisconsin fancy dining, down to most of the clientele. You won’t find a kitchen pumping out cutting edge cuisine, but you will find dependable old classics that are surprisingly well prepared.

We arrived a little early for our reservation with the plan in mind to sit at the bar and have some cocktails while staring at the lake through the large picture window behind the bar, but when we got there, our table was ready for us and since we were seated at a great table in the window, we did our cocktailing from there. A couple rounds of Bloody Mary’s later (served with a toothpick full of house pickled onions & mushrooms and anchovy and pimento stuffed olives), we were ready to order.



My one and only disappointment was that there is no relish tray served, but they more than make up for that small shortcoming with the sheer volume of food that comes with your dinner. Although in true LTHForum fashion we ordered starters, they were almost unnecessary (though by skipping them we would have missed out on some really good stuff). Some at the table ordered Oysters Rockefeller (sorry no picture) which were decent, but standout items included a shrimp cocktail topped with house made cocktail sauce with just enough horseradish kick, shrimp dejonghe served with a light breadcrumb version of the eponymous topping that wasn’t drowning in butter and house cured smoked salmon.

Hobnob Shrimp Cocktail


Hobnob Shrimp Dejonghe


Hobnob Smoked Salmon


All entrees include soup, salad and choice of potato. The soup de jour was Stuffed Pepper Soup (no picture). Comments from those who ordered this soup ranged from "I really like it!" to "This tastes like yesterday’s leftover hamburger." For a small upcharge, you can get a good version of French Onion Soup, which I really enjoyed.

Hobnob French Onion Soup


The soup course is followed by a decent sized tossed salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a few garbanzo beans. I’m not sure if it’s house made or not, but the 1000 Island Dressing is very good.

Hobnob Tossed Salad


Our mains were old school all the way. One in our party ordered liver & onions, of which I failed to get a good picture. A couple others ordered surf & turf which, in this case was a large Maine lobster tail and a medium sized fillet. Normally, I’m not a fan of lobster tail because the previously frozen meat often is poorly cooked and mealy, but my taste of tail was firm and excellent tasting. One person ordered Whitefish, which was served on a plank and perfectly cooked and (no surprise here) I ordered duck, as did another member of our party. The duck was a large ½ bird that was crispy and brown; served with a bread stuffing and an orange sauce that was thankfully used with restraint, so the skin remained crispy.

Hobnob Surf and Turf


Hobnob Whitefish


Hobnob Roast Duck


Although baked potatoes and hash browns are offered, everyone at our table (and nearly everyone else in the restaurant) ordered the potatoes augratin.

Hobnob Potatoes Au Gratin


By the end of dinner, we were all pretty stuffed, but not too stuffed to try the key lime pie that we had seen being delivered to nearly every table in the joint.

Hobnob Key Lime Pie


Hobnob is not going to give any of the top tier Key Lime Pie destinations a run for their money, but at least it’s made in house and not some foodservice version. Points deducted for the Persian lime garnish but otherwise perfectly fine, if you find yourself needing something sweet after the massive dinner you just consumed.

However, this is a Wisconsin supper club and what meal would be complete without a Brandy Alexander, or perhaps a Grashopper?

Hobnob Brady Alexander


Hobnob lived up to my expectations and, in fact exceeded them. This place is all about the atmosphere and the fact that the food is great is a bonus. I’ll be going back soon. Maybe next time it will be on a Friday to check out their fish fry.

Hobnob Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge
277 S. Sheridan Rd.
Racine, WI 53403
262-552-8008

Beautiful pictures of The Hobnob. I went a few years ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The decor is wonderful. We went on a cold winter night. Lots of people that were very dressed up for dinner. A piano player and singer (both of whom had to be at least 80) were singing in the room we were in. I particularly remember the mussels, which were darned good, and served in a little Le Crueset pot. Now that's class!

your photos are wonderful. It gives the impression that this is a well-lit bright restaurant which it is not at all. I love the french onion soup. It does have that old school smell when you walk in the door. For a party of six or eight the private rooms on the side are very cool.

Steve,

Did you happen to take any pictures of their wonderful retro cocktail bar?

When Trix & I feel like taking a weekend evening drive, the Hobnob comes up at least 2-3 times a year. I love this place, (food) blemishes and all.

Try to go, though, on a Saturday night when Lillian tickles the ivories tableside. She sorta gives off that same quirky vibe that Marty & Elayne do at The Dresden in L.A. (best known for their performance in "Swingers").

If you're not up for dinner, just going for a manhattan/martini/old fashioned while listening to Lillian at the bar will certainly suffice.

Reminds me a little of the now-departed Horwath's. Sniff.

Place looks fantastic, cool post, stevez.

A website!
http://thehobnob.com/

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Tournedos of Tenderloin with a béarnaise sauce

PIGMON wrote:Did you happen to take any pictures of their wonderful retro cocktail bar?

Wonderful indeed.

Hobnob

PIGMON wrote:Try to go, though, on a Saturday night when Lillian tickles the ivories tableside.

Ooooo, G Wiv...you've done it again.

Thanks.

We had a blast here in December. From the brandy Old Fashioneds to the French onion soup to the steak au poivre to the ice cream drinks (which they kindly put in to go cups for us) to the tour of the kitchen to the killer Christmas decorations, this is my kind of place.

Donna and I drove up to Hobnob with the Zaranskys and Wiviotts and had a lovely evening, but I have to say, my meal was mostly underwhelming. The stuffed pepper soup was ice cold and flavorless. One spoonful was all it took. Liver and onions were acceptable, but not impressive in any way. Not even close to that of a Luby's Cafeteria. My spinach salad had a tasty "warm bacon vinaigrette", but nothing other than baby spinach right out of a plastic bag. Not even a sliver of onion or a slice of mushroom. Oysters Rockefeller were horrible, I was hoping for something close to Sabatino's but that wasn't meant to be. I thought the duck was ok. Key lime pie, pretty weak.

Company and drinks were great, but other than that, the highlight of my meal was the complimentary Townhouse crackers with plenty of salted Wisconsin butter! Delicious! Bad ordering on my part, I believe.

Evil Ronnie,

I agree with your review of the Hobnob. We tried their fish fry last summer and it was unacceptable and expensive. However, the Townhouse crackers and the Wisconsin salted butter are to die for! Better to drive south back into Kenosha for a burger at Captain Mike's or head north to Racine for a nice dinner at Mangia's.

chicagostyledog wrote:Evil Ronnie,

I agree with your review of the Hobnob. We tried their fish fry last summer and it was unacceptable and expensive. However, the Townhouse crackers and the Wisconsin salted butter are to die for! Better to drive south back into Kenosha for a burger at Captain Mike's or head north to Racine for a nice dinner at Mangia's.

Mangia's is in Kenosha.
http://www.kenoshamangia.com/
I certainly agree with your assessment of Mangia's.
We have been eating at Mangia's since it opened.
Tony Mantuano is a Kenosha native and his sister now manages the restaurant.
Mangia's started with duck sausage pizza and the like, never previously seen in Kenosha which has an Italian cultural heritage.
Mangia's is now a seasoned location far away from the bustle of Chicago.
I always get the Tre Formaggi Penne. You can always order, even if not on the menu.
Parking is free!-Dick