By Leslie Phillips
The morning after my night at TJ Aliotas, I not only awoke with a wicked headache and the desire to begin a week long liver detox, but also with fond new memories. As a loyal Milwaukee Eastsider, I was curious about this seemingly out of place bar/restaurant located at 261 E. Hampton Road in Whitefish Bay. It is located next door to a pizza joint, which is next door to a Dairy Queen. Could this be a mini-stripmall dream come true? I decided that I must find out so I convinced a friend to join me and we strapped on our drinking goggles and beer caps and headed out.
There is not much available as far as parking spots go in the tiny lot, however, there is plenty of parking on nearby residential side streets which we opted for instead. My first impression upon walking into TJ’s was something similar to being wrapped up in a time warp burrito with lots of hot sauce. The dining section of the small bar/restaurant consisted of just a handful of oversized, dark colored, leather booths with several twenties-ish edgy, tattooed, I Love Lucy-esque style waitresses serving up sandwiches in sizes currently only allowed in America. The dining summer special is a half-pound burger and fries for just $4. I am not sure you can find a better deal around.
My friend and I shimmied up to the oblong bar and were greeted immediately with a sincere smile from bartender, Kim. She mixed a strong drink along with a fun personality, making us feel immediately at home. Being a fan of local lounge/dive bars, I felt I had been in Olympic Dive Bar Training all these years and had finally won the gold medal. Keep in mind if you are still in your early twenties, and female, and looking to find attractive men close to your own age, then TJ’s is NOT the right place for you. If, however, you are a person with an affinity towards the pure joy of finding a good Pabst Blue Ribbon style dimly lit lounge, loaded with friendly local people, decent food, a wildly varied jukebox, AND where you can still get a decent pour on a top shelf drink at a reasonable price, then you absolutely must get to TJ’s.
My friend almost slipped into a pleasure coma while ravaging her deliciously juicy French Dip sandwich. I silently stole her fries as she talked to a guy seated next to her that looked oddly like Dizzy Gallespie, with his two friends Steve Buscemi and Steve Martin. The tab at the end of the night should have been much higher considering the sweat we had shed in our drinking and eating marathon.
All in all, I can attest that the American style fare served at TJ’s is delicious and reasonably priced along with providing good soakage for the high potency cocktails to come. The bartender was speedy and friendly, and we were treated with immediate kindness by the inordinate amount of regular characters seated at the bar. One small caveat I must include is to NOT agree to get schooled by your bartender (and friend) on how to play bar dice. Unless you have been in a celebrity look alike Poker Tournament in Vegas, and won, this could surely be your biggest downfall. Overall, it was a fantastic night at TJ Aliotas and one we have agreed to repeat after our raw food liver-cleanse is complete.
About the Author
Leslie Phillips still believes in magic and is a freelance writer living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She worked as a humor columnist for her college newspaper and once gave up an extremely boring job as a technical writer. She daydreams about whimsical ideas related to serendipity and the law of attraction. When she is not working towards publishing her first novel, she is a hardworking and intuitive massage therapist with a focus on assisting others to heal themselves. She is an open minded, food and drink loving, socially responsible human with a great love for her dog, Piper.
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