The time of year around Thanksgiving always has me thinking of my past college life, cloistered in dark college bars with old friends, truant whiskey in hand, engaged in deep discourse over the anatomy of life, or philosophical standards, or the lament of poetry (more on that in a future article. Get ready!).
I suppose this subset of bar, the collegiate bar, is developed in part by a necessity of college students and faculty in need of a meeting place for conversation outside the academic halls, and in part because those same students need a drink like…well, like college students during finals week. They’re usually decorated with dark wooded panels and a quiet, heavy atmosphere. And it’s almost contingent upon the proximity to the university. These places were built for the student pouring over books while drinking, or hammering out that mid-term while polishing off a fifth serving of “brain juice” (it’s Tequila, if you were wondering).
This is what The Black Rose (2856 N. Oakland Ave) is. Surprisingly, it’s one of only a few bars surrounding UW-Milwaukee, which is a damn shame because these types of collegiate bars are some of the best bars around (read: One of my favorite bar types). It’s roughly two blocks from campus. Basically, if you go to school at UW-Milwaukee and you’re not drinking at The Black Rose, there is something wrong with you. Same goes for any faculty member on campus and also anyone living in the general area of this bar.
And, on a different note, I’ve always held the belief that these bars close to campus bring the community of a school together, focusing on the commonality of drink. To see this, look at some schools that have bars either in or around the campus, and the community they create thereof (a great example of this is UW-Madison).
The Black Rose has a few outstanding things going for it. First, the atmosphere: it feels like an ever-standing invitation for you to sit in one of their high-walled booths and contemplate. The lighting, the dark green wallpaper, the pictures on the wall, the light fixtures and chandeliers – all of these things contribute to an overall feeling and, however intangible it is to put down on paper, it is one of their strongest attributes and will be immediately felt.
Also, it’s got WiFi. For free. I don’t even think you need to buy a drink to use it (but honestly, why wouldn’t you? Those drunken Facebook messages won’t send themselves).
Lastly, it’s connected to SoLo Pizza. Now normally, I would have a huge gripe with this, generally because most establishments botch the whole transaction up with errors on orders. And there is the whole confusion on where it’s socially acceptable to say things like, “All of Michael Bay’s films are complete horseshit!” at the top of your lungs without getting dirty looks from parents (they probably all love Michael Bay films). Not the case with The Black Rose. They served SoLo menus in tandem with their drink menus and the bar is sectioned off a good distance from the actual restaurant, especially if you sit in the back. The prices are really good, considering that it’s one of the best pizza places in Milwaukee. And I take my pizza very, very seriously. Very seriously.
But, The Black Rose isn’t without its shortcomings. For example, their whiskey list, and in particular their Scotch list, is far too short. And the beer on tap is minimal (although they do have Strongbow on tap…and ladies love Strongbow…).
More than anything else, it feels like the college bars I used to call home. Those long nights spent dissecting ideas, crafting a philosophy of something that felt so much greater than yourself, at a time before bills and real work and the unfortunate aspect of living long enough to realize (and then confirm) that most all you thought is bullshit.
I know this type of bar isn’t for everyone. I know a lot of people would prefer loud bars with drunk and carousing patrons. Also, I’m not positive if The Black Rose sheds its cloak of scholastic intent in the later hours, donning some Bro-bar, sleeveless tee (God I hope not).
What I do know is that while I was there with a few college students, it held against, and in spite of, all my melancholic memories of the collegiate bars gone by, ones where I learned both about the world and myself through conversation with friends. It is exactly what a bar should be doing, and it is doing it exactly right.
If I had the chance, I’d write a goddamn dissertation on The Black Rose and why everyone should be drinking there. But, fortunately for me, I’m out of school, so I can just go and send drunken Facebook messages instead.
