Bass Bay Brewhouse in residential Muskego still registered as the Aud-Mar Supper Club when we searched for directions on an iPhone. The 3.25-acre Aud-Mar – which was in Bass Bay co-owner Ryan Oschmann’s family for decades – closed in 2007. Oschmann and his business partners – his mom, Laurie Oschmann, and friends Andy Meinen and Kurt Fogle (former pastry chef for SURG Restaurant Group) – banded together to bring some action back to this part of the sticks. They tapped Joe McCormick – who’d been executive chef at a couple of SURG properties – for a menu implementation quite unlike his most recent gig at Umami Moto.
A menu should fit the space, no? The supper club/comfort food axis fits quite well, though you may wonder why a chef who trained at Chicago’s French Pastry School would sire a supper club. But Fogle is no one-trick pony. (Ask him about chicken sandwiches.) Plus, he and Oschmann had been talking about opening a resto for a dozen years or so.
In October, the property was still being remodeled (a project expected to finish by late 2015/early 2016). Not fancy, the upstairs dining hall is floored in concrete and accented with wood beams. Simple table seating joins the wraparound bar. Saturday service was to be added Nov. 21 – Bass Bay is a popular spot for weddings – but they’ve been plenty busy evenings Wednesday through Friday, and Sundays for brunch. It’s easy to see why. They’ve nailed the menu. Really good bad food is an art form.
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Bass Bay Brewhouse: S79 W15851, Aud Mar Dr., Muskego, 414-377-9449 Hours: Dinner Wed-Sat; Brunch Sun. Prices: $9-$29. Service: Attentive, welcoming, casual. Reservations: Accepted. On Fridays, only for six or more.
