Café Brucke
2102 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee
This Euro-style café boasts that it is one of the first smoke-free
bars on the East Side. Salient point: Why mangle one’s taste buds
with hot ash and soggy tobacco flakes when indulging in a Salami Melt,
a bottle of Spaten Optimator lager and Banana Caramel Crepes?
City Lounge
3455 E. Layton Ave., Cudahy
Joe Halser IV’s City Lounge is not anti-smoking; it offers a
year-round patio for those who wish to indulge. Yes, there are heat
lamps outside. But inside, guests can breathe freely. Free WiFi is a
bonus, along with the lounge’s three-hour happy hour, running from 3
to 6 p.m. Featured beverages include brews from Cudahy’s own III
Dachshunds Beer Co.
Cuvée
177 N. Broadway, 3rd floor, Milwaukee (above Artasia)
Cuvee (Coo-vay) is among the classiest of the A-List Third Ward
lounges, with its 100-plus champagnes, sparkling wines and artisan
cheese plates. Cuvee presents snuggily comfortable settees, an
expansively curved bar and a clientele which enjoys conversing sans
ashtrays. This is the place for lovers of bubbly, and each other.
Palm Tavern
2989 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee
Offering one of the best multipage beer lists in Bay View, the cozy
Palm Tavern is sometimes hard to find for first-timers. The bar is a
few blocks south of Oklahoma Avenue on the west side of the street,
not far from the Outpost Exchange. Yet once ensconced, patrons quickly
become fierce devotees. The Palm offers 25 drafts and more than 100
labels of American craft and European brews.
Sugar Maple
441 E. Lincoln Ave., Milwaukee
No television, no video games, no jukebox, no smoking. But hey, you
can’t have everything — just good Bay View bar buddies,
friendly/knowledgeable bar staff and awesome beers. Sugar Maple has 60
draft lines, many of which are Wisconsin and other Midwestern
offerings. Among the most popular are the New Glarus Raspberry Tart
beer, Sprecher Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale and Goose Island Bourbon
County stout.
Two
718 E. Burleigh St., Milwaukee
Adjacent to the always-jumping, half-smokeless Art Bar at 722 E.
Burleigh St., Two provides a puff-free Riverwest hideaway where chat
rules and kissing is de rigeuer. This self-described make-out bar has
draped booths and dangerous drinks such as Love Potion No. 9, best
shared with someone you know. Two proves you don’t need to smoke to
create heat. Don Krause, owner of both pubs, will be soon be linking
both his places with a semi-enclosed shared space for smokers.
The
tradition of allowing Wisconsin’s bar patrons to puff up has gone up
in smoke. On May 19 of last year, Gov. Jim Doyle signed SB181, putting
into effect a statewide smoking ban, which will begin July 5. Luckily,
for those who are counting the hours and minutes until the summertime
ban, several Milwaukee area bars are already offering a smoke-free
facility for their patrons. Here are a few:
