Green Bay Restaurants, Bars, Bands, Reviews, & Entertainment Information

By Patricia Summerfield
January 1, 2009
I recently dined at Quincy's Downtown, a newer fine dining restaurant located in Green Bay's downtown area on the second floor in the old bellin building. You have the choice of taking the elevator or walking up the beautiful marble staircase. My daughter, husband, and I chose the former since I was sporting a knee injury. The elevator had a vacuum cleaner in it with old red carpeting that was very dirty. As you leave the elevator or come off the stairway there is a large landing with the restrooms on one side and the bar and restaurant to the other side. The flooring was laid with black shiny tile which had white work boot footprints tracked all over with a sticky substance. You could not help but have to walk over it. It still had not been cleaned up when we had left.

The interior décor of the restaurant and bar is done in a sophisticated style with green and brown earth tone colors and frosted copper light fixtures. The bar is small but done beautifully with dark woods. Leading into the lounge area is a large black baby grand piano with leather sofas, comfy chairs, and small cocktail tables. The restaurant is L shaped and has many long large picture windows overlooking downtown Green Bay. I did not see any cloak room, instead there is one small coat tree.

The pianist was playing that evening and was wonderful to hear, but it seemed on the loud side - the acoustics are not the best. In fact, he was told to quit very early due to some customer's complaint that it was too loud, which was too bad. I also felt that the lighting was very poor it was very difficult to read the menu or clearly see the food. They only had recessed lighting in the interior of the rooms by the walls but not by the window sides. We ordered two appetizers to start with, the Tuna for $10.00 and the spicy sausage portabella mushrooms for $9.00. The tuna is grade Ahi tuna seared rare atop a fresh toasted sesame salad drizzled with soy ginger reduction and dotted with wasabi crème fraiche. The tuna was a good grade and the soy ginger was very tasty. The sausage mushrooms were oven baked with roasted garlic, fresh basil, and red wine; they had a great flavor, but the sausage was very salty. For the entrées my daughter ordered Maple Leaf Duck for $22.00, I ordered the Saffron Scallops and Shrimp for $25.00, and my husband ordered the Downtown Wellington for $36.00. All entrées come with a choice of a seasonal soup or a house salad and the choice of a signature side item; we chose the steakhouse salads and tomato bique soup. The soup was very tasty; it was creamy with a distinct tomato flavor. The salads were very fresh in bite size pieces. We were served a loaf of sliced warm sourdough bread. The bread was delicious but the butter was unattractively presented - it was a stick of butter smashed into a cup. The duck was pan seared with ginger champagne reduction and served with dark cherry chutney. The portions of the duck were small, just six tiny sliced pieces. The duck itself was on the bland side, but the cherry chutney was sweet. The selected side was wilted spinach with pine nuts and apple wood bacon; the bacon flavor was nice but the spinach was watery. The scallops and shrimp entrée are jumbo diver scallops and grilled jumbo shrimp served with delicate seafood saffron sauce and topped with citrus caper gremolata. The four shrimp and the four scallops were anything but jumbo, the sauce had a likeable flavor but was not in abundance. For the side I had the Prosciutto wrapped asparagus; it was dry and a little tough. My husband's downtown Wellington was a hand cut 8oz filet served medium rare and wrapped with a wild mushroom duxell, Dijon mustard, proscitto, and fluffy puff pastry then smothered with rich Madeira wine sauce and roasted shallots. This entrée was the best as it was extremely tender and a very nice portion. For his side he also had the asparagus and it was of the same quality as mine.

Throughout the whole evening from being seated to the end of our dinner the service was amicable but very lax and very slow. We had to wait a very long time from being seated to being waited on and waiting between each course. It was not a very busy night; the staff was friendly, but poorly trained. Water was accidentally poured down my daughter's back because it was poured over her instead of the server holding the glass further away.

The restrooms were decorated nicely but the lighting was flourescent and the waste baskets were overflowing. There were empty wire hangers in one of the stalls, which, again, was lax on the upkeep. Quincy's has many good qualities, but a few details could be ironed out.
Check Out Quincy's Steakhouse Profile on GBNightLife.com

By TJ
Posted December 31, 2008
Live Performance: December 27, 2008
For the past six years there has been some musical moonshine brewing in the basements of Green Bay. The Bar Tab Band is a soulful sound that is a blend of alternative country, blue grass, and roots rock & roll. What is alternative country? Alternative country is one of the newest style of genres; it has country roots with the distorted guitars and the creative freedom of alternative music, but it is not that new at all. If Bob Dylan's earlier music was released today it would be spot on Alt Country. At first I was a bit taken back at the pace that BTB took in their first set, but it became apparent by the second set what this band was up to. BTB started off with a few straight forward rock tunes. Troy Heinz's lead vocals were honest, direct and a nice baritone sound that shared lead parts with Dave Wanie's vocals, handling the higher side of the wave, especially on the two part harmonies. It was on the third song of the first set that made this band stand out, BTB played a slow song, and it was great, but it was an interesting change of pace. Troy went into over time handling the harmonica, vocals, and acoustic guitar on a very laid back Bob Dylan cover "Moon shiner," very impressive. While BTB was taking a very non-imposing approach to warm up to the crowd, it might have been that very approach that was getting the crowd at Jimmy Sea's interested and involved. The next song, "Truck Driving Man," was very up beat and gave everyone in the band a chance to take a solo. There is alot of talent in this band, and they certainly do create a great jam aspect into the songs. Between Dave's fire attempts on the G&L Guitar fret board, and Tom Clay's clean old school tavern style piano keys, these guys can cut leads. There was alot of visual communication between Jerry Sparkman on bass and Chris S. on drums. They were all playing great, so I really couldn't tell if they were just playing around or if someone was being led through the songs. It turned out to be the latter. Chris, was actually (drummer for Bon Zai McPherson) sitting in on drums for Scott Brown as a favor for his great friends The Bar Tab Band. Between the first and second set I had a chance to talk with Troy. We chatted about clubs, bands and music styles and then it hit me. There is an actual roots rock scene developing from Appleton to Green Bay and these musicians are networking and building to support it. It hasn't been until recently that area bars and night clubs have been more apt to opening the doors to these great local bands. "You see it has taken us six years of playing many clubs, some good and some bad, and now the bigger clubs are realizing we can bring in more people than the popular bands from Milwaukee and Minneapolis," said Troy. The Bar Tab band hit the second set with a roots songs with a great reggae feel, and then they turned the fire on. Chris got deep into the shuffle, Jerry's baselines got a running and the patrons started spinning and throwing each other around in some serious dancing. The Bar Tab Band had every one's full attention and Jimmy Sea's had everyone full of spirits! The BTB is a great show, lot's of talent, emotion, and just plain good old rock and roll. They were never too country, too rock, or too jam band. Just a great time all around. They write some great originals and hand select a few covers that are just familiar enough but not cliché. The Bar Tab Band is playing on New Years Eve with Bon Zai McPherson @ IQ's in Green Bay.

Click Here for More Photos & Music of the Bar Tab Band at Jimmy Sea's

See The Bar Tab Band's Profile on GBNightLife.com

By Patricia Summerfield
December 24, 2008
Dining at the Wellington restaurant reminds me of being entertained in a hospitable, elegant home. The interior décor exudes warmth and richness. There are beautiful bookcases and woodwork which line the walls. The candles and small table lamps give off a cozy glow.

My husband and I went into the lounge area for a glass of wine before dinner. Since it was close to Christmas there were soothing classic Christmas songs playing and the room was handsomely and tastefully decorated for the season. Our waitress came and introduced herself and asked if we would like to be seated right away or if we would rather wait for a while and look over the menu at the bar. We were not in any hurry so we chose to relax for a while. After a reasonable amount of time she came and escorted us to our table in the dining room and told us the specials of the evening....

Read the Rest of the Wellington Restaurant and Steakhouse Review

By Sarah
Posted: December 23, 2008
Live Performance: December 13, 2008
What a great pairing of talents. The trio: Barb Bazaldua vocals/guitar, Riki Schulz vocals/guitar, and Seth Jorgensen saxophonist talent extraordinaire. Montague's Wine Bar Café was a perfect setting for this laid back trio. The sound was great and the atmosphere leant itself to an intimate evening of music. Not to mention they serve Barb's favorite elixir, red wine.

Barb Bazaldua is probably the most unassuming, modest musician you will meet. She admits she still gets butterflies before a show and even questions herself right up until the moment she starts to play. Once she begins singing and strumming her guitar you can almost see the nervousness melt away. She not only has an amazing voice, but she has the ability to transfer her very heart into her music...

Read the rest of Barb Bazaldua / Riki Schulz / Seth Jorgenson Review

By Patricia Summerfield
December 18, 2008
Gali's is an Oneida member and Puerto Rican family owned restaurant. They carry authentic Puerto Rican food, prepared by Chef Jorge, who had been a cook in Puerto Rico for 35 years. They also carry a few American foods such as hamburgers, cheese sandwiches, french fries, and onion rings.

The interior is clean and very open with a very long counter, which serves as the focal point of the room. As for the décor the only thing that indicates it is a Puerto Rican restaurant are the three scenic pictures taken from said country and placed on their menu.

Read the Rest of Gali's Puerto Rican Restaurant Review

By Sarah
Posted: December 19, 2008
Live Performance: December 4, 2008
Delta blues style music, according to Dale Anderson, represents the real music. Dale has been steeped in this southern bare bones blues music for 30 plus years. Educating audiences on its origins, dating back to the early 1930's, and the great artists who pioneered its style laying down the groundwork for rock 'n' roll. What grabs you when you hear The Delta Jets is the raw soulful sounds of instrument and vocals, the two are seemingly interchangeable. True to this very influential style, band members Dale Anderson slide guitar/vocals, Jody Vanesky harmonica/vocals, and David Will on drums, capture the bayou sound which at times is sexy, smoky, and slow and other times a current of energy that moves and shakes your core. Playing songs from legendary musicians the likes of Willie Brown, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson. The Delta Jets hold nothing back infusing all the right instruments acoustic guitar, ukulele, harmonica, bass, drums, and my favorite the slide or resonator guitar that has such a distinctive sound. Dale Anderson has written many amazing authentic blues originals that you can hear on The Delta Jets "Chairfactory Blues" CD. The title referencing the fact that Paramount Records, from 1929 to 1932, was located in the Wisconsin Chair Factory in Grafton, Wisconsin. Some of the blues recorded by Paramount include blues greats Skip James, Charley Patton, Son House, Louise Johnson, and Ida Cox to name a few. Expect more upcoming originals from the collaboration of Dale Anderson and Jody "Joe" Vanesky as they are just beginning to tap into their groove.

Check Out The Delta Jets Profile at GBNightLife.com

By Sarah
Posted: December 17, 2008
Live Performance: December 6, 2008
To quote Darren "Dazza" Adkins, Mulligans' lead vocals/guitar player, "Mulligans assemble for fun and aim to be the best band you'll stumble upon, that you never heard of!" I couldn't say it better and that's exactly how I felt after listening to Mulligans jam, hard-rock style, at Mug Shots in De Pere. They were set-up in the front window, of this laid-back pub-style bar, with simple lights, amps and instruments. This particular night there were three of the four members: Jeremy "J-Mart" Martens lead guitar/vocals, Bill Ward drums, and the previously mentioned Darren "Dazza" Adkins lead vocals/bass guitar. Missing was Dave Fagan bass guitar /vocals. There was an edge to the bands music that jumped out at me right away and it wasn't just Darren's disarming British accent.

Read the Rest of Mulligans Review