McCall St. Brewer
Well-Known Member
The Midget was a bar, not a person 
Anyway, to me it was the best bar in the world. For several years of my life during and just after college for me it was my "Cheers."
It was opened by two Irish brothers when Prohibition ended, and one of them, Frank still owned it when I got there. It was called the Midget (sometimes Bar and sometimes Tap, depending on whether you looked at their sign or their business cards) not because it was short, but because it was the skinniest bar in Milwaukee. It was probably only about 15 feet wide.
The crowd there (if you could call it that in a place that small) was one of the most interesting and diverse groups of people I have ever met. Older, blue collar regulars, college students, alumni. A fraternity hung out there, both current members and their alums, and they drank enormous quantities of their frat drink the "Spaniel With a Short Tail" (which as far as I know was just a gin and tonic with a twist of lemon). You could go there almost every night and find an interesting conversation to go with your beer.
One time a group of regulars came back from down at the boat shoe all excited about organizing a Midget group outing for a boat ride on the Mississippi. When Mike, the assistant bartender asked them how everyone would get from the Midget to the boat they said they assumed we would all just catch a cab down to the... Lake? oops. Wait a minute, we're nowhere near the Mississippi. Never mind.
St. Patrick's Day was like Christmas, 4th of July, New Years and everyone's birthday all rolled into one-- times ten.
The funny thing about the Midget, though, was that as I recall the beer wasn't really very good. It was cheap--30 cents for a tapper, and for regulars every 4th one was on the house-- but the only beer on tap was Schlitz, and that was right about the time they were headed down the drain after the brewery messed with the recipe.
The Midget is gone now-- it burned down about 10 or15 years ago-- but I still remember it like it was yesterday. And it still to me is the best bar ever.
Anyway, to me it was the best bar in the world. For several years of my life during and just after college for me it was my "Cheers."It was opened by two Irish brothers when Prohibition ended, and one of them, Frank still owned it when I got there. It was called the Midget (sometimes Bar and sometimes Tap, depending on whether you looked at their sign or their business cards) not because it was short, but because it was the skinniest bar in Milwaukee. It was probably only about 15 feet wide.
The crowd there (if you could call it that in a place that small) was one of the most interesting and diverse groups of people I have ever met. Older, blue collar regulars, college students, alumni. A fraternity hung out there, both current members and their alums, and they drank enormous quantities of their frat drink the "Spaniel With a Short Tail" (which as far as I know was just a gin and tonic with a twist of lemon). You could go there almost every night and find an interesting conversation to go with your beer.
One time a group of regulars came back from down at the boat shoe all excited about organizing a Midget group outing for a boat ride on the Mississippi. When Mike, the assistant bartender asked them how everyone would get from the Midget to the boat they said they assumed we would all just catch a cab down to the... Lake? oops. Wait a minute, we're nowhere near the Mississippi. Never mind.
St. Patrick's Day was like Christmas, 4th of July, New Years and everyone's birthday all rolled into one-- times ten.
The funny thing about the Midget, though, was that as I recall the beer wasn't really very good. It was cheap--30 cents for a tapper, and for regulars every 4th one was on the house-- but the only beer on tap was Schlitz, and that was right about the time they were headed down the drain after the brewery messed with the recipe.
The Midget is gone now-- it burned down about 10 or15 years ago-- but I still remember it like it was yesterday. And it still to me is the best bar ever.
