Dugout 54 Is a Winner

Dugout 54. Photo by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

When the friend of a friend suggested a restaurant that I might want to review, I listened, and that’s how I discovered Dugout 54 on W. Bluemound Road.

At Dugout 54, I found a mac and cheese dish that set the bar so high for that entrée I may never order it again except when I return to this restaurant. The impossibly creamy cheese sauce included ale that added a hint of beer, and because there was so much cheese, every cavatappi noodle dripped with tasty, oozy sauce. The bacon was incidental in the dish because I added barbecue pulled pork that overshadowed the bacon. It, too, was delicious and something I would absolutely add to my mac and cheese again.

If pulled pork is your jam and you want something besides mac and cheese with your meat, order the Pig Pen sandwich: pulled pork topped with cheddar, bacon and onion rings.

The Dugout Reuben, served with Thousand Island dressing on the side, was thick with several slices of corned beef, Swiss and kraut. A smear of mustard on the marbled rye gave it the right balance of meaty, sour, creamy and spicy. The sandwich came with fries or house-made kettle chips and, at my request, included a dish of coleslaw, both creamy and tart. You can also order the corned beef on a Reuben pizza or in a Reuben roll with the meat wrapped in a wonton wrapper.

If you like your salmon in a salad, order the blackened salmon salad. The piece of salmon in my companion’s bowl weighed at least 8 ounces. It topped a salad filled with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, avocado, croutons, red onion and, of course, lettuce. When a spicy poblano dressing served on the side mingled with the vegetables and the salmon, it was memorable. This was not your average pub meal.

There were three soup choices on the menu: the soup of the day, fire-roasted chili and my companion’s gumbo, a bowl of andouille sausage, chicken, green pepper, onions and celery. She added shrimp and said the gumbo was very spicy. I agreed and suggested it should come with a warning. Instead of serving the gumbo separate from a serving of rice, the chef cooked the rice in the gumbo, which was fine, but more rice would have soaked up more of the delicious Cajun flavors.

Also on the menu, you will see many shareables: fried cauliflower; shrimp with boom boom sauce; wings with many sauces; cheese curds; beer-battered chicken tenders; and much more.

This is a bar where you can count on, in our server’s words, “elevated bar food.” Which it definitely was. Since it is a bar, you will see a long list of tap beers as well as many different brews in cans and bottles. We ordered Downeast Cider House blueberry cider and found it very blueberry-forward and a bit tart. It was the lone cider on tap.

Because Dugout 54 is a sports bar, there are many TVs and several games to entertain. It’s one of several bars on Bluemound that run shuttles to Brewers games, and we were warned that things might get rowdy on days when there is a game. A tin ceiling over the bar, a brick wall and scarred wooden tables gave the restaurant that charming old Milwaukee ambiance.

I’m a fan, and I won’t wait very long to come again for the bacon mac and cheese, and I will top it with BBQ pulled pork and indulge, because this is what comfort food is all about.

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• Location: 5328 W. Blue Mound Rd.
• Phone: 414-259-1200
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Mon-Sun
• Neighborhood: Story Hill
• Website: https://dugout54.com

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