Nightlife in Milwaukee

Red Dot's selection of upscale pub grub provides libation-sippers with solid brain food in between intense study sessions of the bar's beer menu. Red Dot's signature plate of poutine ($5 for regular size) pays homage to the Canadian staple with local flair, blanketing french fries in homemade gravy and Wisconsin cheese curds. The Hot Stuff pizza (ranging from $7 for an 8-inch to $15 for a 16-inch) balances bean salsa, black olives, and jalapeños atop its crust, and the "loaded" grilled cheese ($6.50) trumps Mom's made-with-love version, piling on onions, cucumbers, tomato, and four types of cheese. Wash meals down into the soul where they'll frolic forever with local brews such as Lakefront Brewery's Cream City Pale Ale ($4.25) or out-of-state sips such as Rogue Dead Guy Ale ($5) from the exotic island of Oregon.

Amid the cheers of football and baseball games blaring from big-screen TVs, Magoo's Sports Bar's friendly bartenders fill bellies with domestic and imported brews and pub fare. Flocks of a dozen different varieties of chicken wings range from hot or mild spices to piquant flavors such as thai or caribbean jerk. At the grill, chefs flip burgers oozing with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni or blackened Cajun beef patties topped with with blue-cheese crumbles. Seafood lovers dock at the bar every Friday for an all-you-can-eat fish fry, and a selection of imported beer bottles contain lost messages from sea such as, "SOS. Please send ice."