Nightlife in Neenah

The Wooden Nickel Sports Bar & Grill could easily throw out the tables and chairs, burn the menus, and close down the bar—even then, people would have plenty to do and see. While diners feast on burgers, they bask in the glow of televisions broadcasting sports from ESPN GamePlan, NFL Sunday Ticket, and Fox Sports Network. Trivia competitions bring friendly rivalries into the eatery on weeknights, where players can match minds to win free drinks and bragging rights at the next Mensa track meet. The kitchen's pub grub mixes well with draft and bottled beers, which wait in the wings to swoop in and extinguish thirst pangs or rinse burger residue from hands.

Don’t let the shepherd's pie, fish 'n' chips, and draft beers fool you. Though Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery snatches up the best cultural fragments of Scotland, England, and the Emerald Isle, the eatery started in Las Vegas. Restaurateur Mark DiMartino sought to combine the communal, rousing feel of pubs in the British Isles with the campy fun of American sports bars, pairing hearty food and traditional trappings with televisions and waitresses clad in mini kilts and alluring plaid halter-tops modeled after William Wallace’s eveningwear.

Since its founding, Tilted Kilt locations have popped up in 25 states and two Canadian provinces, serving all manner of hybrid dishes such as the Scottish cheese steak, the Sloppy Jane made with sliced turkey or shaved rib eye, and the Tilted Guilt, an ice-cream sundae perched atop a cookie.

Though its building is a relic of the 19th century and its kitchen whips up 21st-century recipes, Brooklyn Grill evokes New York City in the 1940s. Black-and-white photos of classic New York scenes join wood-paneled walls, old-fashioned lampposts, and exposed brick to create a chic urban atmosphere. The menu enhances the New York theme by dropping mob references in its recipe names, such as the Breaded Bullets mushrooms, the Bugsy Seigel buffalo burger, and the Staten Island Sting sandwich with vegetables and a three-cheese blend. Brooklyn Grill's bar complements each meal with a domestic or imported beer, a glass of wine, or one of many house martinis.

Conceived by Las Vegas restaurateur Mark DiMartino, Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery evokes Ireland by way of Vegas, with waitresses dressed in plaid mini kilts shouldering trays of chilled beer and pub fare. Like an enchilada stuffed with four-leaf clovers, the eatery’s Irish nachos interpret a south-of-the-border classic in a Celtic way, slathering potato chips in cheese sauce and seasoned ground beef; alternatively, pot roast and vegetables simmer traditionally in the Olde Dublin Irish stew’s Guinness-infused beef stock. Barkeeps pour a full bar’s worth of wine, cocktails, and beer, which surfaces in bottles, bombers, and multi-brew mixes such as the Blue Moon and Guinness combination. High-definition TVs glow with a ceaseless parade of professional and college baseball, basketball, and hockey, and live bands add to the entertainment smorgasbord on Friday and Saturday nights.

Set in a space hosting saloons and pubs since 1885, Townline's kitchen churns out a breakfast menu as well as a main menu featuring gourmet pizza and other pub grub. Sports-tuned TVs captivate patrons who supplement pub fare by exploring the bar’s copious list of draft-beer offerings. In addition to giving to community charities, Townline's genial staff spreads its characteristic generosity by frequently honoring competitor's coupons and serving a free drink to those celebrating a birthday or new pompadour haircut.