by David Brierley
Supper clubs are traditionally historic establishments, many originating during prohibition and into the 1940s and 50s. This concept is so ingrained in the culture that the age of a restaurant is now part of what defines it as a supper club. But consider this: can there be new supper clubs?
As more and more classic supper clubs close their doors, the concept’s resurgence in popularity has led to new ones opening around the state. So, if the supper club isn’t defined by its age, we’ll have to rely on the other criteria to determine if it’s the real deal.
To test this theory out, let’s visit the Long Drive Supper Club. Located at the Brown County Golf Course, this supper club is brand new having just opened in December.
Even though the Long Drive is brand new, at its core it has classic supper club roots. The two owners, Chef Thomas “Tito” Jackson and Marcus Krause, were both cooks at one of Green Bay’s most well-known supper clubs, Wally’s Spot. Sadly, Wally’s Spot is now permanently closed, but you can read about it in our September 2019 issue.
With their Wally’s Spot experience, Tito and Marcus should know how to make a new restaurant feel like a true supper club. Let’s find out if they’ve managed to pull it off.
The Long Drive is located in the clubhouse building of the Brown County Golf Course. It’s a classy building, and viewed from the golf course looks like a large, two-story house with a big front porch. It’s finished in stone with a dark shingled roof, and has a huge dormer flanked by smaller ones.
When you first enter, you’ll find yourself in an open entryway hall complete with a fireplace, a comfortable-looking leather sofa and chair, dark carpeting on the floor, and crown molding on the ceiling. So far, it’s feeling pretty supper clubby.
When you reach the end of the entry hall, hang a left and you’ll be in the main part of the restaurant. Chandeliers stretch down from a two-story high ceiling over the large, open dining room. On the other side of a half-wall is the barroom, which features a rectangular bar with rounded pop-out corners to maximize seating capacity.
Comfy, padded bar stools await, but first you should check in at the host stand, which is just around the corner after you exit the entry hall. Seating is available in the dining room, of course, and also out on that sizable front porch during the warmer months. Supper club food and cocktails while overlooking a golf course? Tito and Marcus might be onto something with this combination.
Once you’ve taken care of that business, you can head over and find a seat at the bar to order a tasty old fashioned from the professional and friendly bartender. If you have a long wait, you can order an appetizer at the bar. You can choose from the stuffed mushroom caps, shrimp cocktail, chicken wings, or onion rings and cheese curds basket.
Now it’s time to settle in, sip your cocktail, and enjoy the atmosphere while you glance over the menu and decide what you’ll be dining on tonight.
The menu is most definitely up to par (see what I did there?) with its supper club fare. From steaks to seafood to the correct nightly specials, it’s all here.
Seafood options include herb salmon, jumbo gulf shrimp, sea scallops, pan fried walleye, and baked cod. And, of course, the supper club classic fish fry on Fridays (and also Wednesdays, in case you get a fish fry craving mid-week). This gives you the option of lake perch, cajun catfish, cod, or pan fried walleye.
For steaks, you have a choice between a tenderloin, a New York strip, or a bone-in ribeye. You can make any of these Oscar style with crab, asparagus, and hollandaise; or Tito style with three sauteed shrimp and etouffee sauce. Any way you go, it sounds like a winner. Prime rib is available on Saturdays and comes as a 14 ounce cut. Supper club vibes!
Sunday’s special again follows supper club tradition with a fried chicken plate complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing (stuffing), a seasonal veggie, and a dinner roll. It doesn’t get much more supper club than that.
The Long Drive also offers pasta dishes like the Mediterranean pasta, cajun alfredo, and homestyle spaghetti, as well as a half rack of apple smoked ribs.
Dinner entrees include a choice of potato and a supper club delicacy: unlimited soup and salad bar. It’s a pretty great salad bar, too, with just about every topping you could want, plus delicious french onion soup and a soup of the day.
If you’re in the mood for something lighter, you can opt for a tasty chicken and sausage gumbo, soup from the salad bar, a sandwich, chicken tenders, or a wrap. The selection is impressive and everything sounds quite appetizing.
The Long Drive also includes a kids menu, with options such as a hamburger, chicken tenders, and spaghetti.
No matter what you decide to eat, your friendly server will bring it steaming hot from the kitchen. If nothing else up to this point has convinced you, tasting that home cooked goodness will surely cement the Long Drive’s status as a supper club.
Dessert can be had in solid form or, in true supper club form, as a delicious dessert drink. There’s no wrong answer here.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Long Drive has an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch buffet offering eggs, sausage, bacon, chicken, ham, ribs, french toast sticks, mashed potatoes, dressing, and vegetables, as well as the soup and salad bar. Brunch is almost always a good choice no matter where you get it, so you know it’s going to be good here.
To learn more about the Long Drive, visit the supper club’s website. And to keep up with any specials and announcements, be sure to follow them on Facebook.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to join our Supper Club VIP group; you’ll be entered in our monthly drawing for a $50 gift card to an area supper club. You can also check out our past articles, as well as an interactive map that shows the supper clubs we’ve visited to find one near you. And, as always, there will be plenty more supper club fun to come.
Where in Wisconsin is this supper club?
Address: 897 Riverdale Dr, Hobart, WI 54155
Nearby landmarks: At the Brown County Golf Course. About 15 minutes outside of Green Bay, just north of Austin Straubel International Airport, and a few miles west of the Green Bay Botanical Gardens.
Website: https://longdrivesc.com/
Three can’t-miss features:
1. Owned and run by former Wally’s Spot staff
2. Supper club meets clubhouse vibes
3. Steaks served on wood planks