Garfield’s 502

Great food, esp if you’re in the mood for fried fish… Also free chicago style step classes & ballroom dance classes on Tuesday nights hosted by MSBU… always good music… they have a ton of other things gong on to cater to any time of crowd… they have been part of the community for a long time and I’m sure will be there for a very long time in the future.
Go to chill, eat, get a drink, dance or just to people watch almost any night of the week…

Sophomoric me gives this place 4 stars just because it’s on the former site of «Boobie’s Place,» …I know, I know. Stupid.
Really, though. This Bronzeville live music salon, bar and restaurant has tons of spirit. And we didnt even catch it in full gear. We just caught the afternoon people hanging out; the live jazz comes later (Friday nights), and for that I’ll surely return.
It was a hot afternoon. My Milwaukee host is a thoughtful, sometimes very serious, former-​elite-​federal-​agent-​turned-​social-​service-​agency– executive who is also a gentleman who knows Milwaukee like a native. We had finished our Waukesha meeting and decided to go to the famed Jake’s a/​k/​a Jake Levin’s for a famed corned beef sandwich. No dice. It was closed.
So, what could be better than the next best in Bronzeville? Garfield’s 502 at 4 p.m.
«They got a lot of cool cats in there; come on. Some ‘buppies» [Black Urban Professionals] maybe. but it’s a nice crowd.“
And so it was.
We walked in. I was wearing my sunglasses. And the coolest cat of all sitting at the bar, about 350 lbs, BIG cigar, diamond pinkie ring (my kind of guy), pony tail, silk shirt, with two scanty bottomed babes on either side of him takes one look at me and says:
«Hey, Ray Charles. How’s it goin’, baby?»
He broke me up. I smiled and took the sun glasses off; tipping them his way.
We sat down. I surveyed the back wall of hopefuls playing the slot machines.
Coolest cat of all bellowed: «Hey, Ray Charles, let me buy the first round.»
We had some really good appetizers, aptly called the 502 for $ 5.02. A combination plate of fried catfish, fried chicken, onion rings, potatoes, etc… washed it down with an ice-​cold Corona.
Too soon, we had to leave so I could make the train back to Chicago.
We were just getting started.