Double Feature: The Chalice & Two Brothers ~ Main Street Oshkosh

It is the time of year when people want their meals made for them. We have enough on our minds, and enough cooking of our own for family gatherings that nobody wants to make their own meals. I'm no exception.

Saturday night, as my wife and I cleaned our disgusting mess of an apartment we developed a hankering for some food. "What food?," we asked each other in circles. "Not pizza." "Not Mexican." "Why not?" "I don't know, we just had it." etc.

A couple things were clear at this point. We were both hungry, indecisive, and getting cranky fast. Because of its most convenient proximity we eventually decided on Chalice which is on the corner of Main and Murdock.

The Chalice is small. The dining room is about the size of a large living room, and there is a bar on the other side. During the summer there is an outdoor patio area with fences and awnings to shelter you from the traffic and the elements, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Chalice is owned by the same people as Pilora's Cafe on Main St., a favorite of my wife and I.

In the evening, the lighting is low with candles on each table. It's a great place for two, for a quiet dinner, or for a small group of 3-4. Larger groups may find seating difficult. The atmosphere is warm, with a fireplace and wood paneling reminiscent of a 1970's cabin-- in a way that is just retro enough to feel familiar, but not so much so that it seems like an "adult film" set.

The service at The Chalice has always been great for us. I have had the bartenders keep the bar open past their normal closing time for us. The owner mixed me a drink once with my dinner which was delicious, and on the house. (By mistake, or not, I'm not sure.) And the waitstaff are usually quick and always friendly. Saturday night was the busiest I have ever seen them, and they handled it very well.

The menu consists primarily of sandwiches, salads, and soups. The menu is small, but there should be something for all but the pickiest of eaters, and there are a number of unique and excellent choices. I had the chicken philly which is essentially a philly cheese steak sandwich with the steak bit replaced with chicken breast. The sandwich comes with "chalice" sauce, which is delicious, and a choice of small side dishes including pasta salad, apple waldorf salad, and something else I can't recall (these options change from time to time). The sandwich is served on french bread (I think) and is quite large. I could not finish all of it, though I came close. (Plan for large servings of every main dish, as well as desserts.) I also ordered a cup of their tomato bisque which, although my wife assures me that it was almost certainly not homemade, almost seemed like it could be. My wife had a chef salad with chicken. The large plate arrived stacked high with chicken and other salad fixings. Her comment was "Where's the lettuce?" This could be good or bad depending upon how you like your salads. I think that she was initially disappointed, but later said the salad was very good... and she eventually found the lettuce. Her only gripe in the end was that they didn't have bleu cheese dressing.

Drinks. Chalice has a pretty full bar. The quality of mixed drinks varies; I have had some great drinks and some not so great. Their root beer is bottled Sprecher. They have a reasonable selection of beers (including some somewhat local options like New Glarus), and a few wines to choose from.

Expect to pay ~$8-12 per person for a drink and dinner. They have desserts, but you won't want one unless you share a single meal between multiple people or go just for the dessert.

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After our Sunday holiday bash, in which we destroyed every bit of clean apartment we had created, we had about five guests sleep over. This morning we didn't just want breakfast, we needed breakfast. We all headed over to Two Brothers on Hwy 21, just east of 41. Not too long ago Two Brothers moved from their old building across the street, to their new building on the north side of 21. In the process they brightened the atmosphere and expanded their hours to be open 24/7. Overall, the change has been good and we have eaten there fairly regularly.

Two Brothers is sort of your standard family restaurant owned by a Greek family. Those familiar with Fond du Lac's Faro's Restaurant will find Two Brothers similar. The food is generally pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Two Brothers has three things going for it. 1) The service, which is generally very good and friendly. 2) The hours/new building-- it's nice and clean and it's open all night. MUCH better than Perkins, by any measure. 3) The desserts, specifically an interesting dessert item made with shredded phyllo dough and a sort of whipped cream topping. Ask them about it-- depending who you talk to they may not know what it is called, but they should know what you're talking about. They also have a selection of something like eight or ten kinds of ice cream.

Today Two Brothers was very busy at breakfast time, which should not be surprising on Christmas Eve. We waited to be seated only a couple minutes, though the wait for our food was a bit longer than usual.

I had the Brothers breakfast sandwich which was the standard egg, ham, and cheese on an english muffin. There were options for other meats and breads (like bagels). The sandwich came with hash browns. It was all good, my only complaint would be perhaps that I was hoping for a thicker chuck of ham on the sandwich rather than a couple pieces of thinner sliced ham. My wife ordered the pancake sandwich which is an ingenious combination of two pancakes and a ham steak. I tried some. It was great.

On the negative side, my wife's sister attempted to order a side of flour tortillas and salsa with her skillet. It seemed a reasonable request, but the waitress came back from the kitchen with the response "We don't do that." Not "We don't have that," (they do). Their unwillingness to satisfy this request took my wife and I aback, because it seemed very uncharacteristic of their usual service level. I also heard from her sister that she was feeling ill after her breakfast. We are chalking it up to a very busy Christmas Eve day, but I find myself slightly less enthusiastic about dining there regularly.

Overall, Two Brothers has good food at pretty good prices. Just go in with reasonable expectations. And for your overnight eating needs, Two Brothers is hands down the place to go.

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas, Oshkosh.