Bygone Stories: The Midwest Supper Club — America's Most Civilized Night Out

Before the chain restaurant, before the fast-casual era, there was the supper club. A place you dressed up for. Where the old fashioned came without asking, the relish tray arrived before the bread, and nobody was in a hurry.

The supper club was a Midwest institution — part steakhouse, part neighborhood bar, part social ritual. You went on a Friday night. You stayed a while. The bartender knew your name.

We've got shirts and glasses honoring some of the greats: Leske's Supper Club and the Cuba Club in Madison. Guido's somewhere out in the Wisconsin countryside. The Gun Club and The Manor in Beloit. And the Colony Club out in Dayton. Each one a room full of regulars who knew something we've mostly forgotten.

The supper club didn't try to be trendy. It just tried to be good. And for a long time, it was.