Cheerful Forest Home George Webb feels like stepping back in time

SERVICE: *****

SETTING: *****

FOOD: ***

VALUE: ****

OVERALL: ****

Cuisine type: AMERICAN

Price per entrée: From $2.99 on up

Attire: CASUAL

Reservations: NO

Payment: CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

George Webb

4845 W. Forest Home Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53219

(414) 327-4010

Open 24 hours

George Webb is a restaurant chain that’s been a standard in Milwaukee and around Wisconsin since 1948.

I’ve always liked George Webb, but had never noticed the one on Forest Home Ave, so when my husbandKen and I happened to drive past it around lunchtime last Sunday, I asked him if he wanted to check it out just for the fun of it. We wound up having a good lunch and a really nice time.

The temperature was in the upper eighties that day. The door was open, and when walked in, we were greeted by a gentleman who said, “Hi! I have bad news and I have good news. The bad news is that our air conditioner was struck by lightning last night so we don’t have air conditioning, but the good news is that we can still serve you if you’re willing to brave the heat.” We didn’t think the heat seemed too bad, so wedecided to stay and see how it went. Besides that, the guy had us hooked right away with his cheerful greeting and friendly demeanor.

The gentleman who greeted us was the owner, Joey Gudgeon. He struck us both as a genuinely nice guy and sometimes it seems that sincere, cheerful greetings from genuinely nice guys are too few and far between.

We lived in Kentucky for a while years ago, and I remember whenever you’d go into a Waffle House, they always made sure to go out of their way to greet you. Every time. I always liked to go there because of that. That’s how Joey made us feel that day and we would probably go back for that reason alone.

There were three or four other tables who had decided to tough it out and I think that because of the unusual situation, everybody seemed especially cheerful and relaxed.

Joey had given his employees the option of staying or leaving because of the heat, leaving him short staffed that day so he was waiting on tables himself while another guy cooked.

Partly because of the lack of air conditioning and partly because of the general atmosphere of the place, Ifelt like I was stepping back in time. Most of the places I went to when I was a kid never had air conditioningand this had that same feel to me. I don’t remember being bothered by the heat back then; I don’t think anybody really even thought about it unless it was extremely hot.

The atmosphere in this particular George Webb restaurant seemed old fashioned, not updated too much, but in a good way. They seem to have kept the atmosphere and design loosely along the lines of the original motif, which added to the feeling of stepping back in time for me.

Ken enjoyed his steak and eggs with hash-browns and toast (9.99). The five-ounce steak was tender,deliciously seasoned and perfectly cooked, the eggs were buttery and nicely cooked over-medium, the hash-browns were crispy and the toast didn’t have too much butter.

He liked the orange juice. They have it in one of those big orange juice machines that you see behind the counter.

I had a cheeseburger, a cup of chili and a Pepsi (7.25). I’m sorry to report I was disappointed in my cheeseburger. The bun was lightly grilled, which I like, but the hamburger itself was thin and dry. Not good. They charge 35 cents extra for lettuce, tomato and onion. It’s been a while since I ordered a cheeseburger, so I didn’t realize that you have to ask for them and I was a little surprised at how plain it looked when he brought it out. He gave me a new one, but that one wasn’t much better. The chili was definitely good, though. Just the same as I remember. It’s classic spicy chili with lots of meat, beans and little spaghetti noodles. Delicious.

I liked the Pepsi. I know it sounds picky, but if you’re a Pepsi lover, you can taste subtle differences. Someplaces serve flat Pepsi that’s too sweet. This was fizzy, just sweet enough and served ice cold with lots of iceand a straw in one of those bumpy plastic red glasses.

The prices are competitive with other restaurants of the same type. You can get out of there without spending an arm and a leg, but, just like anywhere else, you have to be careful.