Openhand opens in Portage

What Openhand is

Three promises, in order

Kitchen

Food you recognize, cooked properly, at a price that does not require an occasion. The menu is short on purpose, so the thing you order on a Tuesday tastes the way it did on Saturday. Panzerotti is the signature, next to burgers, an Italian beef, a loaded BLT, a turkey club, and the shareable things a tavern owes its bar. A Friday fish fry is the first thing we want to add once the kitchen has its feet under it. It is not on the opening menu.

Tavern

A proper bar. Wisconsin on the draft handles, bottles and cans, a straightforward wine list, and cocktails made the way they are supposed to be made. A brandy old fashioned gets muddled fruit, a real pour and a brandied cherry, whoever is working. There is a full list of mocktails for whoever is driving everyone home.

Social

The building has a stage and a room that holds a crowd, and we mean to use both. Karaoke, live music, open mic, trivia, cribbage, sheepshead. One or two nights a week to start, added to as we learn what people show up for. This is a restaurant and a neighborhood tavern that also knows how to host a good night.

The menu

A short menu, on purpose

Panzerotti is the signature: a southern Italian dough pocket, filled and fried. Here is a little of what sits around it.

Nights

What we plan to host

The room has a stage and the space for a crowd. None of these has a day and a start time yet. As soon as one does, it goes on the events page with both.

• Karaoke

  The stage, the sound system and a song list long enough that there is something on it for you. It is a natural fit for a room this size, so it is likely to be one of the first nights we put on the calendar.

• Live music

  Local and regional acts on the stage at the back of the room. We are looking for bands that suit a place where people are also eating dinner, and we would rather book fewer nights and pay properly for them.

• Open mic

  An open sign-up for musicians, and for anybody trying material out in front of people for the first time. We supply the stage, the sound and a set-length limit; you bring the rest.

• Trivia

  Written rounds, a host, and teams small enough to fit in a booth. A midweek night, when the dining room has the space for it and a Wednesday needs a reason.

• Cribbage

  Bracket play in the dining room, with a board and a deck on every table. Cribbage is already played in this town; we would like some of it played here.

• Sheepshead and card nights

  Sheepshead first, because this is Wisconsin, with room for euchre and whatever else a table wants to deal. Casual play to begin with, and a standing night if enough people keep turning up.

• Community gatherings

  The room seats a crowd, and a neighborhood always needs somewhere to hold things — a club meeting, a fundraiser, a table for a league night. Tell us what you have in mind and you will get a straight answer about the room.