Taste of the Town

A Two-Day Break in the Rain

Finally, a break from the rain! I was starting to think I needed to invest in an umbrella company or something. Scott and I took advantage of the sunny weekend skies by going to the movies, which yes, kind of defeats the whole get-out-in-the-sun purpose, doesn’t it?

We saw Superbad, which unless you are still into the kind of humor endorsed by boys in a 7th grade gym class, was indeed super bad. A much better use of our rain-free time, in my opinion, was dining on the patio at Barclay Gallery and Café where tables are filled with a delightful mix of young families, people my grandmother’s age (Whatever that is, she still won’t tell us.), and twenty-somethings club kids rehashing drama from the previous night out.

Nestled in a flower laden corner in the Historic Third Ward, this colorful café was the perfect place to get an early lunch and indulge in some much needed outdoor time. Actually, I’d planned on getting brunch, but didn’t realize that unlike Sunday, where brunch is served until 3:00, on Saturday brunch ends a little earlier. Having arrived about half an hour too late, we settled into a table shielded from the street by a lush row of flowers, and scoured the lunch menu instead.

                        

Packed with a wide varied of salads, soups, sandwiches, and more substantial fare such as tenderloin tips, vegetable lasagna, or chicken pot pie, the Barclay offers an interesting mix of affordable choices.

                        

I ended up getting a bowl of soba noodles. I used to eat these, rice balls, and ramen noodles all the time in Japan. Which reminds me, I’ve been craving Japanese rice balls and I’m much too lazy to make them myself, so if anyone knows of a place I can buy them, please let me know. Now back to the soba.

Made of buckwheat and often served cold, soba noodles are a perfect choice for summer. Mine came tossed with carrots, mushrooms, pea pods, chopped green onion, and a dash of sesame-ginger soy sauce. Usually they mix in some sprouts, which provide a little more texture, but you can also add chicken or shrimp to pump it up even more. Meanwhile, Scott’s menu selection went in a completely different direction.

                        

Midway to Madison Munchies

Have you ever left your house feeling full and fifteen minutes later thought, “I need food. And I need it now!”? If so and you are on your way to Madison, you’re in luck. The Delafield Brewhaus is poised in the perfect place to come to your rescue.

Scott and I stopped in on our way out of town the other day and grabbed lunch at one of the brewpub’s rustic tables. We started out with the Brewhaus Sampler, which is loaded with ginormous portions of golden fried mozzarella cheese sticks, chicken tenders, and onion straws. Lots and lots of onion straws. After that we split the Baja Chicken Pizza B.L.T., made in their wood fired oven with Asiago dip and mozzarella spread over a flaky crust and topped with grilled chicken, marinated tomatoes, and hickory smoked bacon. It also came with a side of avocado dip which Scott spread generously on top of his slices.

                        

                         

                        

If the Baja doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, they also have BBQ Chicken, Steak, Thai, and a build your own option. Other lunch choices include a wide range of burgers, pastas, and pub sandwiches.

Since we had quite a bit of driving ahead of us (went to see family in Minneapolis after saying sad goodbyes to my friend Candi at the airport), we didn’t indulge in any of their hand-crafted beer. But if you are a fan, you’ll find somewhere between seven to nine beers on tap. The selection changes a little every couple of weeks, but the Dock Light, Delafield Amber, Pewaukee Porter, and Sommerzeit Hefe Weizen are always on tap.

Suffice it to say, you’re never far from a good brew and a big plate of food here in Wisconsin.

Polish Food at Polonez

One of the hardest parts about moving to Milwaukee was leaving behind family and friends, especially one of my best friends, Candi, who I have known since college. So I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been having her here for a visit this week.  We’ve shopped, talked, cooked, and of course, tried to hit as many of my favorite restaurants as possible.

Since Candi’s family is part Polish, and Polish food is not an easy thing to find in Dallas, she wanted to see if she could get a pierogi (Polish dumplings) fix while she was here. How could I refuse? I found the address for Polonez, a Polish place in nearby St. Francis.

Offering homemade food in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere, Polonez is one of Milwaukee’s most-recommended ethnic treasures. The menu offers a great mix of hearty old-country fare and an extensive list of Polish beer.

Since Candi wanted to sample a little bit of everything, she ordered the Polish Plate, which came with four boiled pierogi, (you can also get pan-fried, but Candi’s family makes them boiled), a big link of Polish sausage, sauerkraut, a potato pancake, and some stuffed cabbage, made with ground beef, pork, and rice wrapped in a large cabbage leaf and stewed in a sweet tomato sauce.

The pierogi were made with a variety of fillings. Some were made with potato and cheese, others with a mix of beef or pork. Candi says that although they didn’t tastes like her grandmother’s (Nothing ever does, right?), they were quite tasty and would tide her over nicely until she could get back home for the holidays and have some more.

Scott had the Pierogi Plate, which allowed for a choice of six dumplings made from a selection of cheese, meat, sauerkraut, or potato and cheese. I opted for some meatballs which were served with tomato sauce and two small scoops of mashed potatoes.

All entrees came with either soup or salad, so we skipped the appetizer section. But if you need a little more to nibble on, the herring, served with a special sour cream sauce made with onions and apples, or the deviled eggs sounded interesting. As for the soup, we chose to have the borscht, a hearty, ruby-red soup made from beets.

Dessert choices were equally magnanimous, including a rich Polish torte, and “Polonez Heaven”, a cheesecake served with pistachio pudding, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream.

Now if you will excuse me, Candi and I have some shopping to do . . .

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Polonez Restaurant
4016 S. Packard Ave.
St. Francis, WI 53235
Phone: (414) 482-0080

Palms Bistro & Bar

There’s something about sitting out on a patio that makes food taste so much better. Maybe it’s because we are able to indulge in outdoor seating for only a few months here in Milwaukee. But when temperatures allow and a table is open, I’m all about scoring a seat outside.

Apparently so is everybody else. When we stopped in at Palms Bistro the other day, there was only one group sitting inside the exotic monkey-inspired dining room; the rest of us staked our claim on the black iron chairs nestled out front.

 

Cold drinks were whisked out quickly and we sipped appreciatively while we contemplated what to order and engaged in  shameless people watching. Palms offers an array of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and adventurous pasta dishes to tempt your taste buds. Local favorites in the appetizer area include the Strawberry/Gorgonzola salad as well as the Brie baked with cranberries, apple chutney, and spiced pecans.

Entrees include such interesting selections as lobster mac and cheese, tiger shrimp pasta, and a pistachio encrusted red snapper. During our visit, Scott tried the Italian chicken pasta, which was made from linguini tossed with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and chicken. I don’t know why, but despite the dissimilarity in ingredients, it reminded me of some very spicy pasta carbonara I made recently.

Then again, I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and my taster is a little out of whack! Nevertheless, I thought my basil pesto pizza was great. The thin crust came topped with a light layer of pesto followed by roasted tomatoes, tons of mozzarella cheese, and loads of red peppers.

Those looking less for dinner or lunch and more for a late night place to lounge will be excited to know Palms does a brisk business at the bar and offers an extensive specialty-drink menu. They even make some munchies available until later hours, which is always nice should you have one too many “Gorillas in the Midst” cocktails and need something to tide you over ‘till breakfast.

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Palms Bistro & Bar
221 N. Broadway
(414) 298-3000

Time for a Fair Share

If you didn’t get your fill of beer and brats last weekend, fear not. The Wisconsin State Fair is now underway and chock full of food offerings that no nutritionist would ever recommend.

But that has never made getting the yearly fix of fair food any less appealing, has it?

In fact, there’s no shortage of crowds noshing on everything from roasted corn, cheese curds, Blue Ribbon Brownies, and of course, the ubiquitous cream puff. Find out the proper way to put one of these cream filled babies away and then head over to State Fair Park to get your own. While you’re there, be sure and check out some of the new food finds for 2007:

--Deep fried Smore’s on a Stick - Gooey marshmallows and chocolate dipped in graham cracker batter, deep fried and topped with sprinkle of powdered sugar. Sounds good to me.
@ 3 B Concessions

--Australian Meat Pies - Flaky pastry filled with chunks of beef simmered in a specially seasoned gravy.
@ Aussie Shack

--Grand Champion Burger – Three, count ‘em, three, big beef patties topped with Wisconsin cheese.
@ Major Goolsby’s

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Wisconsin State Fair
August 2 – 12, 2007