Taste of the Town

Boxed in

Our living space has been reduced to a few narrow rabbit trails winding though a mountain range of moving boxes.

Thankfully it’s only for a few more days; we close on our house tomorrow and should have everything moved by the weekend.

Meanwhile, our meals consist mainly of take out and anything that can be microwaved on paper plates.  There’s also been a fair amount of fast food consumed.

Rare is the fast food chain I find worthy of a mention, or a regular visit. But when it comes to Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill, I can’t help myself. I just have to give it props for the surprisingly healthy options it offers.

Unlike many of its competitors, the Chipotles here in Wisconsin serve up burritos, tacos and salads made from fresh, high-quality, organic vegetables and naturally raised pork and chicken. No growth hormones or crowded cages for these guys.

And you can taste the difference this integrity makes.

We stopped in the industrialized Chipotle location on Capitol, after doing the final walk-through of our house this evening, and grabbed dinner. I loaded up a burrito bowl with some grilled chicken, black beans, rice, mild salsa, lettuce, cheese and a tiny hit of sour cream and guacamole. 

Scott went for the bowl too, only instead of chicken he opted for the spicier beef and a medium corn salsa. We also requested a bag of chips and salsa.

We'll work it off during the move, right?

Airports

I missed my 6:40 a.m. flight to Memphis last Wednesday.

I missed it because apparently one hour is no longer enough time to check in and get through security at Mitchell Internat’l Airport. According to the ticketing agent, I should have been there at 4:40 a.m.

Travelers take note.

Anyway, I managed to make it on the next flight out, at 11:00. From Memphis I flew over to Ft. Smith, Arkansas, where my loving family was (finally!) able to pick me up. We hung out for the rest of the day and then drove down to Dallas on Friday.

Naturally, I had a long list of both shops and restaurants I wanted to hit. (See how constructively I used those five hours at the airport?!)

Dallas has both incredible shopping and some amazing restaurants, but since this blog is supposed to be focused on Milwaukee, I won’t regale you with too many details about our stops.

Suffice it to say, I was able to catch up with a couple of friends, finally found a pair of my favorite James jeans, and my desire for good Enchiladas Verdes and a decent frozen margarita was finally sated at Gloria’s.

                           

Now I’m sitting back in Memphis, waiting for my flight to Milwaukee. I’m flipping through my new Nylon magazine and watching people board a flight for Amsterdam.

I wonder how early they had to show up?

The Place around the Corner

Remember scratch-n-sniff stickers? The promise of a good one motivated me to score good grades on spelling test in elementary school. Now stickers have once again moved me to take action.

Specifically, I just shelled out an extra couple of dollars to actually purchase Beck’s genius new CD (instead of downloading it), for no reason other than I wanted the pleasure of decorating the cover with the enclosed stickers.

Please tell me I’m not the only adult over twenty-five to be taken in by the sticker gimmick.

Anyway, I was driving along, listening to the first few tracks, and mentally plotting sticker placement and my search for a vintage cowboy sprinkler (I saw one in a magazine and now I’m obsessed with finding my own.) when Scott called.

He was going to "The Place around the Corner" and wanted to know what I’d like to eat.

For us, “The Place around the Corner” is the twinkle-light laden No. 1 Chinese Restaurant at 6119 W. North Ave. It’s not actually right around the corner, but it’s close enough to be convenient. And fast. And incredibly good.

And when you are trying to pack for a move, get ready for a weekend out of town, and complete a small mountain of work all without making the place look too messy for your landlord to show to potential tenants, it’s a virtual life saver.

I requested an order of Sesame Chicken and some crab rangoons and Scott picked up some Beef Lo Mein and fried rice. He arrived home just moments after I did, only to find me already frantically scouring Ebay for the vintage sprinkler and (affordable) last-minute tickets to the Oklahoma State vs. University of Oklahoma football game.

Without luck on either search, I pulled my neatly packed box of chicken out of the bag and put some on a plate. I added a few of the broccoli florets, some rice and a crab rangoon, and pulled my chopsticks out of the drawer.

 

When I finished eating, I pulled out a fortune cookie and broke it in half. Out fell a small slip of paper with the words “Luck is coming your way.” To its credit, not only does No. 1 Chinese Restaurant have some of the best Chinese food in town, but the fortune cookies also have good fortunes. Not the usual “Being nice is nice,” or something stupid like that.

Maybe I will find my retro sprinkler or some cheap seats to the game after all. If not, it’s okay. I still think I’m pretty lucky. I have a new place to live, a great husband to share it with, a vibrant city to explore, and the always dependable place around the corner.

Oh, and I’ve also got the stickers. . .

Food Markets - The New Hot Spot?

Let me know if you are on the hunt for a honey and I will forward you a copy of the e-vite I just received to a “Singles Networking Party” on October 22, at Rip Tide. Miss Wisconsin is scheduled to make an appearance and there will be an auction to benefit the Miss Wisconsin scholarship fund.

I’m married and I'll be out of town, but single people please do me a favor and go donate some money to the beauty queen cause.

You're bound to have a good time and if for some reason you don't end up getting someone's digits, let me suggest an alternate venue for you to frequent --the food market.

One of my friends swears they are the hot new mingling place. But naturally, not just any old supermarket will do. You need somewhere cool. Somewhere hip. Somewhere uber-stocked with a plethora of organic produce, free-range meats, and fair trade coffee.

Somewhere like the Milwaukee Public Market or Whole Foods.

The Whole Foods in Milwaukee has only been open for a couple of weeks, so that probably explains why shoppers were practically leaping out of everything from Jaguars to Prius Hybrids, all parked at crazy angles near the curb. It might also explain why those inside wandered around with a somewhat glazed look, apparently overwhelmed with the selection.

Feeling the Chill

This is unheard of where I'm from: Snow flurries . . . in October.

People tell me it’s unusual here too, but that’s what forecasts are calling for later this week.

For my money there’s no better cool weather dish than a steaming hot bowl of chili. And since October is National Chili Month, there’s no better time to make a big pot full of the spicy stuff.

Tune in to WTMJ at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 11, to find out how to make my famous Chocolate Chili (yes, chocolate!) or, if you’d rather have someone else do the cooking, check out one of these places for a hot bowl of ch-ch-chili:

Real Chili, 419 E. Wells St. (Serves Cincinnati Style Chili)
Beans & Barley (Offers a fantastic Vegetarian Chili)
Whole Foods (Occasionally offers Bison Chili)

Heavenly Pie & a Hoe Down Update

The Hoe Down rocked. There were pony rides for the kids, hay rides for everyone, and tons of yummy food. Later the square dance caller showed up and all the adults headed to the barn while the little ones curled up inside a massive tent where a movie was showing. We did our best to follow directs and maintain some semblance of rhythm over the next couple of hours. Finally, exhausted, we piled in the car and went home.

Well, actually, we went to my in-laws. Home came later, the next day. And on the way we made a quick stop at the renowned Norske Nook in downtown Osseo.

I’d seen the road signs and read about this place not only in travel lit but also in Cross Country, a travel memoir by Robert Sullivan. In it, the author recounts purchasing a pie (or was it two?) and finding it so delicious that within a hundred miles or so they pulled over to eat the whole thing.

Clearly, we had to check it out.

Our server, outfitted in a crisp Nordic-inspired outfit, recommended the sour cream raspberry pie. I took a slice of that while Scott had the award-winning chocolate mint.

They were both divine, and so was the coffee; however, we didn’t linger long. Instead we hit the road and made it home just moments before a massive downpour soaked everything in sight.