Taste of the Town

Beer Can Collections, Burgers, and an Awesome Band

I am still thawing out from last night’s venture to see Shiny Toy Guns at the Pabst Theater.

Technically Scott’s office, where I parked, is only a few blocks away from the majestic Pabst Theater. However, with temperatures dropping down to some frigid negative number that I didn’t even know existed prior to living in Milwaukee, it felt more like several miles.

Considering the bitter stretch of blocks before us, we thought it would be a good idea to first fortify ourselves with dinner and drinks. So we took our frozen selves to Water Street Brewery.

Beer lovers will be excited to know this place actually brews a number of traditional and specialty beers on the premises.  They are also in possession of a massive (50,000) collection of antique beer cans, of which 6,000 can be found in frames lining the wall.

                         

I myself did not indulge in any of the brew, preferring instead a Diet Coke and cheeseburger. To be honest, I almost always go generic at any place with “brewery” or “pub” in the name. I know it’s lame and you may find yourself craving something with a little more flair, say Chicken Picatta or the London Broil, in which case you are in luck at Water Street Brewery because they offer both. But to date, I have always been pleased with my selection of hamburger or sandwich at such establishments, and last night was no different.

After dinner we still had some time before the show started, so we ducked in to Rosie’s Waterworks next door. While a big part of the crowd at this low key bar was clad in a little more leather than I’m used to, the service was friendly and the music (Johnny Cash) was kept at a nice moderate level that didn’t interfere with talk.

                        

Feeling somewhat fortified by food and drink, we finally decided to brave the cold and trek down to the Pabst.  Those were the coldest three blocks of my life. I’m surprised icicles didn’t form on the exposed areas of my face.

But somehow we made it, slipping into the amazing fifth row-center seats our friends had kindly saved. Moments later one of the opening bands, Codebreaker, hit the stage. Entertaining but lacking polish, this local band was followed by the darkly clad members of Rome to Paris, who hail from El Paso, Texas. Their sound is a stylized fusion of New Wave and rock which so caught my attention that I snapped up one of the $5 CDs as soon as their set ended.

But nothing compared to Shiny Toy Guns. They rocked. I still can’t believe my tickets to see them in such a beautiful venue only cost $10.  But that’s one of the perks of living in a mid-sized city like Milwaukee: Great concerts for good prices that you can’t pass up -- no matter what the temperature.

The View from Blu

It’s never fun to have your parking space at the mall or your seat at the bar stalked by someone looking for an empty space, but over the weekend I was guilty of doing both.  The latter stalking incident occurred at Blu, the sophisticated bar atop the Pfister Hotel. 

After shelling out $16 to valet (A reasonable rate for cities the size of Miami or Chicago, but a little steep for non-overnight stays at a Milwaukee hotel, in my opinion.), we took the elevator up to the top floor and found ourselves facing a packed house.

People were standing two deep at the dark mahogany bar and not one of the posh leather chairs or cozy cream colored sofas were available. So we snagged the usual extra-dirty martini and a Jack and Coke, and staked ourselves in a dimly lit corner, where we proceeded to scan the diverse crowd to see if anybody’s drink looked low.

As luck would have it, the group seated on the sofas right in front of us started pulling on coats and gloves not long after we arrived.

“Excuse me,” I inquired, “but are you all leaving?”

Finding they were indeed on the way out, I asked if we could have their seats.

Thus we found ourselves with a sublime view, seated right next to a floor-to-ceiling window offering an expansive view of downtown Milwaukee. A thin veil of snow sifted downward, softly diffusing the yellow-orange glow of all the lights outside. Inside, smooth talking sugar daddies slipped in and out with women half their age, debonair men in dark suits lounged comfortably in the leather chairs, and a cowboy-hat-clad head bobbed somewhere near the bar.

For a minute I felt like I was in Dallas! But then I looked back at the icy scene sparkling  outside and realized that this cosmopolitan enclave was definitely located a little further north, and certainly merited doing whatever you must to score a seat, sip a ‘tini and enjoy the sensational view.

Chocolate.

If there’s anything better than being engulfed in the aroma of rich chocolate and fudge, please keep it to yourself. I personally think it’s one of the most delectable feelings on earth and don’t want to decide differently.

One of the places to find that ethereal chocolate-y high here in Milwaukee is at Kehr’s Candies. The location at Lisbon has been around for years, but for the sake of convenience, I go to the one inside the Milwaukee Public Market.

You’d think all the other smells – coffee, bread, artisan cheese, etc. – would overwhelm the chocolate aroma, but that’s not the case. As you step up close to the Kehr’s counter, all manner of lovely chocolate-iness wafts forth.

                  

Then, if you’re like me, you just stand there, eyes glazed, taking in the array of chocolate treats laid beneath the glass. Chocolate covered orange peel, Russian Mint Meltaways, Milk Chocolate Turtles, Pecan Fudge, a myriad of truffles, and some kind of sugary, chocolate coated goodness known as Fairy Food.

Thoughtfully, after much deliberation, you make your choices. Someone (you can’t focus very well on who, in the presence of the aforementioned chocolate) weighs and packages your selection. You vow not to open the bag before you get home. But it never works. You open the little white sack, pull out a dark chocolate truffle and let it melt slowly in your mouth . . .

Unless you made the mistake of getting a Hot Pepper truffle. At which point you may find your face contorting into shapes you didn’t even know existed and go desperately in search of a glass of milk.

Those things are only for the brave and tough of tastebud! But the Mocha, Buttercream or  Champagne truffles? Ahhhh… there’s the love.

Coming Clean

Apparently there are people who do not know how to make beds or clean a sink. I am not talking about Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie. I mean normal, everyday people who waste countless hours Googling themselves and waiting for the cable installer to show up, just like the rest of us. These people must be the inspiration behind a book I stumbled across today, Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. According to the website, this vital contribution to society is “graced with charts, sidebars, illustrated techniques, and personal anecdotes from Martha’s decades of experience caring for her homes.”

I am not making this up. I swear that is exactly what it says. Come on! Do we really need techniques for sweeping the floor illustrated? I don’t. I clean my floor every week (okay, sometimes every other week) and seem to be keeping it up quite well without ever consulting a chart on the subject.

In fact, I cleaned my whole house this very morning in record time. Not exactly an inspirational way to start the day, but totally necessary for the preservation of my sanity. And besides, I promised myself that if I finished by 10:30 we could venture over to The Knick for brunch.

                     

Located near the lake at 1030 E. Juneau, The Knick came highly recommended as one of the best places to brunch in Milwaukee.  And after trying it myself, I completely agree.

We got there shortly after 11 a.m. and despite a number of rather sizeable groups seated around several large tables, including what appeared to be people hosting a baby shower, we didn’t have to wait for a table.

But we did have to wait about ten minutes for our server.

Babel & Bouchons

Am I the only person who wonders why Babel is being given so many accolades?

I saw it a few weeks ago and can only wish that someone had advised me to take some Prozac beforehand.  It was more depressing than watching an entire evening of reality TV.

And that’s saying something.

Anyway, I don’t get it. One thing I do get is the new Shiny Toy Guns CD; I downloaded it the other day and have been playing it more unrelentingly than Top 40 stations push the latest pop sensations.

I’m especially obsessed with the second track, Le Disko, and had to hear it countless times while making these deeee-lect-able chocolate cake-like treats known as bouchon. I found the recipe on the Orangette blog (If you are passionate about food, you’ll want to bookmark it for sure). I swung by Sendik’s on the way home and picked up bars of both Valrhona 70% and Ghirardelli 100%. The recipe recommends Scharffen Berger 99%, but they only had a large size in stock so I went with the Ghirardelli instead. I also picked up some of Ghirardelli’s semisweet chocolate morsels.

I didn’t get around to making the bouchon until about nine o’clock and now they are in the process of cooling. The recipe recommends letting them cool for about two hours before indulging. Waiting for them, I assure you, is even more torturous than sitting through Babel.  But far, far more rewarding, I’m sure.

             

Snow, Skates, and Some Tips on Brewing a Better Cup of Joe

If our neighbors only knew.

We have turned our basement into a make-shift roller derby. I don’t know if you ever got into that craze or not, but I for one, secretly harbored a great desire to don some natty stockings, bad glam makeup, and be called by some cool name like Veruca Assault or (one of my fave rollergirls) Miss Conduct. 

Anyway, not wanting to face the cold yet again after shoveling (okay, snow blowing) the driveway and taking a nice walk, we cranked up the tunes, donned our rollerblades and round and round the sizeable basement we went.

It was great exercise and afterwards I felt perfectly justified in indulging in a piece of the Mississippi Mud Cake I made Saturday. I also felt justified in lazing about and catching up on some reading. I’m trying to finish Antonia Fraser’s Love and Louis XIV, but I also had a ton of magazines (Domino, House & Garden, Bon Appétit, and Entrepreneur) to read. In addition, I perused the pages of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Coffee & Tea by local authors Travis Arndorfer and Kristine Hansen.

                          

After finding out I was disappointed to miss their talk, Kristine sent me a copy of the book. (Thanks Kristine!) I’ve really enjoyed reading through it and thought I’d let you know that thus far I have gained a tremendous amount of insight about all things related to my favorite beverages, including:

• How to evaluate and compare coffees
• Hints for creating my own latte art (ie: leaf and heart designs)
• Methods tea producers use to make different teas from one plant
• Secrets of blending and brewing teas like a pro
• Tips for decoding certifications for fair trade and certified organic

Other things I discovered:

• There is actually a World Barista Championship that takes place each spring.

• It’s best to infuse tisanes in something other than a tea ball or handheld infuser to allow the herbs to circulate as much as possible.

• In 1963 the United Nations established the International Coffee Association in London, an intergovernmental body that still functions today under the name International Coffee Organization.

• Although you shouldn’t expect to experience a huge amount of success, you can grow coffee plants indoors.

Now excuse me, it’s time for me to put some of this newfound knowledge to use.

Feel the Heat

The forecast may call for cooler temps outside, but inside things will be heating up this weekend at The Chili Bowl - Milwaukee’s Largest Chili Cook-Off. Cooks will battle it out for bragging rights on Saturday, January 13, 2007, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., at American Serb Hall (5101 W. Oklahoma Ave.).

Presented by MilwaukeeFood.com, Peter Sciortino’s Bakery, Restaurant Depot and Tabasco, the Cook-Off will include participants from over fifty Milwaukee area restaurants and bars. Judges will include attendees of the event and local celebrities.

Tickets are $10 in advance from participating restaurants or $12 at the door. Proceeds will benefit Camp Heartland.

Find out more at MilwaukeeFood.com.

[email protected] Ignites Local Restaurant Scene

Kilawat is so white hot it’s even started to draw visits from nationally known television personalities. I won’t say who was noshing on an appetizer of black olives at a nearby table last week, but I will say they have good taste -- The olives rocked.

And if you must know, so did the bacon wrapped dates.

In fact, everything about this dynamic restaurant is appealing. From the eclectic menu, clean architectural lines, bold use of orange color and subtle touches of elegance (small stems of white calla lilies tucked into chic glass vases), everything at Kilawat works together to create an appeal that I find highly reminiscent of trendy spots in Los Angeles.

As more and more people discover the recently opened gem, located in the InterContinental Milwaukee, I expect tables to fill up quickly. Which I will secretly feel a little bitter about, because as much as I want this spot to thrive, I dearly love being seated immediately upon arrival, as we were on the evening we paid our visit!

Socializing

It was a day that demanded a martini.

You know the kind of day I’m talking about. By 8:05 a.m. it’s obvious you should have hibernated beneath multiple layers of blankets in bed because it’s so crazy busy that you don’t really get anything done, and to make it worse, everybody you encounter is rude, obnoxious, and completely unhappy with whatever you are trying to do.

Since the days of the three martini lunch are but a faint memory for those who once considered olives a suitable vegetable course, I had to wait until the early hours of the evening to indulge in the aforementioned libation at The Social.

                  

I’d been meaning to hit this place for quite some time, but between the consumption of an excessive number of Christmas cookies and other holiday treats, somehow just hadn’t yet found time. But there I was, finally seated comfortably inside the very urbane space, with brick walls and a nearby chrome bar at which I couldn’t help but hear several people raving about the lofts they’d just looked at just down the street. Silently agreeing that those would undoubtedly be a great place to live, I starred at a massive yellow canvas filled with a picture of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and sipped my very tasty ‘tini.

Life seemed good again. And it seemed even better after the petit Pu Pu Platter arrived filled with skewered shrimp, pot stickers, fried wings, and (these were the best) bacon wrapped chestnuts.

We’d really planned to leave after the appetizer, but upon surveying the eclectic menu, we decided dinner was in order.  Despite a deep desire to have a big plate of the mac ‘n cheese, made with goat cheese, roasted chicken and rosemary, I ordered the evening’s special: a French-inspired roasted chicken and herbed potatoes. 

Little did I know I would get what amounted to an almost whole chicken rubbed with a wonderful blend of seasonings and perched atop the flavorful potatoes. It was excellent but so large that I found myself eating leftovers at lunch for a week!

Scott’s dish was not nearly as large, but the toasted linguini and little neck clams were equally delicious and you can bet we will go back soon − no bad-day motive needed.

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s 2007.  I also can’t believe I served my guests plates of Popeye’s fried chicken and White Castle burgers last night.

But that’s exactly what I did.  I just couldn’t face any more kitchen time than necessary after the bout of holiday-related baking. So I left the gourmet recipes in the book and went in a completely different direction.

To start things off, I popped open some champagne and set out tiny grilled cheese sandwiches and shooters of tomato soup. But we were all so busy catching up that those went somewhat neglected. 

After that I warmed up the chicken and mini burgers, and pulled out some mashed potatoes (which I did make, thank you very much), and spooned them into big martini glasses. I set out the ketchup, mustard and pickles and guests served themselves buffet style.

After dinner I put out treats for dessert. There were Hostess Cup Cakes, bourbon balls (leftover from Christmas), and the pièce de résistance -- Twinkie Pie.

I know all you foodies will no doubt be clamoring for the recipe to that last one. But it's a closely guarded secret. Don’t even think about trying to ply me with good champagne in hopes of making me divulge it.

Do, however, have a superb New Year’s Day. I will be catching an early showing of Babel, watching brief snippets of some bowl games, and eating my usual portion of black eyed peas. Anybody who knows anything about the South knows these are considered to bring you good luck in the coming year.

Which makes me wonder, does anybody else have any food-related good luck charms for the New Year? Sea bass? Cabbage? If so, tell us about it in the comments. We need all the luck we can get!!