TGI Friday's

The Man had wiring to do in the Soon-To-Be Most-Beautiful-Kitchen-In-Brookfield before we could go out to dinner Thursday night. We were due to eat at the last stop before Calhoun Road on our inexorable journey of The Cuisine of Bluemound Road. This stop was TGI Friday’s. We used to go there occasionally. I know I like their Portabella Mushroom Sandwich, so I began drooling for it at about noon on Thursday.

We had to wait ten minutes for a table on Thursday evening at about 7:30 PM. I suggested we sit at the bar and have a glass of wine, but The Pepsi Man wrinkled his nose and didn’t bother to answer. So I suggested we sit at the bar and have a Diet Pepsi, which only elicited another wrinkled nose. I guess he just didn’t feel like sitting at this bar with me. If we were dating, instead of having been married for 40 years, I might have been insulted. But by now I do know The Man. The bar was excessively loud, with several TV’s blasting and with acoustics that are meant to make even a single timid voice fill a void the size of the Grand Canyon. The Man spends his day dealing with building owners and architects and blue prints (which I’ve noticed are no longer blue and are probably called something else now). What he needs after work is either 1) a small chamber orchestra playing a Brahm’s sonata, or 2) silence.

I checked out the bathroom while we waited for a table. And, Ta-Da! It was spotless! Amazing for such a busy night. The waste paper containers would need to be emptied soon, but when I stopped in, they were not quite full. The tile floor was clean; the sinks were clean; the toilets were clean. Hooray for Friday’s!

It took some deliberation on my part to change my order from the portabella sandwich I know I like to a salmon salad, but I was hungry for fish. And it turned out to be the right decision. The 2 small pieces of grilled salmon were served on a bed of mesclun lettuce dressed in a tasty vinaigrette with some grilled portabella slices ($8.99). It was delicious and just the right sized meal for no leftovers. I washed down my fish with a Blue Moon ($3.79 for a ridiculously large 16 oz. glass). Served with a slice of orange in it, the beer was a nice foil for the salmon and mushrooms. The Non-Seafood Eating Man had a Shredded Pork Sandwich with those skinny slices of deep fried onions smothering the barbequed pork ($8.29). It looked superb. I didn’t get to taste it, however, as The Red Meat Man wolfed it down before I could grab a bite. I did snatch one of his French fries and found them to be the best we’ve had on Bluemound – and that’s saying something, as fries are the side dish with many meals on Bluemound.

My luggage has finally shown up from Africa. Time for me to unpack and launder my summer clothes and pack them away. I've noticed that it is not summer in Wisconsin anymore.

Kitchenless in Brookfield