I’m cooking in MY MOST BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN! It is so beautiful that it makes me cry. It really does. I just sit in our sunroom and look at it and I can’t believe I live in such a beautiful place. I promise to post pictures of the finished product – as soon as my daughters have seen it. They are coming at Christmas and I can’t wait to see them when they see it. I don’t want to spoil that moment (for me) by showing them a picture ahead of time. So, please have patience...
I haven’t taken time off to write to you all. The first day I cooked — Tada!--- fried eggs! Yowza! Then lamb chops, then homemade beef barley soup. I have running water – right in the kitchen! And a garbage disposal! And outlets that don’t trip breakers when you turn on the microwave at the same time that the refrigerator turns on. Wow. It’s amazing what we take for granted.
And to celebrate the new kitchen, we finally had dinner at Fleming's. It was the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. It was snowing romantically. A perfect night for a long, quiet dinner for two. Fleming’s fit the bill. It is a fabulous spot – if you can ignore the ridiculously expensive part. But never mind.
Fleming's is famous for its service, and this is well-deserved fame. You might want to stop there sometime just to experience how well you COULD be treated every time you go out. Our waiter knew every dish on the menu. He could describe how it was made, what wine it would compliment it. He was not averse to talking a bit about himself in a very amiable way. He made our evening very special.
Then there’s the food. I decided to split a bottle of wine with The Man Who Only Drinks White Wine. We ordered a bottle of Cuvaison Chardonny - Napa Carneros 2005 ($60), which was, of course, very nice. It’s a heavier Chardonnay than some, with some oak to chew on. So I ordered my dinner to go with this wine choice. The Red Meat Man has his own ideas of what goes with what, that is: red meat goes with anything and so does white wine. Okay, then.
Everything at Fleming’s is ala carte. I’d heard that the portion sizes of the side dishes were prodigious, so we decided to each order three items and share. I ordered an appetizer of crab cakes ($15.50), Fleming’s Salad ($7.95), and Seared Scallops ($28.95). The Man ordered a bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup ($9.95), a 12 oz Filet Mignon ($36.96), and Fleming’s Potatoes ($8.50). Can you imagine such prices? In Milwaukee? Whew! It’ll be snowin’ in Miami before I see the inside of this place again.
But let me describe the food, just so I can re-live the experience. My crab cakes were very crabby, almost all chunks of fresh crab and very little filler. They were small, but The Man tasted them agreed they were good. High praise from him – for something that swims. His Vegetable Beef Soup was delicious. Almost as good as mine, we decided, though we both like the addition of the barley that I put in mine. The salad was very good, but how can any salad – pretty basic with greens, glazed walnuts and dried cranberries with a very light vinaigrette – be worth $8? My scallops were served with a puff pastry filled with summer squash and a lobster sauce. Now that was tasty – and worth the price if anything was. As for the filet mignon, it was Big Beef, cooked very much the way The Man ordered it (red, with a hot center). Fleming’s Potatoes were a treat. This was a large portion of augratin potatoes, thinly sliced and oozing with cheese. Lip-licking good. We shared that and still brought half of it home.
With my scallops, I ordered a glass of red wine (whose name I forgot to write down, even after all these months of reviewing for you all. I know it was a yummy pinot noir for $13), bringing our grand total bill to $190. May I say, "YIKES!" That is before subtracting the $75 gift certificate I’d purchased earlier at the Waukesha Land Conservancy’s auction to reduce The Wallet’s pain ever so slightly.
Actually, I have to give The Man credit. He didn’t complain once about this bill and thoroughly enjoyed the evening – many thanks to our exceptional service.
By the way, I did check out the ladies' bathroom. I only wish mine were so attractive – and it was just as clean as yours at your house. And that’s saying something, for Bluemound Road.
No longer
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Jake's -- off Bluemound
A restaurant that takes reservations on Friday nights is a FIND. Friday evening is Amateur Night, we’ve discovered. The amateurs – folks who don’t eat out every night of the week – are all out buzzing around from one restaurant to another, looking for a place to sit and eat – in that order. Even finding a place to sit while waiting to eat is a challenge. Jake’s takes reservations. They got our business on Friday night when we went out for a fish fry with my brother and his wife from Watertown.
The evening got off to a great start when the four of us arrived at Jakes at 6:30 on Friday and were seated immediately. We were in a small, back room with rough-sawn cedar walls decorated with signs from wine companies. We ordered old fashioneds to sip while we caught up on the family gossip and the trips we’ve taken and the ones we are about to take. My family is SO much fun. We love each other so much that about 50 of us actually own a big log cottage together in Central Wisconsin. We hang out there on summer weekends playing guitars, singing, sleeping some, eating lots, and even occasionally drinking together. I’ll bet you don’t even know the names of your third-cousins-twice-removed, let alone know which ones like Sprecher’s Black Bavarian and which ones prefer pinot noir.
Back at Jake’s, three of us ordered fish fries ($14.95), as we’d planned. But of course, you can guess who did not. Though The Man Who Is Picky About What Goes Into His Stomach will -- on occasion -- eat something that swims, if it is heavily battered and deep fried. But he isn’t about to eat anything as funky as walleye, which is the fish fry option at Jake’s. Cod, he said, is his fish of choice. "How about haddock, just for a change?" I asked. "No," he replied, "Just cod." Such a wild man I married.
I can tell you the walleye was delicious: lightly battered, deep fried and served with a very tasty tartar sauce (a little onion and maybe tarragon in it?). The fish came with our choice of two side dishes. I chose the vegetable of the day, brussel sprouts in a warm viniagrette, and a side salad with parmesan peppercorn dressing – one of my favorites. The Man decided not to have an entre and ordered a half Caesar salad, a bowl of French onion soup, and a twice-baked potato. The potato was delicious, as was the onion soup. The half Caesar salad was ridiculous – a small hunk (and I do mean "hunk") of romaine, some shaved parmesan and a chunk of crouton-like bread, with dressing. Not especially appetizing.
We skipped dessert at Jake’s, as I was serving dessert at our house. Not homemade of course. It was a styrofoam bowl (so elegant) of Gilles’ French Silk frozen custard served with a selection of chocolate bars from Lindt & Newman’s & Giardelli. My sister-in-law is known to be fond of chocolate. I thought ithis would be her kind of finish to an evening of good food.
I was also showing off my new kitchen, which is almost "the most beautiful kitchen in Brookfield." My major appliances were delivered on Friday. There are issues, however. The stove couldn’t be hooked up because the gas pipe was too high and in the way. The plumber has to fix that. The dishwasher is in its box, waiting for the plumber to unpack and install it. The refrigerator has a bigger problem. It doesn’t go back as far into the cabinets as it should. It looks like an afterthought; something that was replaced after the kitchen was built. Mike Wahlen from Cabinet Werks (bless his heart) said he wouldn’t put up with this, and we shouldn’t have to either. We also didn’t like the finish on the window and door frame moldings, so Cabinet Werks will also replace those. These ARE good folks to work with.
I’ll keep you up to date on the status of these final touches. And you will be the first to know if I indeed do have a sink by Monday evening! If so, what should I cook? Do you think The Man would consider fried eggs – dinner?
Now I’m Barely
Kitchenless in Brookfield
The evening got off to a great start when the four of us arrived at Jakes at 6:30 on Friday and were seated immediately. We were in a small, back room with rough-sawn cedar walls decorated with signs from wine companies. We ordered old fashioneds to sip while we caught up on the family gossip and the trips we’ve taken and the ones we are about to take. My family is SO much fun. We love each other so much that about 50 of us actually own a big log cottage together in Central Wisconsin. We hang out there on summer weekends playing guitars, singing, sleeping some, eating lots, and even occasionally drinking together. I’ll bet you don’t even know the names of your third-cousins-twice-removed, let alone know which ones like Sprecher’s Black Bavarian and which ones prefer pinot noir.
Back at Jake’s, three of us ordered fish fries ($14.95), as we’d planned. But of course, you can guess who did not. Though The Man Who Is Picky About What Goes Into His Stomach will -- on occasion -- eat something that swims, if it is heavily battered and deep fried. But he isn’t about to eat anything as funky as walleye, which is the fish fry option at Jake’s. Cod, he said, is his fish of choice. "How about haddock, just for a change?" I asked. "No," he replied, "Just cod." Such a wild man I married.
I can tell you the walleye was delicious: lightly battered, deep fried and served with a very tasty tartar sauce (a little onion and maybe tarragon in it?). The fish came with our choice of two side dishes. I chose the vegetable of the day, brussel sprouts in a warm viniagrette, and a side salad with parmesan peppercorn dressing – one of my favorites. The Man decided not to have an entre and ordered a half Caesar salad, a bowl of French onion soup, and a twice-baked potato. The potato was delicious, as was the onion soup. The half Caesar salad was ridiculous – a small hunk (and I do mean "hunk") of romaine, some shaved parmesan and a chunk of crouton-like bread, with dressing. Not especially appetizing.
We skipped dessert at Jake’s, as I was serving dessert at our house. Not homemade of course. It was a styrofoam bowl (so elegant) of Gilles’ French Silk frozen custard served with a selection of chocolate bars from Lindt & Newman’s & Giardelli. My sister-in-law is known to be fond of chocolate. I thought ithis would be her kind of finish to an evening of good food.
I was also showing off my new kitchen, which is almost "the most beautiful kitchen in Brookfield." My major appliances were delivered on Friday. There are issues, however. The stove couldn’t be hooked up because the gas pipe was too high and in the way. The plumber has to fix that. The dishwasher is in its box, waiting for the plumber to unpack and install it. The refrigerator has a bigger problem. It doesn’t go back as far into the cabinets as it should. It looks like an afterthought; something that was replaced after the kitchen was built. Mike Wahlen from Cabinet Werks (bless his heart) said he wouldn’t put up with this, and we shouldn’t have to either. We also didn’t like the finish on the window and door frame moldings, so Cabinet Werks will also replace those. These ARE good folks to work with.
I’ll keep you up to date on the status of these final touches. And you will be the first to know if I indeed do have a sink by Monday evening! If so, what should I cook? Do you think The Man would consider fried eggs – dinner?
Now I’m Barely
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Perk & Pub
This eating out is not working for us anymore. Do you know how far east we were on Wednesday? The Perk & Pub, a bare bones, boring restaurant (if you can call it that) on about 130th and Bluemound Road in Elm Grove. It just isn’t worth driving even 10 minutes to eat uninteresting food at yet another uninteresting restaurant. I’ve counted. IF we get into our kitchen next Monday, as is the plan, that would be four more meals out. IF we continued on Bluemound Road until then, we would hit The Garden Something Restaurant at that motel that used to be the 40 Winks Motel, then Rocky Roccoco’s pizza, then yet another Mexican place across the road, and finally back to Flemings.
If we were going to get as far as Mo’s Irish Pub, I’d surely put up with these repetitive, mediocre meals until then. But we won’t – assuming Cabinetwerks’ schedule works out, and the plumber who is supposed to hook up the sink, dishwasher, and gas for the stove on Monday is not a hunter and won’t call in at the last minute when he realizes what week it is. I’ve noticed that the common subject of conversation of all craftsmen who have worked in my kitchen centers on the shooting of deer.
So... I think we will eat our few remaining restaurant meals at places we know we like, probably closer to home, and then maybe have one last fling at Flemings. I am debating saving that spot until we have grown somewhat tired of home cooking again and can appreciate such a fine restaurant. I’ve become such a witch about this eating out. Nothing pleases me, and The Man and I are getting testy with each other about our disagreements over food.
For instance, Monday night at The Perk and Pub. It’s in a nice looking shopping center, just down the road from all those annoying office buildings in Bishop’s Woods. (Only annoying to me I suppose, because I was one of the folks who fought against desecrating that lovely woods with those commercial buildings.) Anyway, you’d think this restaurant location might attract a pleasant place to eat. But no. The Perk & Pub sports a brown, painted, bare concrete floor, brown formica tables, a high acoustic tiled ceiling, and a bar in the room with the tables. It seems like one of those bars that also happens to serve some food. The menu is bar food – pizzas, a few sandwiches. But unlike most bars, you don’t place your order at the bar. Here a waitress serves you at your table. And yet, oddly, in one corner is a child’s play area, with games and toys for kiddies. Hmmm...
The Happy Man (red meat, cheap food, nothing "funky", like cilantro or Asiago cheese) had a Reuben sandwich with cole slaw. I couldn’t muster up enough appetite to even have a sandwich. I just had a Caesar salad – romaine lettuce (a good thing), bottled dressing (okay), many dry croutons (yuk), and no Parmesan to be seen (boring). I checked out the plumbing, betting it would be clean. Not. Actually, the turn-off is walking back to the bathroom where the mop and pail and boxes of stuff are stacked and stuffed in the hall. No broom closet, apparently. How charming.
As we drove home, I complained (a polite word for it) about the Perk & Pub, while The Man With Impecible Taste insisted it was just fine -- even called it "very nice.".
As I said, it is time to quit this nonsense. We will have some of my homemade pea soup from the freezer for dinner tonight, and will probably eat at our favorite Venice Club before the kitchen returns. I’m sure I’ll find something to blather to you about anyway, even if it isn’t on Bluemound Rd.
Grumpy, as well as
Kitchenless in Brookfield
If we were going to get as far as Mo’s Irish Pub, I’d surely put up with these repetitive, mediocre meals until then. But we won’t – assuming Cabinetwerks’ schedule works out, and the plumber who is supposed to hook up the sink, dishwasher, and gas for the stove on Monday is not a hunter and won’t call in at the last minute when he realizes what week it is. I’ve noticed that the common subject of conversation of all craftsmen who have worked in my kitchen centers on the shooting of deer.
So... I think we will eat our few remaining restaurant meals at places we know we like, probably closer to home, and then maybe have one last fling at Flemings. I am debating saving that spot until we have grown somewhat tired of home cooking again and can appreciate such a fine restaurant. I’ve become such a witch about this eating out. Nothing pleases me, and The Man and I are getting testy with each other about our disagreements over food.
For instance, Monday night at The Perk and Pub. It’s in a nice looking shopping center, just down the road from all those annoying office buildings in Bishop’s Woods. (Only annoying to me I suppose, because I was one of the folks who fought against desecrating that lovely woods with those commercial buildings.) Anyway, you’d think this restaurant location might attract a pleasant place to eat. But no. The Perk & Pub sports a brown, painted, bare concrete floor, brown formica tables, a high acoustic tiled ceiling, and a bar in the room with the tables. It seems like one of those bars that also happens to serve some food. The menu is bar food – pizzas, a few sandwiches. But unlike most bars, you don’t place your order at the bar. Here a waitress serves you at your table. And yet, oddly, in one corner is a child’s play area, with games and toys for kiddies. Hmmm...
The Happy Man (red meat, cheap food, nothing "funky", like cilantro or Asiago cheese) had a Reuben sandwich with cole slaw. I couldn’t muster up enough appetite to even have a sandwich. I just had a Caesar salad – romaine lettuce (a good thing), bottled dressing (okay), many dry croutons (yuk), and no Parmesan to be seen (boring). I checked out the plumbing, betting it would be clean. Not. Actually, the turn-off is walking back to the bathroom where the mop and pail and boxes of stuff are stacked and stuffed in the hall. No broom closet, apparently. How charming.
As we drove home, I complained (a polite word for it) about the Perk & Pub, while The Man With Impecible Taste insisted it was just fine -- even called it "very nice.".
As I said, it is time to quit this nonsense. We will have some of my homemade pea soup from the freezer for dinner tonight, and will probably eat at our favorite Venice Club before the kitchen returns. I’m sure I’ll find something to blather to you about anyway, even if it isn’t on Bluemound Rd.
Grumpy, as well as
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Chipotle
Isn’t it amazing the number of chain restaurants there are? And how many of them are on Bluemound Road? Mr Picky Eater was not thrilled about eating at Chipotle, as he said he’d been to one of these joints before and didn’t like it. But then his daughter who eats out often, said it was one of her favorite places. So The Man agreed to give it another try.
At least we figured out what it is about Chipotle that The Man doesn’t like. It’s the tortillas. He doesn’t care for those rigid, pre-cooked corn tortillas, but he also doesn’t like flour tortillas that are not fried to a slightly crisp texture. That’s how I cook them at home (when I have a kitchen, a stove, a frying pan, olive oil and a dishwasher at my disposal). At Chipotle, they put the flour tortillas in a sort of steam heater, so they are warm, but floppy. The Man thinks his wife-of-German-descent knows better how to cook tortillas than the people-of-Mexican-descent who prepared his meal at Chipotle.
Inside his raw, floppy tortilla, The Man had a pork and bean burrito and I ordered the tacos (both $5.75). My taco order included three small tacos in which I tried three different meats. The pork was best. The beef was way too hot (spicy) for my whimpy taste buds, and the chicken was dry and boring. I also had them slather on some fresh tomato salsa, some of that tasteless, white Mexican cheese (queso), sour cream and lettuce. In his burrito, The Picky Man ordered pork, beans, cheese, and the hot salsa (after the server assured him that, heaven forbid, the hot salsa didn’t have any funky cilantro in it). He had a large Diet Pepsi for $1.50; I had a Spotted Cow beer for $3.50 – because, of course, they had no caffeine-free diet soda. If it weren’t for the raw tortilla, The Man said he’d have enjoyed his meal.
I want to send you a picture of my stunning kitchen, but I’m waiting for the painter to finish his magic and for the appliances to fill in some rather obvious holes in the cabinetry. Tune in next week for views of the finished product!
Kitchenless in Brookfield
At least we figured out what it is about Chipotle that The Man doesn’t like. It’s the tortillas. He doesn’t care for those rigid, pre-cooked corn tortillas, but he also doesn’t like flour tortillas that are not fried to a slightly crisp texture. That’s how I cook them at home (when I have a kitchen, a stove, a frying pan, olive oil and a dishwasher at my disposal). At Chipotle, they put the flour tortillas in a sort of steam heater, so they are warm, but floppy. The Man thinks his wife-of-German-descent knows better how to cook tortillas than the people-of-Mexican-descent who prepared his meal at Chipotle.
Inside his raw, floppy tortilla, The Man had a pork and bean burrito and I ordered the tacos (both $5.75). My taco order included three small tacos in which I tried three different meats. The pork was best. The beef was way too hot (spicy) for my whimpy taste buds, and the chicken was dry and boring. I also had them slather on some fresh tomato salsa, some of that tasteless, white Mexican cheese (queso), sour cream and lettuce. In his burrito, The Picky Man ordered pork, beans, cheese, and the hot salsa (after the server assured him that, heaven forbid, the hot salsa didn’t have any funky cilantro in it). He had a large Diet Pepsi for $1.50; I had a Spotted Cow beer for $3.50 – because, of course, they had no caffeine-free diet soda. If it weren’t for the raw tortilla, The Man said he’d have enjoyed his meal.
I want to send you a picture of my stunning kitchen, but I’m waiting for the painter to finish his magic and for the appliances to fill in some rather obvious holes in the cabinetry. Tune in next week for views of the finished product!
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Uno's and Switchplates
Uno’s is east of Moreland Road. We’ve eaten our way over 3 miles of Bluemound Road restaurants since September 7th, when we became kitchenless. I’m not going to make it to the Stadium before my kitchen is done, as someone thought would be likely, but I will make it into the next suburb of Elm Grove. We should have the Most Beautiful Kitchen in Brookfield in about a week.
Actually, it already IS the Most Beautiful Kitchen in Brookfield, though not yet functional. The hardware is installed on the cabinets. The slate and botanical tile back-splash is done and is breathtaking. Some of the moldings are installed and the carpenter guys get to wake me up tomorrow morning when they come back to finish their work. The Man Who Does Electical Stuff Without Frying Himself Or Burning The House Down spent last week on his computer trying to find switchplates in an oiled bronze finish to match the cabinet hardware. I was agonizing over the choice I had made of stainless steel plates. They looked awful. No-- they just -- Looked. Like switchplates were what you noticed when you walked into the kitchen. Who (besides The Man Who Does Electicity For Fun) would want their kitchen to be all about the switchplates? Realizing that he might have to put up with me moaning at him for the rest of his life, The Man got serious and found really cool bronze ones at Restoration Hardware. And then he was witless enough to mention that they were much more expensive than the stainless ones, to which I replied, "Like we'd even notice in the cost of this kitchen?" Good grief!
Meanwhile, we arrived at Uno’s at 6:30 PM on Saturday evening and were told our wait would be 25 minutes. So we settled in at a table in the bar and studied the appetizer and beverage menu, and yippee! I discovered another place that serves a caffeine-free diet cola! I felt I should support this menu item, so I ordered that beverage and The Man Whose Tastes Are None Too Adventuresome ordered nachos ($7.99) for us to share. But within 15 minutes we were seated in the dining room, nibbling nachos while waiting for our dinner order. The order of nachos was enormous, with lots of tomatoes and beans and sour cream, but the cheese was tasteless - in the opinion of your master Bluemound Road restaurant critic.
I noticed several fish dishes on their dinner menu. After all the fast food and ethic restaurants and chains, I’d become a bit desperate for seafood. I ordered the Lemon Basil Salmon ($13.49) with a side of mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon and a side of steamed broccoli (oh, yum!). The Man ordered one of the pizzas for which Uno’s is famous, the Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza ($8.89) which has tomatoes, cheese and Italian sausage in a deep pie crust. My salmon was excellent! It was a good-sized portion, with a spicy crust on top and perfectly done and served HOT. Though my memory is untrustworthy, this was the best piece of fish I could recall eating while on this Bluemound Road adventure. The potatoes were not from a box and were also yummy and the broccoli was crunchy and hot. Altogether a great meal. The Man said his pizza met his specifications for good food. Service was great – our waitress brought us new glasses of colas before ours were even empty.
When we left at 7:30, no one was waiting. If you come to Uno’s on a Saturday evening, don't be early.
For another week, I'll be
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Actually, it already IS the Most Beautiful Kitchen in Brookfield, though not yet functional. The hardware is installed on the cabinets. The slate and botanical tile back-splash is done and is breathtaking. Some of the moldings are installed and the carpenter guys get to wake me up tomorrow morning when they come back to finish their work. The Man Who Does Electical Stuff Without Frying Himself Or Burning The House Down spent last week on his computer trying to find switchplates in an oiled bronze finish to match the cabinet hardware. I was agonizing over the choice I had made of stainless steel plates. They looked awful. No-- they just -- Looked. Like switchplates were what you noticed when you walked into the kitchen. Who (besides The Man Who Does Electicity For Fun) would want their kitchen to be all about the switchplates? Realizing that he might have to put up with me moaning at him for the rest of his life, The Man got serious and found really cool bronze ones at Restoration Hardware. And then he was witless enough to mention that they were much more expensive than the stainless ones, to which I replied, "Like we'd even notice in the cost of this kitchen?" Good grief!
Meanwhile, we arrived at Uno’s at 6:30 PM on Saturday evening and were told our wait would be 25 minutes. So we settled in at a table in the bar and studied the appetizer and beverage menu, and yippee! I discovered another place that serves a caffeine-free diet cola! I felt I should support this menu item, so I ordered that beverage and The Man Whose Tastes Are None Too Adventuresome ordered nachos ($7.99) for us to share. But within 15 minutes we were seated in the dining room, nibbling nachos while waiting for our dinner order. The order of nachos was enormous, with lots of tomatoes and beans and sour cream, but the cheese was tasteless - in the opinion of your master Bluemound Road restaurant critic.
I noticed several fish dishes on their dinner menu. After all the fast food and ethic restaurants and chains, I’d become a bit desperate for seafood. I ordered the Lemon Basil Salmon ($13.49) with a side of mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon and a side of steamed broccoli (oh, yum!). The Man ordered one of the pizzas for which Uno’s is famous, the Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza ($8.89) which has tomatoes, cheese and Italian sausage in a deep pie crust. My salmon was excellent! It was a good-sized portion, with a spicy crust on top and perfectly done and served HOT. Though my memory is untrustworthy, this was the best piece of fish I could recall eating while on this Bluemound Road adventure. The potatoes were not from a box and were also yummy and the broccoli was crunchy and hot. Altogether a great meal. The Man said his pizza met his specifications for good food. Service was great – our waitress brought us new glasses of colas before ours were even empty.
When we left at 7:30, no one was waiting. If you come to Uno’s on a Saturday evening, don't be early.
For another week, I'll be
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Friday, November 9, 2007
Old Country Buffet
YIKES! We’ve hit the bottom of the barrel - in my opinion. How can a buffet have so many yucky choices? The carrot and raisin salad was runny with too much mayo. Yuck! The baked potato was dry and then ruined further by a very strong horseradish sauce. Yuck! The overdone, dry barbequed chicken breast had bacon wrapped around it, which formed an odd combination with barbeque sauce. Yuck! The salmon filet was fishy tasting and smelling. Yuck! The orange chicken was very heavily battered and then deep fried with the orange sauce added. I can’t say "yuck", because it was pretty tasty, but it surely wasn’t good for you. And it was lukewarm. Yuck! The boiled cabbage was floating in its serving dish, ready to drown your plateful of other foods. Yuck! The macaroni and cheese was soggy pasta in white sauce, sans cheese. Yuck! Even the desserts – the lemon bars were dry and lacked lemon flavor. Yuck! The soft serve ice milk was soft serve ice milk. Yuck!
There were, in my opinion, two edible items I encountered. The baked beans were very good. They were not a soggy mass of unidentifiable goop. They were still firm and had a nice flavor. The warm chocolate pudding cake was also okay. At least it did taste of chocolate.
I didn’t bother to check the ladies bathroom. If the food is disgusting, you aren’t going to come here whether the bathrooms are clean or not.
This nasty restaurant was full of people at 6 PM on Wednesday evening, with more coming in all the time. Most of the customers were families with very small children who, poor things, have no taste and no choice of where to learn to have taste. And seniors. Many seniors. The Old Country Buffet is not cheap enough to warrant coming here. Dinner during the week is $10.49 each. Sure, it’s all you can eat. But who would eat such garbage at any price?
Well... I can answer that. The Man Whose Mother Was A Lousy Cook And Therefore Has No Memories That Include GOOD Home Cooking (except mine, which tends toward what The Man considers "funky", that is, it might include a mushroom or two) said he’d be back.
He’ll have to do it alone.
Only ten more days to be...
Kitchenless in Brookfield
There were, in my opinion, two edible items I encountered. The baked beans were very good. They were not a soggy mass of unidentifiable goop. They were still firm and had a nice flavor. The warm chocolate pudding cake was also okay. At least it did taste of chocolate.
I didn’t bother to check the ladies bathroom. If the food is disgusting, you aren’t going to come here whether the bathrooms are clean or not.
This nasty restaurant was full of people at 6 PM on Wednesday evening, with more coming in all the time. Most of the customers were families with very small children who, poor things, have no taste and no choice of where to learn to have taste. And seniors. Many seniors. The Old Country Buffet is not cheap enough to warrant coming here. Dinner during the week is $10.49 each. Sure, it’s all you can eat. But who would eat such garbage at any price?
Well... I can answer that. The Man Whose Mother Was A Lousy Cook And Therefore Has No Memories That Include GOOD Home Cooking (except mine, which tends toward what The Man considers "funky", that is, it might include a mushroom or two) said he’d be back.
He’ll have to do it alone.
Only ten more days to be...
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The Original Pancake House
What a charming spot this is on busy Bluemound Road. This nifty old farmhouse that has housed all sorts of businesses (furniture store, bagel shop, even the chamber of commerce office, I think) has found its true calling. Open only from 7 AM until 2 PM on weekdays and until 3 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, it has become THE place to go for breakfast or brunch in Brookfield.
We arrived at about 9 AM on Sunday and put our names on the list. There were kids playing ball outside, there were grandparents on benches outside and people standing in the small area inside the door. The customers were in jeans and sweatshirts, as well as some in their Sunday-go-to-meetings clothes. The parking lot was full all the way past the furniture store to the north. We were told our wait would be 25 minutes. Sometimes The Man has more patience than I do. Often, actually. I’d have gone home right then and eaten Raisin Bran out of a styrofoam bowl. The Man said he was okay with waiting. So we did.
At exactly 9:25 our name was called. And even I think it was worth it. The inside is as charming as the outside, the wait staff is charming, and the food was super. Let’s start with the ambiance: The Original Pancake House is decorated in old-farmhouse light green walls, with big pastel artworks on the walls, an exposed old plank ceiling, green checked lampshades and window shades. Even the artificial daisies and paper-white narcissus in ceramic pots add to the charm. On this busy morning, it hummed with activity, but was not really noisy.
The menu looks like one of those from which you’d like to order one of each thing -- it all sounds so good. Following the recommendation of a friend who had eaten here, I ordered the blueberry pancakes ($6.45). This was six nice-sized pancakes served with whipped butter and a deliciously sweet blueberry syrup. The Man Who Was Starving By Now ordered a Western Omelet with bacon ($9.45), which comes with a side of Buttermilk Pancakes. He also had a large orange juice ($3.25) and we both had coffee ($2.00 each). The coffee is very good too, by the way. And I'm a bit picky about coffee. But the omelet... Wow! It was amazing. Really light, with lots and lots of cheese and bacon and sweet peppers. I asked our waitress how many eggs it was made with. Would you believe 5 eggs! The Man With The Appetite ate about 1/3 of it. We will split the remainder for two very adequate portions for dinner tomorrow night.
Though our total bill was $24.22 plus tip, and it blew an hour of our Sunday morning newspaper reading time, it was a great meal. We’ll be back. The waitress told us that if you get there before 8:30 AM or after 2 PM there usually is no waiting. Or anytime on a weekday.
I’d like to bring our kids here when they come at Christmas. Our son-in-law would love it. I just found out that his mother has accepted our invitation to spend Christmas in Brookfield, to share the 5-year-old grandson we both adore. She lives north of Boston, runs an art gallery, and is a lovely lady. My kitchen will, thank goodness, be glorious, even if the rest of our house is still "a dinky little ranch house" in the ‘burbs. That is a quote from one of our daughters when she was a teenager going to high school with the rich kids from neighboring Elm Grove. That dinky little ranch house is sure suckin' the bucks these days!
Kitchenless in Brookfield
We arrived at about 9 AM on Sunday and put our names on the list. There were kids playing ball outside, there were grandparents on benches outside and people standing in the small area inside the door. The customers were in jeans and sweatshirts, as well as some in their Sunday-go-to-meetings clothes. The parking lot was full all the way past the furniture store to the north. We were told our wait would be 25 minutes. Sometimes The Man has more patience than I do. Often, actually. I’d have gone home right then and eaten Raisin Bran out of a styrofoam bowl. The Man said he was okay with waiting. So we did.
At exactly 9:25 our name was called. And even I think it was worth it. The inside is as charming as the outside, the wait staff is charming, and the food was super. Let’s start with the ambiance: The Original Pancake House is decorated in old-farmhouse light green walls, with big pastel artworks on the walls, an exposed old plank ceiling, green checked lampshades and window shades. Even the artificial daisies and paper-white narcissus in ceramic pots add to the charm. On this busy morning, it hummed with activity, but was not really noisy.
The menu looks like one of those from which you’d like to order one of each thing -- it all sounds so good. Following the recommendation of a friend who had eaten here, I ordered the blueberry pancakes ($6.45). This was six nice-sized pancakes served with whipped butter and a deliciously sweet blueberry syrup. The Man Who Was Starving By Now ordered a Western Omelet with bacon ($9.45), which comes with a side of Buttermilk Pancakes. He also had a large orange juice ($3.25) and we both had coffee ($2.00 each). The coffee is very good too, by the way. And I'm a bit picky about coffee. But the omelet... Wow! It was amazing. Really light, with lots and lots of cheese and bacon and sweet peppers. I asked our waitress how many eggs it was made with. Would you believe 5 eggs! The Man With The Appetite ate about 1/3 of it. We will split the remainder for two very adequate portions for dinner tomorrow night.
Though our total bill was $24.22 plus tip, and it blew an hour of our Sunday morning newspaper reading time, it was a great meal. We’ll be back. The waitress told us that if you get there before 8:30 AM or after 2 PM there usually is no waiting. Or anytime on a weekday.
I’d like to bring our kids here when they come at Christmas. Our son-in-law would love it. I just found out that his mother has accepted our invitation to spend Christmas in Brookfield, to share the 5-year-old grandson we both adore. She lives north of Boston, runs an art gallery, and is a lovely lady. My kitchen will, thank goodness, be glorious, even if the rest of our house is still "a dinky little ranch house" in the ‘burbs. That is a quote from one of our daughters when she was a teenager going to high school with the rich kids from neighboring Elm Grove. That dinky little ranch house is sure suckin' the bucks these days!
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Monday, November 5, 2007
Baker's Square
Look at that, will you. We're eating east of Moreland Road. I didn’t think we’d get this far. We still haven’t sampled the offerings of the Old Country Buffet, but we did try. On Saturday night at about 6 PM, we couldn’t even get near enough to the door to ask how long was the wait. There were people lined up three deep outside, into the parking lot. Who knew it was so popular? And I wonder why? I suspect it isn’t due to their fine wine list...
BRIGHTLY LIT Baker’s Square doesn’t sport a fine wine list either. Nor any wine list, for that matter. Now that I think about it, I don’t think they serve alcohol at all. But it was next on our trip east along Bluemound Rd.(skipping Flemings for the moment).
The ambiance at Baker’s Square is BRIGHT, in case you hadn’t guessed. Almost blindingly BRIGHT. This lighting does not create a warm and fuzzy atmosphere, even with the fireplace lit on this chilly evening. The crowd here is elderly accompanied by their middle-aged children. There were handicapped walkers with wheels, walkers without wheels, wheelchairs and several canes on the evening we were seated – feeling pretty darned spy, actually. Tables are close together, so what with the way-beyond-adequate lighting, you are able to examine the makeup in the wrinkles of the great-grandma seated at the next table.
Baker’s Square’s food is good – Basic, maybe even boring, but good. The menu is a bit long on chicken and short on fish for my taste, but it all sounded like down-home food. For instance, The Man Who Craves Boring, Comfort Food Way Beyond The Average Person ordered a Chicken Pot Pie ($7.49), a bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup ($2.99) and a glass of Diet Pepsi. Is that predictable, or what? I ordered the small portion of the Catch of the Day, which was Cod, Grilled Vegetables and Rice Pilaf ($8.29). And a small portion it was. The piece of cod could not have weighed 3 ounces. The Man suggested that these small portions probably appeal to Baker’s Square’s elderly customers. He recalled that when we ate at Luther Manor when my mother lived there, the residents would complain if there was too much food on their plates. A chicken breast with a small baked potato on the same plate would actually render them unable to eat at all. Well, they wouldn’t have to worry about that at Baker’s Square. If I ever see the day when the sight of too much food decreases my appetite, I’ll know which restaurant to go to.
The Vegetable Beef Soup was really good, with a good, tomato broth and nice chunks of vegetables, and not much beef. The pot pie was reportedly tasty also. My fish was moist, if tiny, and my vegetables were a nice treat. There was summer squash, carrots, broccoli, red bell peppers, and onions, all grilled perfectly. There was a more than adequate portion of rice pilaf, that, unfortunately, looked and tasted like it came from a box.
Baker’s Square is not a healthy place for The Man Who Is Unable To Pass Up A Piece Of His Favorite Types of Pies (apple, lemon meringue and chocolate French silk. He’s even picky about his pies.). Before he even ordered his meal, The Man asked the waiter if they had their French Silk Pie this evening. Of course they did. And he asked if it was possible to take a piece of pie home. Of course it was. A piece of pie is a rip off – Baker's Square sells an entire French Silk Pie is $10.99. A single piece is $5.00.
Later that evening, in the more subtle lighting from the glow of his computer screen, The Man announced that the pie was worth it.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
BRIGHTLY LIT Baker’s Square doesn’t sport a fine wine list either. Nor any wine list, for that matter. Now that I think about it, I don’t think they serve alcohol at all. But it was next on our trip east along Bluemound Rd.(skipping Flemings for the moment).
The ambiance at Baker’s Square is BRIGHT, in case you hadn’t guessed. Almost blindingly BRIGHT. This lighting does not create a warm and fuzzy atmosphere, even with the fireplace lit on this chilly evening. The crowd here is elderly accompanied by their middle-aged children. There were handicapped walkers with wheels, walkers without wheels, wheelchairs and several canes on the evening we were seated – feeling pretty darned spy, actually. Tables are close together, so what with the way-beyond-adequate lighting, you are able to examine the makeup in the wrinkles of the great-grandma seated at the next table.
Baker’s Square’s food is good – Basic, maybe even boring, but good. The menu is a bit long on chicken and short on fish for my taste, but it all sounded like down-home food. For instance, The Man Who Craves Boring, Comfort Food Way Beyond The Average Person ordered a Chicken Pot Pie ($7.49), a bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup ($2.99) and a glass of Diet Pepsi. Is that predictable, or what? I ordered the small portion of the Catch of the Day, which was Cod, Grilled Vegetables and Rice Pilaf ($8.29). And a small portion it was. The piece of cod could not have weighed 3 ounces. The Man suggested that these small portions probably appeal to Baker’s Square’s elderly customers. He recalled that when we ate at Luther Manor when my mother lived there, the residents would complain if there was too much food on their plates. A chicken breast with a small baked potato on the same plate would actually render them unable to eat at all. Well, they wouldn’t have to worry about that at Baker’s Square. If I ever see the day when the sight of too much food decreases my appetite, I’ll know which restaurant to go to.
The Vegetable Beef Soup was really good, with a good, tomato broth and nice chunks of vegetables, and not much beef. The pot pie was reportedly tasty also. My fish was moist, if tiny, and my vegetables were a nice treat. There was summer squash, carrots, broccoli, red bell peppers, and onions, all grilled perfectly. There was a more than adequate portion of rice pilaf, that, unfortunately, looked and tasted like it came from a box.
Baker’s Square is not a healthy place for The Man Who Is Unable To Pass Up A Piece Of His Favorite Types of Pies (apple, lemon meringue and chocolate French silk. He’s even picky about his pies.). Before he even ordered his meal, The Man asked the waiter if they had their French Silk Pie this evening. Of course they did. And he asked if it was possible to take a piece of pie home. Of course it was. A piece of pie is a rip off – Baker's Square sells an entire French Silk Pie is $10.99. A single piece is $5.00.
Later that evening, in the more subtle lighting from the glow of his computer screen, The Man announced that the pie was worth it.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Tile and Grasch's Deli
Oops! This entry was from Thursday and the one after this was from Friday. Oh, well. Now that I'm caught up, I will try to post these In The Proper Order in the future. Sorry 'bout that.
The tile-installer guys were here today. They are working on the backsplash for my kitchen. This will take three days. Today they cut the slate into four-inch squares. Tomorrow they install it, along with the decorative botanical tiles my potter daughter made for us. Then it dries overnight and Monday they grout it. Obviously, since our daughter made the tiles, this backsplash is the most crucial part of this entire remodeling job to me. I can’t wait to see it.
After the backsplash, there are some moldings to put up and the hardware. Then the wall and ceiling painter does his magic. Then the bamboo floor will get its final coat(s) of finish. And then– tada!– the appliances are delivered and installed, along with the sink and faucets. And then you can all come over for dinner. Well, maybe a few of you at a time. And I’d give it a week or so, until I get my fill of steamed brussel sprouts and fried eggs.
I am saving Flemings for our final dinner out. We will skip it and come back. Smart me bought a $75 gift certificate for Flemings at the Waukesha County Land Conservancy’s fundraiser. While supporting my favorite non-profit, I hope I created a bit of comfort for The Man And His Wallet. But, really. In the cost of a kitchen remodeling job, what’s a couple hundred bucks for a final grand meal? (Just in case The Man happens to read this, I’m kidding, I’m kidding.)
I needed a night at home, so tonight I am going to review my favorite deli – Grasch’s. Actually, it’s my favorite grocery store, but I know little about their deli items with the exception of their Dill Seafood Salad, which is way beyond yummy. Our dinner tonight consisted of a half of a roasted chicken in a sweet pepper sauce (from Grasch’s deli $7.41), baked winter squash casserole (from Grasch’s deli - I forgot to write down the price), and a waldorf salad made from cut-up Cortland apples that I bought at the Brookfield Farmers’ Market last Saturday and mixed with raisins and a handful of walnuts, dressed in fat free apricot yogurt. We didn’t even eat the entire half chicken, so it will be lunch on the weekend. It seems that one can eat nice stuff from a very good deli for less than even the cheapest fast food meal. And it was fairly simple, even without a kitchen. I made the salad in a small enough bowl to wash in the bathroom sink, heated the other dishes in glass refrigerator dishes that are easy to clean and served it all on paper plates with a glass of Ken Forrester 2003 Petit Chenin - a South African wine from Grasch’s. In a real wine glass.
I’m becoming less
Kitchenless in Brookfield
The tile-installer guys were here today. They are working on the backsplash for my kitchen. This will take three days. Today they cut the slate into four-inch squares. Tomorrow they install it, along with the decorative botanical tiles my potter daughter made for us. Then it dries overnight and Monday they grout it. Obviously, since our daughter made the tiles, this backsplash is the most crucial part of this entire remodeling job to me. I can’t wait to see it.
After the backsplash, there are some moldings to put up and the hardware. Then the wall and ceiling painter does his magic. Then the bamboo floor will get its final coat(s) of finish. And then– tada!– the appliances are delivered and installed, along with the sink and faucets. And then you can all come over for dinner. Well, maybe a few of you at a time. And I’d give it a week or so, until I get my fill of steamed brussel sprouts and fried eggs.
I am saving Flemings for our final dinner out. We will skip it and come back. Smart me bought a $75 gift certificate for Flemings at the Waukesha County Land Conservancy’s fundraiser. While supporting my favorite non-profit, I hope I created a bit of comfort for The Man And His Wallet. But, really. In the cost of a kitchen remodeling job, what’s a couple hundred bucks for a final grand meal? (Just in case The Man happens to read this, I’m kidding, I’m kidding.)
I needed a night at home, so tonight I am going to review my favorite deli – Grasch’s. Actually, it’s my favorite grocery store, but I know little about their deli items with the exception of their Dill Seafood Salad, which is way beyond yummy. Our dinner tonight consisted of a half of a roasted chicken in a sweet pepper sauce (from Grasch’s deli $7.41), baked winter squash casserole (from Grasch’s deli - I forgot to write down the price), and a waldorf salad made from cut-up Cortland apples that I bought at the Brookfield Farmers’ Market last Saturday and mixed with raisins and a handful of walnuts, dressed in fat free apricot yogurt. We didn’t even eat the entire half chicken, so it will be lunch on the weekend. It seems that one can eat nice stuff from a very good deli for less than even the cheapest fast food meal. And it was fairly simple, even without a kitchen. I made the salad in a small enough bowl to wash in the bathroom sink, heated the other dishes in glass refrigerator dishes that are easy to clean and served it all on paper plates with a glass of Ken Forrester 2003 Petit Chenin - a South African wine from Grasch’s. In a real wine glass.
I’m becoming less
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Fuddrucker's
We met Old Friends at Fuddrucker’s on Friday night. These are the same Old Friends who joined us for dinner some weeks back at George Webb’s. And the same Good Old Friends who have had us over for dinner twice during the kitchen remodeling project, giving The Tightwad's wallet a much-appreciated rest.
It was burger time again. Fuddrucker’s purports to have the world’s best burgers, and I’m here to tell you, their burgers are mighty good. But even more alluring to me is the fact that Fuddrucker’s actually serves a caffeine-free diet cola! Yippee! That’s a first for Bluemound Road establishments, I think. It will be a definite draw for me.
The ambiance at Fuddrucker’s is the friendly-sounding, noisy buzz created by lots of kids, but not so deafening you cannot converse with your Old (or new) Friends. The tables are granite topped and the place is attractive, with old photos on the walls of 50's and 60's heros from the sports world and the entertainment world. To attract the families and keep the kids from driving their parents nuts, there is a game room with pin ball machines and other such attractions. Another plus: the bathroom was clean! What a nice surprise. And there wasn’t even a lot of old ladies’ drool on the floor around the photos of Elvis decorating the walls of the ladies’ room.
At this purveyor of Big Beef, you can order a 1/3 lb burger, a ½ lb burger, and, believe-it-or-not, a 2/3 lb burger! That’ll make your arteries stand right up and salute. I ordered a 1/3 lb. Black and Blue Burger ($5.79) that grabbed my attention with the words, "blue cheese." My refillable Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi was $1.99. The Man ordered his 1/3 lb burger with Three Cheeses, an order of fries and his Diet Pepsi in a trio deal for $8.90.
We had barely settled in at a table when our buzzer called us to pick up our food orders. How amazing that they can get all those burgers done to order in just minutes – and on a Friday night when the place was running on full. We all agreed: the burgers are delicious. And the fries were wedges of potatoes, spiced well and served HOT.
This is one place to which we will return when we’re hungry for a good burger served quickly. I think I’d rank this the best burger and the best fries on Bluemound. Not to mention, the only place on Bluemound with My Kinda Cola.
I realize that I do sound much more cheerful than in my recent entries on this blog. It’s the company. We always have a great time visiting with our Old Friends. And this time this Old Friend Who Has Great Taste had a fabulous idea for how to mount my daughter’s tiles on the backsplash in my new kitchen. I was agonizing, not sure I liked how they looked. She studied the problem and figured out that the tiles look better not mounted singly on each wall. I am much relieved – and grateful. Thank you, Dear Friend.
The backsplash should be done being installed by the middle of the week. Drop in and see it when you’re in the neighborhood.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
It was burger time again. Fuddrucker’s purports to have the world’s best burgers, and I’m here to tell you, their burgers are mighty good. But even more alluring to me is the fact that Fuddrucker’s actually serves a caffeine-free diet cola! Yippee! That’s a first for Bluemound Road establishments, I think. It will be a definite draw for me.
The ambiance at Fuddrucker’s is the friendly-sounding, noisy buzz created by lots of kids, but not so deafening you cannot converse with your Old (or new) Friends. The tables are granite topped and the place is attractive, with old photos on the walls of 50's and 60's heros from the sports world and the entertainment world. To attract the families and keep the kids from driving their parents nuts, there is a game room with pin ball machines and other such attractions. Another plus: the bathroom was clean! What a nice surprise. And there wasn’t even a lot of old ladies’ drool on the floor around the photos of Elvis decorating the walls of the ladies’ room.
At this purveyor of Big Beef, you can order a 1/3 lb burger, a ½ lb burger, and, believe-it-or-not, a 2/3 lb burger! That’ll make your arteries stand right up and salute. I ordered a 1/3 lb. Black and Blue Burger ($5.79) that grabbed my attention with the words, "blue cheese." My refillable Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi was $1.99. The Man ordered his 1/3 lb burger with Three Cheeses, an order of fries and his Diet Pepsi in a trio deal for $8.90.
We had barely settled in at a table when our buzzer called us to pick up our food orders. How amazing that they can get all those burgers done to order in just minutes – and on a Friday night when the place was running on full. We all agreed: the burgers are delicious. And the fries were wedges of potatoes, spiced well and served HOT.
This is one place to which we will return when we’re hungry for a good burger served quickly. I think I’d rank this the best burger and the best fries on Bluemound. Not to mention, the only place on Bluemound with My Kinda Cola.
I realize that I do sound much more cheerful than in my recent entries on this blog. It’s the company. We always have a great time visiting with our Old Friends. And this time this Old Friend Who Has Great Taste had a fabulous idea for how to mount my daughter’s tiles on the backsplash in my new kitchen. I was agonizing, not sure I liked how they looked. She studied the problem and figured out that the tiles look better not mounted singly on each wall. I am much relieved – and grateful. Thank you, Dear Friend.
The backsplash should be done being installed by the middle of the week. Drop in and see it when you’re in the neighborhood.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Halloween, plus Noodles & Company
Last night was Halloween in Brookfield, where we respect the actual dates of holidays. So trick-or-treat was on the correct evening here. Did you ever try to buy a pumpkin ON Halloween? Don’t. I wanted the kids in my ‘hood to realize we were home and with candy. If they didn’t come, I’d have to eat all those M&M’s myself. First I stopped at Pick ‘N Save. No pumpkins. The guy gathering carts from the parking lot told me that they’d run out two weeks ago. YIKES! So I ran to my favorite gourmet grocery store, Grasch’s. The only pumpkins they had left were a couple of HUGE ones with their tops cut and their guts scooped, for the convenience of rich, little old ladies who still like to carve scarey faces. I bought them. And then I thought... All the young parents in my neighborhood walk around with their kids. Wouldn’t it be nice to treat them too? So I bought a half dozen bottles of South African wine (in remembrance of our recent winery tour there), and, as I can’t really cook sans kitchen, I picked up some cheeses, sausages, olives, pretzels, plus a helium-filled Halloween balloon. I ran home and set up my party in the driveway. It was a hoot! I met lots of neighbors – and I fed M&M’s to 110 kids.
By the time the trickers had finished, The Man Who Had Discovered Beef Sausage Bites Being Served In His Driveway was no longer hungry. So wine and sausage was dinner on Wednesday.
The night before we hit yet another walk-up-to-the-counter-for-service kind of restaurant on Bluemound Road. Can there possibly be a need for so many fast food establishments in Brookfield? Apparently so. Noodles and Company seems to be a very popular one. Though it appears from the outside to be a small spot in a shopping center, it’s actually quite spacious. And busy. We felt quite hip and trendy when we ate at Noodles Tuesday night. Everyone was so young and attractive – just like us.
The menu offers noodle dishes of many nationalities – Japanese, Thai, Italian, American. I had their Whole Grain Tuscan Fettuccine with the addition of shrimp – actually quite a few shrimp – in a yummy light cream sauce plus a side Caesar salad (total $6.95). I didn’t notice on the menu board until I’d finished eating that for $.75 you can add one of ten different vegetables to your dish. Cooked broccoli! With nary a backward glance, I would have blown three quarters from the collection of The Man Who Has Six Piles Of Quarters-From-Each-State That No One Is Allowed To Mess With.
The Man Whose Tastes Remain At Those Of A Five-Year-Old ordered a mammoth bowl of macaroni and cheese ($5.25) – and ate the whole thing, purring all the way. What could possibly be more satisfying than macaroni and cheese and a Diet Pepsi? I guess it must have been good. I wouldn’t know. I couldn’t get my fork in it without risking the loss of my arm.
I’ve returned to my habit of not using public bathrooms, but I stuck my head in the ladies room at Noodles just so I could give you a report. Same old, same old... Full waste paper container; faucets and sink in need of scouring. Most people would say it was clean enough for public use, but let me tell you... I’ve just returned from South Africa. As you could see from the photo I attached recently, many people in that country are desperately poor. Where there are so many people in need of work, the public bathrooms everywhere are Clean. With all of the wealth we have in this country, our restaurants, be they fast food or not, could afford to hire someone to keep their bathrooms – and their kitchens – CLEAN. At least at Noodles I could see into the kitchen and it was clean. Not as spotless as my new one will be, but pretty darned good for a Bluemound Road fast food establishment.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
By the time the trickers had finished, The Man Who Had Discovered Beef Sausage Bites Being Served In His Driveway was no longer hungry. So wine and sausage was dinner on Wednesday.
The night before we hit yet another walk-up-to-the-counter-for-service kind of restaurant on Bluemound Road. Can there possibly be a need for so many fast food establishments in Brookfield? Apparently so. Noodles and Company seems to be a very popular one. Though it appears from the outside to be a small spot in a shopping center, it’s actually quite spacious. And busy. We felt quite hip and trendy when we ate at Noodles Tuesday night. Everyone was so young and attractive – just like us.
The menu offers noodle dishes of many nationalities – Japanese, Thai, Italian, American. I had their Whole Grain Tuscan Fettuccine with the addition of shrimp – actually quite a few shrimp – in a yummy light cream sauce plus a side Caesar salad (total $6.95). I didn’t notice on the menu board until I’d finished eating that for $.75 you can add one of ten different vegetables to your dish. Cooked broccoli! With nary a backward glance, I would have blown three quarters from the collection of The Man Who Has Six Piles Of Quarters-From-Each-State That No One Is Allowed To Mess With.
The Man Whose Tastes Remain At Those Of A Five-Year-Old ordered a mammoth bowl of macaroni and cheese ($5.25) – and ate the whole thing, purring all the way. What could possibly be more satisfying than macaroni and cheese and a Diet Pepsi? I guess it must have been good. I wouldn’t know. I couldn’t get my fork in it without risking the loss of my arm.
I’ve returned to my habit of not using public bathrooms, but I stuck my head in the ladies room at Noodles just so I could give you a report. Same old, same old... Full waste paper container; faucets and sink in need of scouring. Most people would say it was clean enough for public use, but let me tell you... I’ve just returned from South Africa. As you could see from the photo I attached recently, many people in that country are desperately poor. Where there are so many people in need of work, the public bathrooms everywhere are Clean. With all of the wealth we have in this country, our restaurants, be they fast food or not, could afford to hire someone to keep their bathrooms – and their kitchens – CLEAN. At least at Noodles I could see into the kitchen and it was clean. Not as spotless as my new one will be, but pretty darned good for a Bluemound Road fast food establishment.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Cousin's Subs
Why can’t a single fast food establishment offer ONE – any – caffeine-free soft drink without sugar? Surely I am not the only person who would order that. It is the non-alcoholic drink of choice of most of my friends, all of whom eat in restaurants regularly. Cousin’s had an entire glass-doored refrigerator filled with sodas and teas and water. They had 8 more soft drinks on tap. None were caffeine-and sugar-free. I begrudgingly paid $1.19 for a small bottle of water.
Cousin’s is another brightly-lit, spanking clean establishment, though someone could scour the bathroom faucet just once in a while. Brookfield has hard water, I know, but a bit of cleanser on a regular basis would do the trick. (You don’t think I’m getting a bit testy about this eating-in-restaurants-every-night thing, do you? I can tell you I am pining for a fried egg and for some good, steamed, fresh vegetables and for a roasted, free-range chicken and for homemade bread and homemade jam. I’ve even taken to reading recipes again... Soon this will be over and you’ll be on your own to try out the restaurants in your neighborhood.)
I ordered Cousin’s hot Chicken Cheddar Deluxe Sub ($4.49) on a whole wheat roll with fat free mayo – a thoughtful offering. Thank you, Cousin’s. It was very good and a filling meal. The bacon really "made" it. The Man, who was again luxuriating in the price of dinner here, ordered an Italian Special sub meal that comes with chips and a medium drink for $6.48. And, of course, The Man With The Clear Conscience Who Can Sleep Propped Up In Any Corner At Any Hour contentedly drank caffeinated Diet Coke (though he prefers Pepsi).
A sign in the shop noted that customers’ food would be delivered to their table within five minutes. So I timed it. We put our order in at 6:10 PM on Monday evening. Our food was brought to our table at 6:14. That’s amazing. We were back home in less than a half hour. The Man with wiring on his schedule didn’t have a complaint tonight.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Cousin’s is another brightly-lit, spanking clean establishment, though someone could scour the bathroom faucet just once in a while. Brookfield has hard water, I know, but a bit of cleanser on a regular basis would do the trick. (You don’t think I’m getting a bit testy about this eating-in-restaurants-every-night thing, do you? I can tell you I am pining for a fried egg and for some good, steamed, fresh vegetables and for a roasted, free-range chicken and for homemade bread and homemade jam. I’ve even taken to reading recipes again... Soon this will be over and you’ll be on your own to try out the restaurants in your neighborhood.)
I ordered Cousin’s hot Chicken Cheddar Deluxe Sub ($4.49) on a whole wheat roll with fat free mayo – a thoughtful offering. Thank you, Cousin’s. It was very good and a filling meal. The bacon really "made" it. The Man, who was again luxuriating in the price of dinner here, ordered an Italian Special sub meal that comes with chips and a medium drink for $6.48. And, of course, The Man With The Clear Conscience Who Can Sleep Propped Up In Any Corner At Any Hour contentedly drank caffeinated Diet Coke (though he prefers Pepsi).
A sign in the shop noted that customers’ food would be delivered to their table within five minutes. So I timed it. We put our order in at 6:10 PM on Monday evening. Our food was brought to our table at 6:14. That’s amazing. We were back home in less than a half hour. The Man with wiring on his schedule didn’t have a complaint tonight.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Thursday, November 1, 2007
My Sunroom
I’m going to have to slap several days of restaurant reviews on my blog at a time for a few days, because my computer was doing naughty things and wouldn’t let me get on the internet for several days. The problem even stumped The Techie Man Who Shares My Waterbed, But Not My Computer. The Dear Man spent over an hour last night waiting on the phone for Roadrunner technical support. Suffice it to say, The Man was NOT happy. My computer is now fixed. Don’t ask. I didn’t.
The Man Who Can Also Do Electrical Stuff had a busy weekend attaching wires to outlets or switches in my new kitchen. So I suggested that we eat one dinner at home. The Man is beginning to resent the amount of time it takes to eat out every night. Amazing ... it wasn’t the money that got to him first. And, of course, it wasn’t the lack of vegetables and healthy cuisine. It was the time involved.
So, I said to The Man as we sat down in our sunroom, next to the refrigerator and the microwave, "What do you think of this ambiance?" to which he replied, "I like that the tables seem to be far apart. I can’t hear anyone else’s conversations." It was true. All you could hear was the hum of the refrigerator which is temporarily sitting right next to the table. "The interior ambiance lacks some class," he added, "but the view makes up for it." I had not looked at my yard in this competitive context before. He was right. My gardens and the fall leaves waving through the skylight make a much nicer backdrop for dining than any view we have experienced on Bluemound Road. And take my word for it -- the bathrooms are definitely cleaner.
"The food here is delicious," The Man Who Is No Fool added. It was my homemade lasagna, which I had frozen before the demolition of my kitchen. But even frozen lasagna was a tricky meal to serve sans kitchen. The French bread had to be heated in the toaster oven, which is on the same circuit in the sunroom as the microwave. So I preheated the toaster oven, stuck in the bread, unplugged that appliance, plugged in the microwave and heated the slices of lasagna. Meanwhile, I washed the romaine lettuce in the bathroom sink and tossed a Caesar salad on a couple of paper plates, using some of Grasch’s grated parmesan and their homemade croutons and Newman’s salad dressing. I served this meal on paper plates as well, as it is difficult to wash decent sized plates or a salad serving bowl in a bathroom sink. And I am not willing to carry all these dishes downstairs and back up from the basement laundry tubs, even if I thought those tubs were clean enough in which to do dishes.
While I was complaining about the inconvenience of making this simple meal, I couldn’t help but recall a tour we took last week in the Townships of South Africa, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in shacks made of odd pieces of junk.
Here in Brookfield I am annoyed because I have no deep sink in which to wash a salad bowl.
They have no running water -- or plumbing.
I have two appliances on the same circuit.
They have no electricity at all. They have no kitchen. And not just for a couple of months.
Let me show you a picture I took while on a tour of Khayelitsha, a suburb of gorgeous, cosmopolitan Cape Town. Keep this picture in your head if you ever decide to remodel your kitchen. Think how fortunate we are.
Even though I am...
Kitchenless in Brookfield
The Man Who Can Also Do Electrical Stuff had a busy weekend attaching wires to outlets or switches in my new kitchen. So I suggested that we eat one dinner at home. The Man is beginning to resent the amount of time it takes to eat out every night. Amazing ... it wasn’t the money that got to him first. And, of course, it wasn’t the lack of vegetables and healthy cuisine. It was the time involved.
So, I said to The Man as we sat down in our sunroom, next to the refrigerator and the microwave, "What do you think of this ambiance?" to which he replied, "I like that the tables seem to be far apart. I can’t hear anyone else’s conversations." It was true. All you could hear was the hum of the refrigerator which is temporarily sitting right next to the table. "The interior ambiance lacks some class," he added, "but the view makes up for it." I had not looked at my yard in this competitive context before. He was right. My gardens and the fall leaves waving through the skylight make a much nicer backdrop for dining than any view we have experienced on Bluemound Road. And take my word for it -- the bathrooms are definitely cleaner.
"The food here is delicious," The Man Who Is No Fool added. It was my homemade lasagna, which I had frozen before the demolition of my kitchen. But even frozen lasagna was a tricky meal to serve sans kitchen. The French bread had to be heated in the toaster oven, which is on the same circuit in the sunroom as the microwave. So I preheated the toaster oven, stuck in the bread, unplugged that appliance, plugged in the microwave and heated the slices of lasagna. Meanwhile, I washed the romaine lettuce in the bathroom sink and tossed a Caesar salad on a couple of paper plates, using some of Grasch’s grated parmesan and their homemade croutons and Newman’s salad dressing. I served this meal on paper plates as well, as it is difficult to wash decent sized plates or a salad serving bowl in a bathroom sink. And I am not willing to carry all these dishes downstairs and back up from the basement laundry tubs, even if I thought those tubs were clean enough in which to do dishes.
While I was complaining about the inconvenience of making this simple meal, I couldn’t help but recall a tour we took last week in the Townships of South Africa, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in shacks made of odd pieces of junk.
Here in Brookfield I am annoyed because I have no deep sink in which to wash a salad bowl.
They have no running water -- or plumbing.
I have two appliances on the same circuit.
They have no electricity at all. They have no kitchen. And not just for a couple of months.
Let me show you a picture I took while on a tour of Khayelitsha, a suburb of gorgeous, cosmopolitan Cape Town. Keep this picture in your head if you ever decide to remodel your kitchen. Think how fortunate we are.
Even though I am...
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Marty’s Pizza
This is about as historic as Brookfield get’s. Marty’s restaurant opened for business in 1957. That’s even before I had met The Man Who Loves Any Food That Is Italian Or Pretends To Be. We skipped a couple of places along our Bluemound Road route so we could eat a Marty’s pizza on Saturday night. Don’t fret; we will go back to Cousin’s Subs and The Noodle Company and Country Kitchen – before Fudrucker’s, and then – tada! Flemings!
Marty’s makes thin crust, rectangular pizzas and cuts them into square slices. No flashy shrimp, feta or pineapple pizza toppings here. Cheese, sausage, pepperoni, onions, olives – that’s about it. Which fits the desires of The Man Who Can’t Deal With Funky Food – and that would certainly include anchovies on pizza. Which I happen to like. Oh, well... I was sharing pizza with The Man tonight, so I had cheese and sausage.
We also shared an order of Marty’s cheese-topped deluxe breadsticks with our beer while waiting for the pizza. The breadsticks were dull. No spices; boring cheese on top. I actually shook some salt on mine, just to give it SOME taste. The Man said he thought they were good. Okay... The beer selection here is basic. I had a Honey Weiss – I like any Weiss beer, though this is mighty mild tasting for a weiss beer. But at least the price is right: $2.50 a glass.
I was disappointed in the pizza. The crust was a bit tough. I didn’t think it was spicy enough either. And you know me. I am not the queen of spicy hot foods. But I would like to taste some Italian herbs in my tomato sauce and a smattering of fennel seeds in my Italian sausage. It would be fun to have a pizza tasting at which you could compare Mama Mia’s, Venice Club, Marty’s, and just for kicks, throw in one from Balistreri’s (from 68th and Wells in ‘Tosa). All have thin crusts. I thought I liked all of them. But as of Saturday evening, I think I would cross Marty’s off the list.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
Marty’s makes thin crust, rectangular pizzas and cuts them into square slices. No flashy shrimp, feta or pineapple pizza toppings here. Cheese, sausage, pepperoni, onions, olives – that’s about it. Which fits the desires of The Man Who Can’t Deal With Funky Food – and that would certainly include anchovies on pizza. Which I happen to like. Oh, well... I was sharing pizza with The Man tonight, so I had cheese and sausage.
We also shared an order of Marty’s cheese-topped deluxe breadsticks with our beer while waiting for the pizza. The breadsticks were dull. No spices; boring cheese on top. I actually shook some salt on mine, just to give it SOME taste. The Man said he thought they were good. Okay... The beer selection here is basic. I had a Honey Weiss – I like any Weiss beer, though this is mighty mild tasting for a weiss beer. But at least the price is right: $2.50 a glass.
I was disappointed in the pizza. The crust was a bit tough. I didn’t think it was spicy enough either. And you know me. I am not the queen of spicy hot foods. But I would like to taste some Italian herbs in my tomato sauce and a smattering of fennel seeds in my Italian sausage. It would be fun to have a pizza tasting at which you could compare Mama Mia’s, Venice Club, Marty’s, and just for kicks, throw in one from Balistreri’s (from 68th and Wells in ‘Tosa). All have thin crusts. I thought I liked all of them. But as of Saturday evening, I think I would cross Marty’s off the list.
Kitchenless in Brookfield
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