Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I still suck at posting, but my St. Patrick's Day plans involve going to Paddy's Pub tomorrow from about 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Weather should be nice so join us out on the patio!

And to remind you of why I'm not sitting home blogging incessantly....here's a picture of my last St. Pat's pre-celebration:

And mine this year:

milwaukee props: santa cycle rampage 2009

There are some events in my life that I've been afraid to recreate, worried that the magic will have worn off the second time. I am terrified of going back to Rome, weary of partying until dawn in Chicago, and until yesterday, a little nervous about riding in Milwaukee's own Santa Cycle Rampage again.

I admittedly had a different experience this year. I talked the ride up to several of my friends, including relatively novice bikers, Ben and Becky, who I spent most of my day with. Last year, I'd lost Monica and Joe on the ride and met and partied with lots of randoms. I seem to get more trouble when I'm unleashed on my own, so maybe it was a good thing the Bs kept me in line. :)

Ben and I met up at U.S. Bank early so we could get some cash for the day. It turned out we didn't need much of it, as Santas get some sweet drink deals. This first stop was handy in realizing that somewhere on my ride up to North Ave. I'd lost my flimsy Santa hat. I think it was karma from blowing off the two guys on Farwell who asked me to take a picture with them. I'd been running late, so I said no. Santas who say "no" lose hats. A stop at CVS on Downer became necessary, so I as not to be shamed by the other Santas. I picked up the number above in part because the dangling snowballs notified me that the hat would be staying on. They also provided much amusement throughout the day...because there's never too many "dangling snowballs" jokes.

While waiting for Becky to arrive at Cafe Hollander, we filled out a raffle ticket for the Bike Federation of Wisconsin and grabbed a Fat Tire from the keg--ah, the first beer at 10 a.m.

We also scoped out some of the decorated bikes, like the one above. I think that this is a goal for 2010 for sure.

Maribeth decided not to do the ride with us, but stopped over to check out the excitement. Hopefully we can convince her to come along next year.

Becky made it in the "Saint Nick" of time before we headed out on the road. I had the bright idea to put a refill of Fat Tire in my water bottle holder, and we were off.

The magic for me this year came in the form of seeing the absolute joy on my friends' faces as we began riding through the Eastside spreading cheer.

Down Farwell to Brady and then over the Marsupial Bridge, we traveled to the next stop at Lakefront Brewery, where a contingent of Santas who had ridden in from Wauwatosa awaited us. The numbers were now 200-250 strong, and the Santa population dwarfed the civilians there for an early tour.

My friend Virginia (in elf-green) had met us at Hollander, but we got to sit for a bit (and warm up) with her at Lakefront. Massive props again to Lakefront for providing one free beer for each of the Santas. I was hoping they'd have their new brew, Local Acre, on tap, but in a pinch, I went with the delicious Pumpkin Lager.

We headed out around noon for the downtown part of the ride. 250 Santas strong, we went up Water Street, passed the Red Arrow Ice Rink (we stopped the skaters), up Wisconsin Avenue (some folks threw candy canes at pedestrians), and over the 6th Street Viaduct. This truly is the best part of the ride, as people just love seeing that many Santas .... on bikes!

Things definitely started getting a wee bit fuzzy after the next stop at Great Lakes Distillery. Again, a super awesome local business supporting this fun event. Wisconsin recently passed a law allowing them to have samples, and they are rocking that like nobody's business. They had free Santa punch or Candy Cane Vodka Coffee, as well as sample tastings of their liquor. I tried the punch, which I believe had their artisan grappa in it as well as a whole lotta deliciousness. Ben and I also sampled their two types of Absinthe - vert and rouge. I have to say the green fairy did it for me more. I also got to try their Pumpkin Seasonal at long last.

I ended up with a rogue group of Santas heading from the distillery over to the next stop at Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall. While we had a fun little side street detour, we did miss the highlight of many Santas' day...

... a police ESCORT! Definitely in contrast to last year's traffic stop, these cops were awesome and treated the Santas with respect. My friend Tim has more about this over at his Beer Runner blog.

The house polka band greeted us as we packed into this tiny Southside tavern. I grabbed a $2 pint of Point and stood in the food line, forgetting that there was nothing I could eat.

I made due with my four saltines, and made a note to pack a lunch for next year. Those saltines didn't really prepare me for the next great idea.

Do the people in the photo above LOOK like they need to take a shot of Rumpleminze off of a ski? Well, this is Wisconsin, my friends. And since when I blogged about it last year, I neglected to provide photo evidence, I enlisted Virginia to capture the beauty of the SHOTSKI on camera.

We still had one more stop after this too! After polkaing and another point, we grabbed our bikes to head to the last stop at Cafe Centraal. Somehow I lost the Bs, who ended up halfway to Tosa following some westside Santas. Whoops. In the interim, I filled my stomach with some vegetarian chili and some WATER (brilliant), before grabbing another Fat Tire off the Santa keg.

Despite grand plans to bike with an illicit pack of middle-aged Santas down forbidden routes (for which we'd risk $250 tickets), I ended up riding good old reliable KK home. I somehow lost the Bs again, keeping up with my friend Jeff's well-lit bike, as my front guppy headlight got snatched in Bay View. Totally bummed about that. It's gotta be bad karma to steal from Santa! This put me in a salty mood, and I passed out at 6, hoping to make it to a Christmas party later that evening.

I woke up at 3:30 a.m., bummed I missed the party, but glad I spent another year Santa cycling-- even if the "magic" shone through in different ways.

WTFisconsin: No Drinking in Bars

I am all for reforms.

In fact, I came across a wonderful blog post this afternoon from James Rowen perfectly outlining how ridiculous it is for folks from both sides of the aisle to shut themselves off to new proposals.

I am also all for reforms that will address the drunk driving crisis in the State of Wisconsin. We should not have people like this guy in Manitowoc still on the road after 12 DUIs. I recognize the significance of the issues raised in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's recent series "Wasted in Wisconsin."

However, there is a new idea on the table that I just can't get behind.

Bartenders would have to maintain absolute sobriety under a proposal debated by a state Assembly panel Tuesday.

Being under the influence of alcohol or partying with customers is problematic for servers, bill author Rep. Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee) told the Assembly’s Committee on Urban and Local Affairs Tuesday. The committee also heard testimony on another proposal from Zepnick that would ban “all you can drink” specials.

Both are aimed at reducing the rate of drunken driving in Wisconsin.

Honestly, I think this makes us liberals who fought so hard for the statewide smoking ban look like temperance flag waving fun-killers. While the smoking ban benefits everyone's health, ushers Wisconsin toward the 21st century, and long-term will be better for tavern business, a ban on drinking employees and on drink specials dents a significant part of Wisconsin culture.

In regards to bartenders drinking on the job--that should completely be the choice of the employer. I know of plenty of bars/restaurants that don't allow their employees to drink on the job. I also know of advertising agencies that encourage drinking. Then consider our brewery and growing distillery industry. Why just apply this law to bartenders? Are the brewers not going to be able to test their wares?

I want my bartender to be able to recommend beers, wines and cocktails to me. If they are unable to try those while on the clock, there will be years of institutional knowledge killed in the state. I also want to continue to buy my bartender a drink if I've gotten exceptional service or they've listened to a sob story.

Wisconsin's cocktail culture is part of what makes the state unique. It's part of why I, a transplanted young professional, stay here. Obviously I don't want these employees driving home after a shift of drinking. But most employees are not drinking their entire shift. Why punish everyone and kill a culture because of a few stupid individuals? I guarantee if a person is an alcoholic, they're going to find a way to drink even when they're not on the clock.

In regards to banning certain drink specials, again, I don't think this is going to address the greater issue of drunk driving. And why a ban? Why not charge a fee to bars who want to offer these specials and partner with a cab company for a "safe ride home" program?

Or, here's another novel idea, why don't we invest more in public transportation infrastructure to give Milwaukeeans another option to get home from the bar?

Perhaps what aggravates me the most is that an extreme proposal like this is going to make the talk radio guys foam at the mouth. At a time when it has never been more critical to have bipartisan cooperation on critical issues like the economy, health care and transportation infrastructure, I am embarrassed as a Democrat to throw a big Prohibition Piñata over to the Republicans.

call to action: support our parks with pints

Yes, I still am a big slacker blogger.

BUT I wanted to point out this great event on Sunday to support my FUEL Milwaukee team's (Healthy & Green) adopted non-profit The Park People. It's just $10 and includes a regular Lakefront Tour PLUS Rehorst AND wine tasting too. Besides the boozing, there's also entertainment and raffles. What's not awesome about this?

Hope to see you there!

Milwaukee Props: How I Spent My Opening Day

No, I was not at Miller Park to see this:



(Not the best camera work, but it was all I could find on YouTube)

Instead I was jumping and screaming with my friends at The Bomb Shelter in Walker's Point. With free food, free shots when a homerun is hit (thanks Corey Hart for that Apple Pie), an unpretentious atmosphere and a daunting beer list, I can see how this bar has quickly become one of Milwaukee's faves. The "Ultimate Peep Show" in the back was just an added bonus. Greg's collecting skills are truly unmatched, so it's not surprising that he was able to find rarities like "Peep-flavored" popcorn.

I joined my friends Wren and Sarah there around 3:15 and while I had to pass up on the free wings (darn Good Friday), I did enjoy a delicious Bloody Mary (extra hot--they were out of Tabasco and substituted Sriracha sauce) with a Lakefront I.P.A. chaser (hey, look at that "Goes great with: Any spicy food").

I then decided to take an expedition through the Bomb Shelter's mindblowing craft beer menu. I opted first Ale Asylum Mercy Belgian Grand Cru. I thought Mercy may be a good choice, since I missed Good Friday service for a much-needed facial at Neroli. It was a pretty intense Belgian, I could really only handle one. I felt pretty special drinking it, as I guess there's only 600 cases out there. Next up was the recommended Yuengling Original Black & Tan. It tasted eerily spot on to the mixture of Guinness and Harp. I was glad to finally taste a beer from this microbrewery as well, since I'd never heard of it until there was a friendly wager between them and Lakefront during the Brewers/Phillies playoff last year. This beer was really delicious and went down smooth. I'd definitely try it again. I capped off my beer journey after Weeks' victorious slide with a Central Waters Brewing Company Kosmyk Charlie Y2K Catastrophe Ale. I'll admit, I picked this beer just for the name. I don't know if I've ever had an "American Barleywine"-style beer before. It packed quite a punch, but I was glad to discover another Wisconsin brewery.

By this time Sarah had headed out and Jason, Grant and Becky had all joined the party. Grant and Wren opted to stay at the bar, but the rest of us were craving fish fry. We headed up the street to Triskele's to grab some fish and delicious water. Food was delicious (just the right amount of crispiness on the fish and even the coleslaw was good (I don't really like coleslaw)), but Jason did awkwardly embarass our table, so we shoveled the food in and got out quickly.

It was still early and Becky's brother wasn't getting in until 9:30 on the train, so we decided to cap off the night at Bryant's. Becky and I tried the recommended Candlelight cocktail for a change. It was quite tasty -- and on fire! Jason got a Black Magic. Becks and I ended with a Straw Hat for her and a Grasshopper for me. Even though there's no longer old ladies, Bryant's retains a special place in my heart.

Best part about the day drinking...I was in bed by 9:30 and up and at 'em early this morning. If only every day could be Opening Day!

monday munchies: basketball food

If you are smart, and I believe you are, you've likely guessed that I haven't spent much time in the kitchen lately.

While the majority of the food I ate this weekend wasn't the healthiest, I did succeed in a couple culinary adventures.

I ate child-friendly food on Saturday, which was a first for me since possibly my babysitting years. My friend Michelle brought her adorable kids, Ally and Owen, downtown for a playdate. We had all sorts of healthy veggies to dip in "Wild Tomato Hummus Dip." See I just need a mom to cut up peppers, carrots, broccoli and celery (or SELLRY SELLRY SELLRY!!! as Owen kept singing) for me. Michelle also brought a selection of fancy cheeses from Sendik's for the grown ups to enjoy -- veggie colby, stout cheddar and good ol' brie. Delicious with Kashi crackers!

I grabbed an iced mocha from Espresso Christoph on my way back from the Cathedral Square to get energy for my afternoon of March Madness.

Of course, I negated the healthy snacks, by promptly heading out to Hooligan's on Saturday afternoon, where I enjoyed a Bloody Mary (or two), some Strongbow, various Lakefront Brewery products and a Spotted Cow somewhere in there too while watching a solid seven hours of college basketball. I repeated the same liquid menu on Sunday, but to a lesser extent, although my beloved Marquette's loss called for some unplanned sorrow-drowning.

Hooligan's does have pretty tasty food, and over the course of the weekend I indulged in chicken tenders (with a healthier option of a side salad in lieu of french fries), and split some orders of nachos, spinach and artichoke dip (with divine garlic bread!) and mozzarella marinara. Thank goodness I don't watch sports incessantly throughout the year.

I did have a brief respite from the artery-cloggers yesterday when my friend Kim and I decided to check out The National, a new coffee shop on National Avenue. My friend Wren recommended this place, and I'm grateful for that. Not only was the place adorable, but their food and beverage was delicious. I had a mocha and a bowl of very unique Tomato Walnut Pesto soup. Tasty! This joint plays excellent tunes and is really into supporting local artists and local food suppliers. Now that my bike is getting its yearly tune up at Cory the Bike Fixers, I foresee a ride there in the near future.







Of course I was back on the greasewagon tonight, as I am at the tail end of my paycheck (much of which went to March Madness beverages) and had a coupon for a free Culver's value basket thanks to Twitter. I had their blackened chicken sandwich, fries and a lemonade. Delish!

milwaukee props: sustainable spirits

While Thursday night's libation of choice was beer, Friday ended up focused on spirits -- made right here in Milwaukee.

Our original plans canceled, Becky and I ended up checking out the Great Lakes Distillery tour with a group from FUEL Milwaukee. You may remember my raving about the Rehorst event earlier in the month, now I am completely sold. If I buy a bottle of vodka for my home use, it will only be Rehorst.

The tour hammered home not just their focus on quality and standards, but their commitment to sourcing local products for their creations. Ninety-five percent of money from a Rehorst brand purchase stays in the local economy.

I learned the reason they make a wheat vodka is because they can use Wisconsin-grown wheat. I learned that my favorite product, the Citrus & Honey Vodka is made with honey from Wisconsin Natural Acres in Chilton. The lemons are HAND-ZESTED, and while not grown in-state (for obvious reasons) are sourced via a locally-owned produce distributor.

I'm not a gin drinker, but they did sell me on the idea that "gin is just juniper-flavored vodka" and that non-gin drinkers like their product. I have to agree. The difference is they make theirs with ginseng (Wisconsin grown of course!) and sweet basil (sourced from The Spice House) instead of angelica root.

Apparently a very limited supply of their artisan series brandies -- Grappa (grapes grown in Wisconsin), Kirschwasser (distilled from Wisconsin wine) and the highly recommended Pear Eau-de-Vie (also distilled from Wisconsin wine) -- is available now. I'm anxious to sample. I'm also excited to try their absinthe rolling out soon.

Because of all sorts of antiquated post-prohibition laws and crazy distributor monopolies, they aren't allowed to sample at the distillery. Luckily the fabulous Iron Horse Hotel is across the street. We joined the group of about 40 people in The Library (it was great to snuggle up on the leather couches next to the fire place) for a taste test of the vodka, Citrus & Honey and the gin. My friend Kristen was there too and I got the scoop on upcoming Skylight shows (who wants to go to Pirates of Penzance with me this spring?).

Though we were craving fish fry, Becky and I decided not to brave the icy weather and just move on over to Branded to nosh. We each had the Billy Blue salad (Becks had salmon with hers) and split a HUGE bowl of House Chips. The chips are tastetastic and coated with Wisconsin Parmesan. We, of course, washed down our meal with Rehorst Citrus & Honey and tonic (after I established that tonic is not soda). Branded is a bit on the pricey side, but man, I have to say it's one of the coolest places in town. It completely succeeds at being swanky and unpretentious at the same time. I highly, highly recommend it. Hopefully one day I'll get to stay in a room there!

It's good to see places like Great Lakes Distillery and the Iron Horse putting Milwaukee on the map. Rumor has it that Sheryl Crow was hanging out at the Iron Horse this week, and then I ran into my friend Eric (in from California for the day to close on a house in Milwaukee) at the distillery. Okay, maybe not in the same category, but both can spread the word about what fantastic things are happening here.

milwaukee props: beer and cheese

While I agree that it's important for Milwaukee to position itself as MORE than just beer and cheese, I think it's equally as crucial for the city to highlight just how FANTASTIC its beer and cheese is. Especially since a California drought should help us regain our America's Dairyland title back from those obnoxious Happy Cows.

My activities on Thursday and Friday evening reminded me just how well-positioned Milwaukee is to stay ahead and hip as a cultural center for the beer, booze and cheese.

On Thursday I headed to the Milwaukee Public Market with my pals Larissa, Cynthia, Nora and Jim for the second annual Moo & Brew event, this year renamed "Moodi Gras" (and the reason I did not give up artisan cheese for Lent).

This was one of my favorite events in 2008 and I definitely give the 2009 version "two thumbs up," even if it was slightly scaled back from last year (stupid economy).
The event is pretty much heaven for beer and cheese lovers. And it also raises money for Hunger Task Force, so you can feel good about all the calories you consume. This year they worked to pair up the beer with complimentary cheeses, so it really was a party in your mouth.
We started at the Ale Asylum table. This brew out of Madison has been showing up at a lot of events lately. We sampled the Ambergeddon (best beer name EVER) and the Hopalicious. I preferred the former based on taste, name and badass logo. By the end of the night I was tempted to get it tattooed on my upper arm. Maybe it was because somehow I ended up with a whole bottle of it.Next up was a sampling from Castle Rock Organic Farms out of Osseo, Wisconsin. They had two blue cheeses--regular and smokey--both cave aged (Lars was enamored that they had their own cave). The smokey was definitely a unique flavor and I'd be curious to experiment with it a bit more.

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At the same table was a Roth Kase selection of Grand Cru Gruyere (yummy and I bet even yummier in fondue) and Solé Gran Queso (which the sales rep unfortunately called "Kway-soh"). I believe my favorite cheese, the Ostenbørg Chive and Horseradish Havarti was also at this table. I was too busy scarfing it to take a photo apparently.

Ready to wash these selections down, we headed over to the Great Lakes Brewing table. Out of Cleveland, these guys were sampling their Burning River Pale Ale and their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. I've tried both before and both are excellent. The porter is extremely drinkable, and as Nora said would be perfect for a summer barbecue. Ah, summer.
Time for more cheese, and with a celebrity cheesemaker no less (okay, not really, but I did read about Marieke Penterman on a cheese blog). Hollands Family Farm from Thorp, Wisconsin makes several kinds of gouda and sampled three: regular, cumin and herb. All delicious, but the cumin was quite unique and would be a nice addition to a cheese party.

Next up, everyone's favorite local champ, Lakefront Brewery to wash down those flavors. Appropriately for the theme they sampled their seasonal Big Easy, as well as their Bock. In all my years as a Lakefront drinker I don't believe I've sampled the Bock, and I can't say that I was disappointed.A truckload of cheeses followed, from Carr Valley Cheese in LaValle, Wisconsin. They experiment with a lot of cow, goat and sheep combos and produce some smashing results. We tried the Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar (spicy!), Apple Smoked Garlic Cheddar, Benedictine, Menage, Creama Kasa, and Gran Canaria. Many of Carr Valley's cheese have racked up awards and accolades and the cheese coma that followed proved it.
Luckily we hit a looooong line before the next stop and allowed the cheese to digest a bit.
We found out the reason for the long line was the chatty Furthermore rep, who remembered me from last year and my looooooooove of Fatty Boombalatty. I'll admit this Spring Green, Wisconsin brewery's Knot Stock, with its cracked pepper taste, did go better with the accompanying cheese, but man, I love me some Fatty.

He also teased me with an unopened bottle of their brand new Thermo Refur beer made with organic beets and black pepper. Sounds wild and amazing and is rumored to be at Comet now, but will be in liquor stores next week. Dying to find some!

Appropriately my favorite microbrew discovery from the '08 Moo & Brew was paired with my favorite cheesemaker discovery from last year. Sartori cheese was up next sampling three kinds of their totally original BellaVitano cheese -- Black Pepper, Raspberry and Gold. The Black Pepper and Knot Stock created a flavor explosion, however, the final sampling of their Rosemary & Olive Oil Asiago was my "I need a block of this" cheese of the table.
Wrapping up the beer sampling was Unibroue, which granted is out of Quebec, but still a fave amongst us Wisconsinites. They were only sampling two of their many beers this year -- the Ephemere and Maudite. I jumped on the opportunity to have the appletastic Ephemere as I rarely find it while out and about.
The final cheese of the night came from Saxon Creamery in Cleveland, Wisconsin. We tried Pastures, Big Eds and Green Pastures -- all very original flavors. I think the latter was my fave out of this group. Jerry from Saxon had a really great story too of learning farming techniques from his late father-in-law Big Ed when he decided to become a cheesemaker.
I did miss the cooking demonstration and cheese book signing they had last year, as well as the inclusion of Madison's Potter's Crackers. The crowd was a bit more diverse this year, with the addition of suburbanites and weird girls with matching tights.
Hopefully the Public Market will capitalize this on this sold out event and make it more than an annual thing. Barring that though, see you next year!