New Site!

OK, I did it. I like the look of Wordpress better, and so we're finally making the move. beergoggles was unavailable, as was beergogglesmke (this one was my own fault), so the blog is getting a new style of eyewear. Click on over to Beer Spectacles - because spectacles are much more fashionable than goggles.

Worst bloggers ever

It's official. We haven't blogged in over a month. Good god, that's pathetic. And if you think that it's because we haven't done anything, you'd be completely wrong. Here are the highlights:

• The Cudahy Police had a bike auction. Most of the stuff was not in great condition, but it did inspire me to get my old mountain bike fixed at South Shore Cyclery. They did a great job, and the price was reasonable. Craig then got an awesome bike from Emery's cycle shop. Jealous of Craig's purty new bike, I wound up regretting getting the old mountain bike fixed, and my birthday present wound up being a new hybrid bike, also from Emery's. We first looked at Wheel & Sprocket. They have a better selection, but the service at Emery's can't be beat.
• Now that we have new bikes, we've taken to riding a short section of the Oak Leaf Trail down in the Cudahy area. All the rain (and our own laziness) has kept us from getting better at long rides, so I'm not quite ready to use my bike as a reliable method of transport. But still, it's really fun to ride, and we're getting to see a lot of the gorgeous Lakefront. One of my favorite parts of Milwaukee is that the Lakefront is basically all park.
• We finally tried Water Buffalo downtown. YUM! We got the Italian cheese spread for a starter. It was tangy and creamy and delicious. Craig got the Philly Cheese Steak and said it was pretty good. My black bean burger was one of the best vegetarian sandwiches I've ever had (and I'm not vegetarian). My only recommendation would be to get the avocado spread on the side because the burger is quite big, but it would be easier to take home without the avocado spread. We got a fabulous berry cake dessert that was fried shortcake with berries and marscapone cream. The prices are very reasonable. We'll definitely go back.
• SUMMERFEST! Other than being truly annoyed with the organizers for injecting a little fascism into the festival by subjecting patrons to metal detector wands, we had a great time. We enjoyed Beer Goggles fave Old 97s on Saturday, June 28. Carrie Rodriguez played before her set, and her music sounded quite good. Definitely one we plan to check out. Thursday, July 3, was a fabulous day of music - Drive-By Truckers, Alejandro Escovedo, and Gomez. We caught two songs of Ingrid Michaelson before Gomez. On the basis of that performance, I checked out her CD Girls and Boys and can wholeheartedly give it the BG Seal of Approval. The only lowlight was that 3pm seemed like an odd time for the DBTs to play, and it felt a little forced to get enthusiastic for the rock. Oh, and Patterson Hood definitely forgot the words to "Puttin' People on the Moon." Alejandro was awesome, and you should pick up his new CD, Real Animal. Having seen Gomez once before, they certainly did not disappoint.
• Brewers game! We spent the 4th tailgating at Miller Park. Just a little note - if you buy 3 cases of beer, rum and rumrita fixings, and Bloody Mary supplies, but you only tailgate for 2 hours, even with 9 people, you will still have a ton of beer leftover. I think that this week, Craig and I have finally gotten it below a case. The Brewers destroyed the Pirates, 9-1.
• Booze Cruise! We did the Riverwalk Boat Tour brewery cruise. The cruise gets you tours and beer at Lakefront Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery, and Milwaukee Ale House. As expected, the Lakefront tour was the best. The Rock Bottom "tour" involved sitting in their special event room and hearing about the brewing process. We then went downstairs to the party room (complete with pool table, darts, etc.) and got our beer sample. I must say that the brews they currently have on tap are much tastier than the beers I've had at Rock Bottom in the past. We headed up the Lakefront, got a great tour and more beer. We ended at Ale House, but somehow we got separated from the group and wound up never going on the tour. Oh well, we got lots of tasty beer.
• Palms Bistro and Bar! After the brewery tour river cruise, we went to Palms for dinner. It would take way too much space to type about everything that we had, but it involved delicious appetizers and entrees, light and sweet desserts, good wine, yummy cocktails, and a fine scotch. Oh yes, Palms is definitely one of my favorite lists. If only they still had the monkey decor!
• Brunch at Cafe Vecchio Mondo was quite disappointing. There was nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't live up to their dinner. Sad.
  
• Milwaukee Ale House. We ate there last night, and we just have to say that the chicken enchiladas Craig got were better than enchiladas we've had at any Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee, save Cempazuchi. The state of Mexican restaurant options in Milwaukee is just sad. Also, Ale House's orange cream ale = awesome.

Well, that's it for now. I want to do a redesign (possibly with a move to Wordpress, but who knows) because frankly, this blog is boring. I really am going to try to blog more, hopefully with an emphasis on previews. After all, isn't it better to know what's coming up than what's already happened?

Another plug for the Wisconsin Humane Society

We went to WHS when they first opened Sunday morning. Apparently, it's the place to be on a Sunday morning. We had to wait in line to get on the list to meet kitties, but thankfully, other people didn't seem to be as interested in the few boy kittens available. We came home with Einstein!

Hey, he's already learned to wash his hands after using the bathroom!

No Zarletti or Swig :(

I must have picked up a stomach bug because today has been NOT pleasant. I have managed to eat a granola bar, some pretzels, and some crackers with a little cheese. I am probably dying. I had to come home mid-day, meaning I missed my awesome plans for lunch at Zarletti and dinner at Swig. I hope someone else is enjoying Dining Week as much as I wish I were. I'll go eat another cracker now.

A word on the bus

Now that gas is $4 per gallon up here (have you heard? gas is EXPENSIVE!), people are starting to take a second look at mass transit. I know because my bus has become increasingly crowded over the last couple of weeks.

So here's my little plug for the bus system. I started riding the bus on April 1. Why? Because my job doesn't come with parking, meaning that to park near the courthouse, I'd have to pay about $20 per week. One of the few perks of the job, however, is my Commuter Value Pass. I pay a mere $10 per month for unlimited rides on all Milwaukee County Transit System buses. The Commuter Value Pass is a program your employer can enroll in. The employer pays a portion of the cost (I believe the percentage varies with employer), and the employee pays the balance.

The most realistic picture of an MCTS bus ever drawn using Paint.

I know that Americans love our cars, and we don't like to take the bus. We don't like to rely on someone else to get us some place. Despite this American love of cars (and my car has nearly 100,000 miles on it in just over 6 years), I have found riding the bus surprisingly relaxing and freeing. I have several routes available to me, but I usually drive to a nearby park and ride and take a freeway flyer the rest of the way. Once on the bus, I don't have to worry about traffic. I don't have to worry about getting a car accident. I just read my book and prepare for the day. (OK, I do have to worry about accidentally sitting next to the woman who is perpetually glued to her cell phone. What kind of social call can possibly be that important at eight o'freakin' clock in the morning?) I have probably read more books in the two months since I started riding the bus than I had in the previous two years. Also, because the parking lot I would use is farther away from the courthouse than my bus stop, driving to the park and ride, waiting a couple of moments for the bus, and riding the flyer's entire downtown loop takes only about 10 minutes longer than driving to work.

On days when I plan to stay downtown after work (such as tomorrow, when I'll be indulging in Dining Week), I can take a different flyer or even a regular bus to get me downtown. I have discovered the many benefits of leaving the car behind and riding with the masses - saving money on gas and parking, less stress in traffic, and the chance to squeeze in some fabulous books. I'm not saying we should all sell our cars, wear our hair in dreadlocks, and buy a pair of Birkenstocks, but there really is something to this mass transit thing. Try it, even if just for an evening so that you don't have to pick a designated driver!

Dining Week!

Yes, I am a terrible blogger. Yes, I will try to be better. No, I will likely not succeed. It turns out that I am not a good blogger because 1) I am lazy, and 2) We are aggressively tackling our credit card debt, so we have not been going out as much. Basically, we are boring married people. Yaaawn.

But on to something exciting! This week is Downtown Dining Week here in Milwaukee. Downtown Dining Week is one of the greatest creations ever. A number of downtown restaurants (30 this year) participate by offering 3-course meals at the bargain price of $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner. (The price excludes beverage, tax, and tip. Remember to tip based on the suggested value of the meal. Even though the restaurant is giving you a discount, your server is doing the same amount of work!) It's a great way to explore downtown and try restaurants you've previously passed up, especially if you're pinching your pennies like me.

Today I went to Eagan's on Water, which is, not surprisingly, on Water Street. Having passed it many times on the street, I was excited to finally try it. I opted for the Small Chopped House Salad for my first course. If by "small," they meant "rather large," then the description was spot-on. It was fresh, tasty greens, topped with chopped carrots and celery, and lightly tossed with a spicy buttermilk dressing. Although the dressing was creamy, the salad was tossed in a small amount to give it a light coating but without weighing it down with gloppy goops of dressing and unnecessary fat. Delicious. For my main course, I went with the meatloaf sandwich. Um...awesome. I like meatloaf as much as the next person, but I had no idea meatloaf could be so good. Made with beef, pork and veal, the meatloaf was moist and tender. The baguette on which it was served was a bit softer than most baguettes I've had, but that certainly made it easier to eat. The bacon-tomato relish garnishing it really brought it all together. Eagan's was fabulous and let me substitute fruit for the fries, so kudos to them. (Many restaurants do not make substitutions for the dining week menu.) Although it pained me to pass up the Petit Chocolate Truffle Torte for dessert, I opted for the Daily Sorbet, which turned out to be mango. Even though I generally consider "dessert" to mean "chocolate," this was a great choice. Cold and smooth with a vibrant flavor, the sorbet was a refreshing ending to a delicious meal.

Still to come this week: Zarletti, Swig, and Kincaid's.

Marquette students like to be all up in everyone's business

So what exactly did happen at Tuesday night's PostSecret event? No clue! We were shut out. Harsh, I know. We arrived a few minutes late, but we figured we could sneak in and grab seats in the back. Meghan's and Craig's experiences from their days at Marquette were that most speaker events were poorly attended. But apparently, when the event is all about people putting their deepest, darkest secrets on postcards, the college kids go gaga. Instead, we wound up across the street at The Annex and enjoyed a friendly game of bowling. As a star alumna of Solo Practitioners, one of Notre Dame Law School's awesomely dorky spring bowling teams, I dominated with a not-too-shabby 128. The important thing, though, is that all three of us are qualified to be president because we scored higher than Barack Obama.

So tonight is Kathleen Edwards at Shank. Beer Goggles fave Muzzle of Bees has an interview with opener Last Town Chorus. The Dirtbombs will be gracing Turner Hall Ballroom. Both shows are at 8pm. Edwards is $15, and Dirtbombs are $12. The tentative plan is to hit up Shank Hall if I can shake this groggy feeling brought on by yet another cold.

One other tempting possibility: Moo and Brew at the Milwaukee Public Market. The event will feature delicious local cheeses paired with delicious local craft beer. It's from 5:30 to 7:30, and reservations can be made by calling 414-336-1111. The cost is $10, and all proceeds go to one of our favorite charitable organizations, Hunger Task Force. The event will also feature the authors of a recent cookbook about Wisconsin cheese, and there will even be a cooking demo. Sounds tasty!