La Crosse’s Oktoberfest is a big deal. There’s music, a parade, carnival games, brats, and fried cheese curds along with beer, drinking games, a golden keg, debauchery, and destruction. Destruction? Yes. Cars get flipped. It’s a tradition. There seems to be some agreement that the festival runs too long. This year’s was something like nine days long. That’s a long time. It used to be only four days long. Next […]
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We’ve had an awesome run of Mexican food lately. We even returned to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to get some of our favorite tacos from our trip. All this good food has made us wonder: Why do some places serve terrible tacos when great ones are so simple? In the spirit of giving, we’ve prepared this guide. Rule #1: Use two tortillas. With two tortillas, your chances of blowing out the […]
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While researching La Crosse, we came across an intriguing boast: Dublin Square offers free bacon during their happy hour. Further investigation was necessary. Visions of bottomless bacon bowls enchanted our dreams. It could never live up to our expectations. But it almost did. Here’s the deal: get a drink at the bar during happy hour. Ask for some bacon (you have to ask for it). You’ll get two slices of […]
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We wanted a direct flight when flying to London, didn’t want to transfer. Of course, no flight is truly direct. Here’s what we went through to get from A (Lake Geneva, WI, USA) to B (London, England, UK). Drive to Harvard, IL (40 minutes) Our travel day started with a drive into Illinois. We had been staying with my mom in Wisconsin. She was nice enough to get us through […]
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No Comments We had just under three weeks between our last day in the mountains and our flight to London. We spent it all, seemingly, eating. Here’s where we ended up: The Best Lunch Deal in Kansas City at Extra Virgin Happy Hour at Extra Virgin in Kansas City is amazing. But here’s the secret: it starts at 11:30AM, lunch time. It’s a lunch deal too. Many of their tapas are 50% […]
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Fun fact: Wisconsin drinks 1/3 of all the brandy Korbel makes: “Wisconsin is our number one state,” says Margie Healy, director of public relations for the California-based Korbel. “We export 385,000 cases a year, and 139,000 go directly to Wisconsin. That’s one-third of our total production.” Fake fact: 75% of all brandy consumed in the US is consumed in Wisconsin. (Not true, sadly.) Growing up, my grandmother always had a […]
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We’re at Red Rock Saloon in Milwaukee with our friends Archibald and Bunny and two other friends (names have been changed to protect the innocent). Archibald and Bunny like spicy food. They like it so much that they grew habanero peppers this summer and have about a bushel of them at home in their kitchen. It’s a supply for 13 lifetimes. Red Rock Saloon serves wings. Their spiciest non-waiver-required version […]
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Sorghum whiskey … um. Well. I’ve had sorghum beer – don’t really like it. I have gluten-free friends – like them OK. Sorghum whiskey? I’m impressed. First, it’s different. Distill booze to uber-proof, age it in an oak barrel, and water it down to selling-strength – you’d think the essence of the original grain would be pretty much demolished at that point. But corn whiskey still tastes corn-y and peat-smoke […]
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Last week we learned that people in Northern Wisconsin call people from Illinois FIBs — F*&#ing Illinois Bastards. Last night I was working on a post about the Angry Minnow, a brewery in Hayward, WI, when I inadvertently discovered that their website is infected by a Trojan that then proceeded to infect my PC. Coincidence? Luckily, I’m surrounded by computer geeks, so rather than giving some talented idiot my credit […]
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The Concrete Park in Wisconsin is bizarre. Here’s the brief, brief history (long version here): In the 1950s, ex-lumberjack, Fred Smith, creates a shit-load of sculptures over 14 years in his 60s and 70s. They’re concrete, decorated with glass bottles, shells, and other objects. In the ’70s, he dies, the Kohler Foundation purchase the site, and the Wisconsin Arts Council starts restoring the sculptures. The sculptures are creepy, beautiful, impressive, […]
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