September 10, 2012

Fueling up for London

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% off, so order a few to share. There are drink deals too. It’s wonderful. It’s the best lunch deal in Kansas City.

If you work in the area, we’re jealous of you. If you don’t work at all, but you eat here every day and have a cocktail for lunch, we’re even more jealous of you, you bastard.

Great Korean BBQ in Chicago

My brother lives down the street from a Korean restaurant, Song DO Korean BBQ. It was a restaurant that both frightened and attracted us in the past. We don’t know much about Korean food, but there’s a line out the door most nights. We gave it a shot and were glad we did. The fun dishes are cooked on a table-top burner. Everything was delicious, but it gets hot sitting next to the burner. Be prepared!

Gilles Milwaukee Custard

After KC, we headed north to Milwaukee for a wedding party. Beforehand, we had just enough time to stop at my favorite childhood custard stand, Gilles (pronouned gill-ee’s). Memory lane can be delicious. We had burgers and custard ice cream, a staple in Milwaukee. If you’re out-of-state, track down a Culver’s for some custard goodness.

Oh yeah, that's the good stuff. — Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff.

Salut in St. Paul

After catching our breath in Wisconsin for a couple days, we headed up to St. Paul to visit my aunt and one of my best buddies. We ended up at Salut after a fun day at the Como Park Conservatory (where Lisa made guacamole at a Chipotle-sponsored zoo exhibit). Go to Salut for some of the best French fries in the state. They were amazing. The food was great too. We love French cuisine, especially when it pokes fun at itself (the menu is filled with jokes and puns) .

Thanks for the free guacamole, Chipotle.

Famous Walleye at Tavern on Grand

The next day, we had a local treat — walleye. I had the walleye sandwich and it was wonderful. Walleye is a great northern-lakes fish, so if you see it on a menu, give it a try.

The Dorman Street Saloon, Indianapolis

Some good friends of ours recently moved to Indianapolis, so we trekked down to check out the new digs (after stopping in Madison for another weekend). We love their neighborhood and can’t wait to return to their local tavern, the Dorman. We had the place to ourselves on a weekday afternoon. It probably doesn’t keep this quiet on the weekend.

The Dorman, a great neighborhood bar in Indy.

Mars Resort, Lake Como

And after Indy? Back to Lake Geneva for more eating, of course. My mom showed us an old place she recently discovered, Mars Resort on Lake Como. We had fabulous fried chicken and fantastic ribs. This may have been the best fried chicken of the trip. Sorry, Southern peeps.

Birthday Lunch at St. Paul Fish Co., Milwaukee Public Market

Lisa’s got good taste when it comes to taste, so she insisted on going to the Milwaukee Public Market for her birthday lunch. She got the grilled tilapia, I had an oyster po’boy. Both were wonderful. The Public Market is just another reason why Milwaukee is a great place.