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Go on...everyone does...

Is that a Brat or a Brart?

Sunday I had my first Milwaukean bratwurst at the home of friends (after I kicked everyone's butt in Dominos - never played it before but I caught on quick!).

Wisconsin is famous for beer, cheese and bratwurst - thanks to the German immigrants who brought their favourite sausage from Europe.

Filled with trepidation - I didn't know what was proper condiment etiquette (mustard, relish, BBQ sauce or ketchup?) - I finally went with relish, mustard and ketchup.

The locals all giggled at my talk of having my "first brat" - pronounced brat - as in cat. Contrary to the norm when it comes to American pronunciation of the "a" vowel the locals all call them "brarts"...

They'll always be brats to me.

Friday night in Chicago

I had a job interview Friday in Chicago with an event marketing agency (for a job with their satellite office in Milwaukee - fingers' crossed!) so we decided that Robbie would come down after work on the train, and we'd spend the night in Chicago.

I managed to get us a great media rate at The Peninsula hotel right on Michigan Avenue. Had my first celebrity spotting episode at the hotel coffee shop while on a tour with the PR lady. Michael Keaton was but 2 metres from us as we popped in to take a look...he's in town directing a new film apparently.

Ms PR introduced me to Chef Graham Elliot Bowles, Executive Chef of their fine dining restaurant - Avenues, and named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs in 2004 and nominated as a Rising Star Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2006. Chef Bowles recently competed on The Food Networks "Iron Chef America". He's one of the young creative chefs playing with molecular gastronomy and is known for encrusting lamb with crushed Altoid mints - in a twist on mint sauce...!

We decided to pass on Avenues in favour of a Chicago treat - stuffed pizza pie and a beer (from the ridiculous to the sublime, or the sublime to the ridiculous - depending on your taste!). It was a miserable rainy night but we didn't have to venture far - Giordano's are famous for their deep-dish stuffed pizza pie (now a Chicago institution) and they're located right behind the hotel - at 730 N. Rush Street (don't worry - we couldn't finish it!).

We had fully intended to hit the blues bars, but the deep feather pillows (they give you a pillow menu when you check in!) at the Peninsula were calling....

Saturday morning we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibition. A lot of people are talking about this controversial exhibition of whole bodies and fascinating human specimens that have been preserved through the process of “plastination,” a technique that replaces bodily fluids and fat with plastics.

More than 800,000 visitors to the Museum saw the first Body Worlds exhibition in 2005 and the queues were a little overwhelming on Saturday...We arrived at midday to be told the earliest we could get in would be 4.45pm so we spent the day wandering the rest of the museum.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the exhibition - some of it was fascinating, some very disturbing. It was curated by the founder of plastination - a German doctor, Dr Gunther Von Hagens. More than 20 bodies of men and women are on display in various poses, in various stages of "undress". In all cases the skin has been removed and each has varying degrees of flesh, muscles, and organs removed so as to better observe the inner workings of the body.

There are also a number of organs, similarly preserved, showing a healthy specimen compared with a diseased counterpart - for example a healthy lung, one attached by cancer, and the lung of a coal miner (the worst).

Considering I can't even cope with the bloody scenes in ER and Nip Tuck I didn't dawdle and was though in an hour. Although each of the bodies had been donated in full knowledge of the process, and that they could be used for medical education or exhibition, I found it a little too sensational. There was a distinct blurring of the line between an educational display and one where the dignity of death is on the verge of being exploited. Dr Von Hagnes has been called the Walt Disney of Death - and he's certainly making a killing ('scuse the pun!).

Things to do in Milwaukee

I thought it was about time that I started to highlight some of the great places and things to do in Milwaukee, not only in case some of you should come to visit us (hint, hint!) but also so that you can get more of a feel for this new city we're in.

More famous for being the home of Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Harley Davidson, and Miller Brewing, it's German and Polish heritage (translation: lots of beer, sausage and cheese), and perpetually living in the shadow of big brother Chicago; with its better architecture, better food, more colourful mob bosses, and Oprah; Milwaukee is finally undergoing a makeover.

Developers are taking the industrial warehouses downtown and converting them into microbreweries, restaurants, offices and apartments; the picturesque lakefront now hosts one of the most beautiful modern buildings in America (the Santiago Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum), and from Summerfest (the world's largest music festival) in June until September music echoes from the city parks and outdoor venues in one long festival of festivals.

I've picked a few favourites, with a different family member in mind (in case you visit!), so here's a sample of the city's highlights - with more to come as I continue to discover the city!

Milwaukee Art Museum (Paula - it's all white!)
This is where I go to have a meditation with my eyes open...

The new Calatrava wing of the Art Museum (he is from Valencia for all you America's Cup fans), located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is one of the most restful spaces I've ever been in. The giant "wings" open at 10am every morning and close at 5pm when the museum closes (see the motion shot above). They were so large they had to be specially flown in from Europe on an Antonov plane.

Since we've been here there have been two brilliantly curated exhibitions - one on Biedermeier period furniture and the current exhibition on Francis Bacon - both terrific world class exhibitions - this city should be truly proud of this great space.

The permanent collection is anchored by the generous donation of the private collection of Mrs Harry Lynde Bradley (from one of the large philanthropic families in the area). With great foresight she actually donated her massive collection to the museum while she was still alive and the you can visit the private lounge and area she used, with the same furnishing and art as when she was alive.

This woman had magnificent taste and the collection includes works from the early 20th century Fauves, through to modern contemporary works. There are also several Georgia O'Keefes (she was from Wisconsin). It is a magnificent collection and I love almost all of the works. My favourite (left) is a piece by Canadian expressionist artist Jean Paul Riopelle - it's very "me"...
If you ever visit take some time to stand at the bottom of East Wisconsin avenue at 10am or 5pm to watch "the show".



"Lakeshore Drive" (Sheila)
Well actually, it's Lincoln Memorial Parkway, but it's our version of Chicago's famous Lakeshore Drive.
Be sure to bring your walking shoes (roller-blades, bike, or cross-country skis - depending on the season) as you'll be joining me on a fabulous 6mile walk from our place, two blocks to Lake Michigan, and then along Lincoln Memorial, up the hill and back through Lake Park for a picturesque bit of exercise. We'll pass some of the cities beaches where they play beach rugby in the summer months. If you're good, we'll probably stop at Alterra, our local coffee roaster, for a coffee on the way home!

Brewery Tours (Patrick)
You've got to do one and there are plenty to choose from but the top local favourite for quality beverages and atmosphere is Lakefront Brewery, followed by Sprecher, who make excellent sodas (I've fallen in love with cream soda!) as well as beer, and of course Miller Brewing for the full bells and whistles slick operation - but great if you want to see a big brewery in action.

All have plenty of tastings, and on Friday nights Lakefront has a fish fry (a BIG local favourite thing to do on a Friday night - it's the Catholics heritage maybe...) and a ooomm- pa-pa polka band for all you crazies! Talking of fried fish, apparently the fish fry at the American Serb Hall is the best in town - but we've yet to get there...

Brats and Cheese
As I mentioned they're huge here. The best sausage/bratwurst maker is Usingers who have a store and factory downtown, and the Wisconsin Cheese shop is right next door - making tasting and shopping all the more convenient!

Harley Davidson Factory (Grant)
We haven't been ourselves yet - but this is on the must-do list of things to do if you can fit it in. And before you go you need to practice saying "potato-potato-potato" in quick fire succession...that's the sound a Harley makes between your legs...!

Milwaukee Public Market (Tina)
This is a new indoor market in the historic Third Ward area of town. Initially we were looking in this part of town for a loft apartment when we first moved here. The Third Ward is a little like the Auckland Britomart development in a few years - lots of converted beautiful old buildings that are now apartments, restaurants, and shops.

The market also has an open air Farmers Market in the summer in the carpark but this is a good place to get locally produced goodies. Look out for the fresh cheese curds at the West Allis Cheese and Sausage stand...always a great place to stop for tasters...!

I will also probably take you to Sendiks, Metro Market and Wholefoods...We are blessed with a range of great quality grocery stores for excellent produce and meats etc. We go to Sams Club for all the basics. The warehouse stores (like Sams or Costco - which we don't have here) are the places to get the essentials. Every American house has to have a huge pantry, basement or attic so you can store all your extra supplies of paper towels and toilet paper!

Cocktail with a View - the Pfister Hotel top floor bar (Ann)
The bar Blu in the historic Pfister has a great grown-up cocktail bar on the 23rd floor. Big comfortable chairs close to the windows and you have a great place for a pre-dinner cocktail or a post-dinner nightcap with a view over the lake. If you're in town in a Thursday night we'll likely take you to Centanni's in the Third Ward which has a great piano player and the crowd are relatively well behaved 35+year olds.

I'll also probably take Ann to Eve's Bar - a very cool martini bar with an all red interior.

Sake-Tume (Ollie)
A cool sushi-cum-Korean (not quite sure how they can put the two of them together so easily, but Milwaukee's best sushi joint is Sake-Tume downtown. Sit at the bar and watch the chefs slice. It's right next door to Eve's so we'll likely do both!

Whistling Straits @ Kohler (Paddy & Adele)
The home of great toilets, baths and bathroom fixtures, the town of Kohler (40 minutes north of Milwaukee) hosts as part of its 5-star resort destination, The American Club, four world class links golf courses. One of the courses Whistling Straits, will be the venue for the US Seniors Open in early July 2007.

Frozen Custard (Maria!)
If you're going to do the beers and brats, you've got to do the frozen custard too...regular readers will have seen my post some time back. Nothing more to add - just get ready to indulge!

St Joan of Arc Chapel @ Marquette University (Mike)
This delightful small chapel on the grounds of Marquette University downtown originally had its home 12 miles south of Lyon in France, and supposedly was the chapel that Joan of Arc prayed before the statue of Our Lady just prior to going into her final battle. She kissed the stone on which she stood and ever since that stone has been colder than the other stones surrounding it.

In the mid 1920s it was moved stone by stone to Long Island on the East Coast as it was bought by a wealthy heir whose family later bequeathed the chapel to Marquette. In the 1960s the university undertook a massive relocation and restoration project to relocate the chapel once more.

So there you have it - my first travel post on Milwaukee - with more to come! Ollie and Ann will get the prize for first visitors - they're headed this way next week - yay!

Chat with me...via Meebo!

Have just uploaded a new widget to play with called Meebo - see the box to the right of here...It shows when I'm online so you can instantly instant message me without needing any other IM program or connection - simply start typing - but tell me who you are first, just so that I know...your name doesn't show up if you're not an IM buddy (those who are will know what I mean)...

Chances are I won't reply if you sound creepy...be warned! If I get too many freaks I'll remove it, but in the meantime, and while I have no job!, chat away.....

The tide has turned

I've just been outside for the first time today (sitting at the computer job hunting and trying to finish a story for Simply You Living that was embarrassingly overdue ("those damn writers!...") and there was something very strange going on in the streets of Eastside Milwaukee.

Women and men were in shorts and tshirts, jogging without hats and gloves and I even saw a guy on a vespa in shorts and tshirt (haven't seen one of those on the treacherous roads since we moved here). The doors of all the stores are flung open, people are sipping lattes outside...yeah - you guessed it, the Spring has Sprung - at least for today...
Check out the weather people! This screen shot from my Google homepage - at 6:45pm at night - it's 22C! Unbelievable...

So Auckland, we're only 1C behind you (- but don't look too closely at the forecast...).

I think I might just have to go back outside and enjoy it now that we're in daylight saving. Ciao!

You Know You're Living in 2007 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your
coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
: )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list
AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

Go on, forward this to your friends. You know you want to.

(Thanks Greig for the forward...!)

I am guilty of far too many of these...or perhaps that just means I'm the norm. No wait - that's an even scarier thought!

Ikea TVC

Those of you who are regularly viewers may remember our trials and tribulations with shopping at Ikea in the early days of our move. I was sent the link to this TVC today which reminded me a) it's lucky we don't have a kid and b) we've been to Ikea so have lots of pretty storage boxes...

Milwaukeans like to party...early!

Milwaukee decided to host its annual St Patrick's Day parade a week early this year - so Downtown was a wash with green today - luckily the Packers football team colours are green and gold so most people have something green in the wardrobe.

Part of the reason for the early parade was that neighbouring Chicago has a huge parade (they even turn the mighty Chicago River green) on St Pat's Day, and the local bars and businesses wanted to have two weekends of festivities - probably due to the fact that trade is a little quieter at this freezing time of the year...

Here are some of the pics from today.

St Patrick and tail gate type parties abounded

Not quite sure what you need to have done to get voted Irishman of the Year...?

Visiting members of the New York Police Dept were a big hit.

Is that a blanket she's wearing?....it's certainly a green beer in her hand!...

Lots of silly hats for sale

and plenty of aran jerseys and curly-locked Irish dancers (they all wear wigs for some reason)

all things Irish...

...even the BrewCity Bruisers - the local roller derby chicks...!

A tourist in Chicago

Some more pics from the weekend in Chicago - I love that place...

Getting a sun tan while waiting on the platform for the El (the train) - that's actually a heat booth - you press a button for the heaters to come on. They're like 20amp lights in a reflective casing - hardly touch the sides.... From left: Veronica, Emily, Peter and a visitor from the Hawkes Bay.

The view from the steps of the Art Institute looking up State Street - that's the raised El in the bottom of the picture (the Loop track runs over ground) and the mighty Sears Tower in the background.
The Hancock building on Michigan Ave.
Two Georgia O'Keefe paintings I feel in love with at the Art Institute...she was originally from Wisconsin.
Grant Wood's "American Gothic" - part of the permanent collected at the Institute. I never realised before that that is supposed to be the farmer's daughter (not wife).
Shadows in the galleries

One of the two well photographed lions outside the Institute. During Superbowl weekend, when we were last in Chicago, they each were wearing a Chicago Bears helmet!

The Hancock from the El.

"Hey Oprah...do you need an event planner....?"

More culinary adventures in Chicago

Saturday night I had some delicious NZ hapuka at Spring in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago. What a treat! Pan-Asian inspired cuisine tabled by James Beard-awarded 2006 Best Chef Midwest, Shawn McClain.

Sunday brunch was probably the highlight of the weekend though in terms of culinary exploration. Veronica's friends took us to a local cafe called Orange...Orange in name, orange in nature - both in wall colour and the predominance of the juice counter as you enter the restaurant. In fact there is no espresso machine (or website for those trying to find a link) which would normally be at the hub of such as popular brunch location - much to my consternation when I later found out ("What, drip coffee...?!!@^£$").

Maria and V consoling each other over coffee woes at Orange - no espresso for Maria and she'd given up caffeine for Lent!

The place was a tad tired and probably the cheapest restaurant fit out I have ever seen (don't know how the mugs from Ikea withstand the commercial use) and the veneer wall paneling on the temporary looking walls in front of the entrance to the toilets weren't the classiest - but the menu was fun and innovative and worthy of some pictures.

First up - Frushi. Their version of fruit sushi (a la Jill Dupleix 1990). Apparently it's quite a sensation in the neighborhood...
My personal highlight - and I didn't even order it - the Pan Seared Oatmeal. On the menu it was described as being "nothing like oatmeal - for a start it's served on a plate not a bowl". It was terrific. Steel cut oatmeal (not rolled oats) cooked in apple juice, sugar, cinnamon and milk, packed into a brownie pan, chilled, then cut into wedges and pan fried in butter just before serving. Crunchy on the outside but soft and light in the middle, it was served with a lovely dried fruit compote.
I came home that night and immediately trawled the web trying to find the recipe and finally managed to - and it's the original from the chef, reprinted in Cooking Light magazine. I'm definitely going to try it. For those in NZ try to find the steel cut oats (rolled oats won't work as they'll be too starchy) - I'm not sure I ever saw them but they're bound to be available from health food stores...they're commonly referred in the US as Irish oats. They are like a finely chopped grain - not at all floury.

Next up was the Pancake Flight - another thing the restaurant is famous for. "Flights" are big in the US and you see them every where - from wine, to vodka, and now to pancakes. It basically means a tasting of a range of varieties or flavours - wine flights especially are big in bars and restaurants - a great idea and New Zealand restaurants should do more of them. This months' pancake flight was based on Cookies - there was (clockwise from top left) chocolate chip, ginger snap, oatmeal, and I can't remember the fourth. Didn't try but looked fun.
My choice was the Chai Tea French Toast - ricotta stuffed toast with chai flavoured sauce topped with seared apple...perfectly delicious (but I really wanted to finish the rest of someone else's pan seared oatmeal!).
Another contender was the Gingersnap pancake pile - looked more like chocolate pancakes but didn't taste anything like chocolate, tasted like ginger (funnily enough!). Ok but a little on the heavy side for my tastes..
The omelettes looked great too...

Overall recommendation - try the juices, the oatmeal and be sure to pick up a take out espresso on the way. And don't expect the decor to be too salubrious. And be there early as the queues start on weekends from 9am...and it can be a little too cold to stand around outside - especially in the Windy City in Winter.