Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Ristretto: Dose-a-Tosa

-I'm at Pizzeria Piccola in Wauwatosa.  I've just come from La Reve.  Piccola has Wi-Fi now (either they didn't before or failed to notice it).  The culinary highlight of my day was, no doubt, the Reve almond scone pictured here.  I'd asked for a plain scone; as has happened every time, they were out.  As for Piccola, this would be an amazing, European-style restaurant if they canned the teenage waitstaff.  So far from being an anti-immigration bigot, I wish there were far more--but more diverse--immigration.  I wish enough foreigners would come to displace older teenagers and young twentysomethings from FOH duties in the service industry.   I'm sick of every restaurant and coffee house being their little playground.  Anyway, the food quality  here is quite high for the price.

Retail Coffee: Racine Danish Kringle

The following press release is courtesy of Racine Danish Kringle's Tom Reuteman:

Racine Danish Kringle is proud to announce their very own Gourmet Roast coffees.  These coffees will be offered through online purchases (www.kringle.com) and through their fund raising division only.  Offerings include : House Blend reg & decaf, Colombian Supremo and Dark Roast.  We believe that these coffees are a natural compliment to our 26 delicious flavors of Kringles.

We hope to have all our coffees available for sale on-line by September 1st.  Check us out at www.kringle.com.

Snapshot: Danger, Will Robinson!

If you read the newspapers or online news, you know that this is not a good time to be alienating customers.  As I've feared, Alterra is taking dangerous risks by allowing service lapses at its prominent Bayshore location.  Though it may not always come across, I try to go the extra mile in giving the benefit of the doubt to places I review on this site.  I always assume first that the problem lies with me.  I'd started this post earlier, bemused that my usual House Citrus Salad had arrived after a long delay in a paperboard box and seemed to be missing a couple ingredients.  (The post was lost when I somehow lost my Internet connection.)  Coincidentally, a woman who was sitting at the outdoor table behind me also ordered a for-here salad.  When it arrived in a box, she asked the server, "Don't you have plates?"  The reply was: "Yeah, but we close in a few minutes, and. . ."  (This was about 8:45.)  A minute later, the woman muttered to herself (or her cell phone) "I wanna f*ckin' plate!", then she went inside and demanded a plate.  Good for her!

Ristretto: More Metropolis

-My day began with the cupping nirvana alluded to in my Twitter tweet--Metropolis' Samba blend.   If there was any doubt as to whether yesterday's goose chase was worthwhile, it was eliminated.  The Yelp discussion of Metropolis gives you a pretty accurate feel for the place.  I don't think it accurately captures the quality of customer service, though, so I'll probably chime in.  When I called for directions to get me the last mile there, the woman who answered the phone was extremely polite.  Even I, in my jobs, have had a hard time concealing irritation when giving out such repetitive information.  Wisely, the friendly voice was in the back room or wherever the phone is answered, as the baristas were straight from central casting, i.e. not necessarily impolite, but not not remarkably polite either.  Casting is not an inappropriate word, as there is indeed a good deal of casting involved here.  After all, if I walked into a coffee shop and saw Dolly Parton behind the machine, my hopes of receiving a triple ristretto God shot would not exactly increase.  Y'all come back now, y'hear?

Snapshot: Metropolis (Chicago)

I'm at Metropolis Coffee in Chicago.  The need to make a WaMu bank deposit finally motivated me to brave the traffic.  I thought this would be a decent drive compared to Intelligentsia a couple miles south on Broadway, but that was not to be.  As always, I found myself getting off 41 in Skokie, driving through ever-denser inner-ring suburbs, then driving east on W. Devon St. through the international bazaar (Yulinka Cooks has blogged about it), which was hopping on this warm Sunday and thus hellish to drive down. 

I must confess that the logistics were enough of a pain for me to think: "This better be good!"  And it was.  The espresso (pictured above) had racing stripes down the side of the cup.  Look at that crema!  The espresso had a lighter-roasted taste than Alterra's, but was either equally good or just a hare better.  Currently playing on the sound system is Simple Minds' "Promised You A Miracle", which followed U2's "With or Without You."  That's a one-two punch I would never expect to hear in a coffeehouse.

Snapshot: Pizza Shuttle

I'm at Pizza Shuttle, tackling a beer that seems bigger than me (grammatically correct version: bigger than I) and doing very well at it.  If I were a regular beer drinker, I'd definitely consider three bucks for this monstrous New Glarus Organic a Good Deal. As it is, I'm making awfully good progress on the cup.  If it weren't for the noise level, I would seriously come here (even) more often.

Snapshot: Bayshore Blend

At least you can't get these at Bayshore.  I have to admit that blended beverages seem to have become my latest obsession.  I go into Alterra Bayshore to use the bathroom or check the coffees of the day, hear the deafening roar of the blenders, and leave.  This has actually happened the last two or three days in a row.

Snapshot: Wauwatosa Dreamin'

My lunch at Le Reve, already in progress.  After yesterday's discussion of the American blandscape, it occurred to me that this is the exact opposite.  One reason is the distinctiveness of the space.  It'd be hard to replicate this atmosphere if they were to expand to multiple locations a la City Market.  Another reason is that the space is inviting enough to be worth a visit even if you spend little or nothing (which I'm not advocating--let's keep these guys open!).  Last Saturday, however, I waited in line at least twenty minutes for a cup of drip coffee, and was happy to do so.  The American blandscape environment is engineered to create a feeling of discomfort that can only be stilled, however temporarily, by buying something.

My Own Horn: Toot!

I lay claim to having coined the term "American blandscape"!  When I first posted it to this blog, a Google search of those two words in quotes yielded no results.  Try the search now. . .if anyone can prove that this phrase was out there before November 2007, please let me know.

What prompted me to do the search was the fact that I'm reflecting on what the distinctive features of said blandscape are.   I propose the following list, just for starters:

-Teenagers (nothing against teenagers, they just seem to kind of aim right for the blandest places.  I remember that my favorite teenage hangout was Rocky Rococo's, back when it was an enclosed restaurant in the C-Wing of Bayshore).

-Large volumes of garbage being generated on an ongoing basis, so much so that employees have to empty garbage containers during opening hours.

-Music being played that no one ever listens to when they have a choice (didja ever get in someone's car and hear them say "Hey, wanna hear my Paul Davis CD?"

Ristretto: July 17, 2008

-No Milwaukee-area Starbucks locations are closing.  Here's the complete list (PDF).

-I'm at Barnes & Noble Bayshore.  Alterra is just not an option today--the blenders. . .and it's too hot to sit outside.  Obviously, the blender here is also seeing a lot of action, but the space is large enough to swallow it a little better.  An irritating phenomenon I often witness at B&N is that people grab a stack of books or magazines, then leave them wherever for the staff to pick up.  Here, some folks did that in the cafe.  One even left her dirty plate on top of the book.  Yeah, common courtesy is pretty much a thing of the past.  By the way, if you really, really like Billy Joel's The Stranger album, you want to come here.  They're playing it start to finish on a regular basis nowadays.  (I respect the album, but good grief, why?)

-I succumbed and went to a Starbucks to check out the Vivanno today.  I must say I found it very good, but can't see myself having many more considering the $4.50 pricetag (with the espresso shot option).  I mean, even if I have a hankering for that particular taste sensation, Kopp's will blend a banana into a chocolate malt for less money.