Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshot: Pizza Shuttle

I walked over to Pizza Shuttle tonight, only to find a display case with postings highlighting the winners of a fry-upselling contest and an eating contest.  Good grief, isn't typical American life already an eating contest--particularly at that place?  I turned around and walked out.  I can't stomach the thought of participating--even indirectly--in eating contests by patronizing businesses that sponsor them.  That's like a red-light district bookstore having a wank contest (though I don't want to give anybody any ideas!).

Off Topic: Merry Maids

Two things happened to me this weekend that are unrelated but for the fact that both were extremely unlikely, at least until this year.  On Friday, Merry Maids came to my apartment for their initial deep cleaning.  Those who know me at all know that cleanliness has not been anywhere near "next to Godliness" in my life, at least not for the last umpteen years.  Speaking of Godliness, I also attended my childhood church this morning, a building I probably hadn't set foot in for almost 23 years.  I think what I appreciate most is the financial modesty of the congregation.  Very little of the interior decor had changed.  Sadly, one of the more noticeable changes was that several rows of pews in the back had been removed to reflect declining attendance.  I would actually wish that they would make some changes to brighten up the dated chancel area--a thought I had even back in the day.  It's refreshing, though, to experience such frugality after experiences with two congregations whose approach towards fundraising and spending seemed dubious or even irresponsible.

The biggest change, however, is taking place in me.  I have little appetite anymore for anything but a life founded on faith, family and frugality.  I include frugality because it seems like the only way to maintain control over one's own identity.  Those who spend freely--whether they be large institutions or individuals like (too often) me--seem to be doing so in a search for identity.  On a coffee-related note, yesterday I was at Fiddleheads in Cedarburg.  They redid the interior to make it uniform with their other locations.  This, despite the fact that they have only been in that building for 5 or so years--and that it actually looked much nicer before.  That, to me, seems wasteful.   Though Merry Maids is a big expense for me, it turned my apartment into a home and will probably make me adjust the rest of my lifestyle.  After arriving back to my clean home yesterday, I felt that all I could do was keep the lights off and crawl into bed, lest I sully it too much with my presence.  Surely, that attests to the quality of the job they did!

Mequon: Snapshots: Panera in Mequon

I'm at Panera in Mequon on my way to the hiking trail.  I thought of stopping at the Glendale location again, until I realized that the store is accessible from two directions only--the ones that would be seemingly less traveled.  I've been feeling fairly worn out lately, so the bottomless mug of coffee seemed appealing.  Thanks to the girl behind the counter, I've also now had my recommended daily allowance of cleavage, along with a loaf of whole wheat bread for later.  As is the case with similar places on the North Shore, the high school-aged girl seemed less than overjoyed at the prospect of interrupting her conversation to serve me.  Maybe I've been looking at that the wrong way, and should be thankful to live in a society that is so wealthy that work is considered disposable.  The fact that I don't think that's sustainable is another issue entirely.

A little quirk about myself is that what I dislike about bakeries is having to direct the person behind the counter to give me this or that item.  Maybe that stems from Germany, where I initially had a language barrier to overcome and even later, didn't necessarily know how to pronounce things.

Another, more pronounced quirk of mine that causes me to dislike bread and bagel stores is the fact that I want to know where to place my order, where to stand before and afterwards, and generally want things to go down with "Soup Nazi"-like execution.  The Panera format, with menus scattered along the entire length of one wall and multiple register stations, seems awfully bewildering for what is basically a snack stop.  I do, however, see a family apparently chowing down on a hearty breakfast, so maybe the key is to know from experience exactly what you want.

 They haven't been brewing coffee fresh as I witnessed last week in Glendale.  The four pots are each now over an hour old. UPDATE: they are changing them out right now.  Perhaps one hour is the maximum they're allowed to sit.

Glendale/Whitefish Bay: Snapshots: Alterra at Bayshore

I'm reprising my habit of last summer and am chilling out at Alterra Bayshore over a House Citrus Salad and and expertly poured soy latte.  Despite the generous portion of salad, I'm still hungry, so I'm plotting my next move.

East Side/Riverwest: Snapshots: Alterra on Humboldt

I'm at Alterra HQ having a mug of decaf Dream Harder (one of their most frequently brewed decafs) and a couple bran muffins, which were being offered two-for-one, as it's almost closing time.  I'm bringing home with me a pound of Mexico Kulaktik Half-Caff.

Glendale/Whitefish Bay: Snapshots: Caribou Coffee

As part of its "Monday Happens" promotion, Caribou Coffee is offering medium-sized cups of drip coffee for $1.00 plus tax.  A handwritten sign in the store also promises $8.99 bags of beans.

Cedarburg: Snapshots: Starbucks in Cedarburg

I've noticed that every time I come here, the banter that I overhear between the female baristas seems to focus on their past and future babies.  Man, I hope this is just a side job for them.  I think if I were part of the multi-redundant workforce at a frequently loss-making Starbucks--in 2009--I'd ask my partner to use multi-redundant forms of birth control.

(Just kidding, kind of.  There's little comparison in terms of job security, but for all I know, they're making as much per hour as I am.)

Snapshots: Panera Follow-up

I feel obliged to note that I gave blood today at the Downtown Blood Center, where the apres-bloodletting snacks are courtesy of Panera in Greenfield.

Glendale/Whitefish Bay: Snapshots: Panera (N. Port Washington Rd.)

An e-mail from a friend and fellow blogger related the following positive experience at the Glendale Panera location:

Hey I had a fantastic experience tonight. I was craving Panera (after having had the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich at a corporate event this week, I wanted another one- that's the point, I think) so I stopped at the Bayshore location. I didn't get there until about 8:30 or so. I ordered "for here" and sat down to eat and work on a small project. The staff was friendly and helpful. So, I'm in my own little universe, really enjoying the sandwich, and at a little before 9 a lady starts quietly putting chairs up on a table near me. I asked her, "Oh, you close at 9?" and she said, without any kind of annoyance or anything, "Oh, we actually closed at 8:30!" I thought, now that's customer service! Some places will try to rush you out a half hour BEFORE the scheduled closing time. They will definitely get more of my business.

After reading this glowing recommendation, I had to check the place out (indeed, I'd only ever been in here once before, despite its location two blocks from where I basically live three months out of the year).  I'd particuarly wanted to investigate the new coffee offerings.  I wish I could echo her remarks about the food, but I can't.  The Mediterranean Veggie sandwich was tiny and cost $5.39 plus tax.  Since I don't eat chips, the only suitable side options were an apple or bread, which turned out to be about a 6" length of French baguette.

I can, however, verify that the coffee seems to be worlds better than before the launch of the new drip coffee program.   I tried both the light roast and dark roast, and preferred the light roast.  Having ordered a medium (apparently, they're able to co-opt "Grande") in a mug for here ($1.75 plus tax), I received a 10 oz. or so mug.  You are able to refill to your heart's desire at the self-serve coffee station.  On each coffee dispenser, the time of brewing is written in magic marker.

I find it notable--even kind of symbolic, perhaps--that it's almost impossible to access Panera on foot, and that ingress and egress are awkward even by car.  The store "faces" the interior courtyard parking lot.  The piped-in jazz music, like that heard outdoors at nearby Bayshore, firmly locates the cafe in the flourscape, made up of (mostly) white people and their fascination with overpriced bread and pasta.  

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