Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Previews: Arizona: Bisbee Coffee Company

My Dad and I are in Tombstone, Arizona.  Tomorrow, we plan a stop at the Bisbee Coffee Company.

Arizona: Photos: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

This espresso was phenomenal, so much so that I had another the same day trying to catch lightning in a bottle.  It was good, but not as good.

Travel: Flight to Phoenix

I’m on the flight down to Phoenix and have about ten minutes of battery left, so I’ll type up a little post to put up later.  I’m much unhappier on this flight (Frontier resold as Midwest) than I was with both airlines I took over Christmas.  The gutting of Midwest Airlines is such a sad statement about the local economy.  I’ve had my first cup of bad coffee in a styro cup in ages.  (The decaf, which I had for my seconds, came in a Caribou styro cup.)  I guess I’m pretty spoiled.  Even some churches have grown beyond the cheap coffee--much to my criticism.  I picked up a bag of Cranberry Nut Mix, which is basically candy, and a bottle of water for a total of $5.  Not much worse than Open Pantry.  (I just typed Open Panty—wishful thinking!)

For only the second time since they opened, I think, I stopped at the Alterra in the concourse.  It seemed a real Alterra barista was working there; in any event, she looked awfully familiar.  There, I had my first large cup of coffee in months—as a ceramic mug, and thus a refill, was not an option.   It was the mild, the Don Zeledon, and it was just great.

I was subjected to the secondary screening.  Not even my MoveOn Obama T-shirt—a tribute of sorts to my Aunt Lynne, who got it for me—could keep me from that.  I heard the screener shout “No ring”, so I wonder if not having a wedding ring is something they can use to flag you.  (Though it’s supposed to be random, I’d imagine they have to put down some reason for having pulled you for their internal processing—I’m sure they can’t just say they don’t like the looks of you.)   I’m completely fine with having been screened, and I would rather they erred on the side of excess in airline safety.  However, when looking through my backpack, the TSA workers examined and commented on my magazines and other papers (luckily no porn this time).  That I actually do take issue with—it’s almost as if they were looking for something that would indicate my religious affiliation.  I noted that I had a little brochure from the Archdiocese’s Salzmann library that he opened and looked at.  And a copy of Barista magazine—the “-ista” part seemed to provoke curiosity.  Luckily, that didn’t subject me to tertiary screening. . .you know, the kind where the bare light bulb swings overhead ;-)

 

 

Editorial: Unhappy Valentine's Day

Okay, I admit to just wanting to write a snappy headline.  This doesn't really affect my existential happiness.  But why does Milwaukee seem to have all the lame-ass national chains and none of the good ones?  I think particularly of Panera (relatively lame-ass) vs. Corner Bakery (great).  Corner Bakery tweeted me that they don't have plans to open in Milwaukee, which was most unwelcome news. I'm sure I'll be doing more research on this topic during my scheduled upcoming trip to Arizona.

I wonder if it's not so much a matter of local vs. chains as whether or not the local economy is healthy.  All boats float or sink along with the local economy.  That's why local businesses need to tell our local civic officials to get their head out of their ass and attract some jobs here.  (Hey, if I use a naughty word three times in the same post, at least it's the same naughty word!)  Civic booster organizations need to be all about the jobs, jobs, jobs.  Steve Jobs.  It's largely a waste of time to try to argue how the spending pie should be divided up, and that market share should be taken from the chains and given to local businesses.  No jobs, no pie.

In a limited market like Milwaukee, there are some things that local businesses can't do.  National chains can afford to do those things here, I'd imagine, because they can cover any losses with revenue gained from operating in more profitable and business-friendly markets.  To give a rather humdrum example from my everyday life:  plated salad at Alterra?  Not happenin'.  At Panera?  Happenin'.

Alterra: Retail Coffee: Love Supreme

Not necessarily my favorite coffee in terms of taste, but definitely my favorite in terms of label design.  It looks like the cover of a Simple Minds album, New Gold Dream.

Family Portraits: 4734

I needed to point the car in the right direction to get to Panera in Glendale anyway, so I couldn't resist a drive-by to my family's ancestral home: a very unassuming one on Milwaukee's Near Northwest Side.  After six weeks of cabin fever, it's hard for me not to feel a little disoriented, and I half expect past and present to start becoming interleaved like on Cold Case.  The house and surrounding neighborhood is probably one of the two or three most frequent locations for my dreams.  As I drove past the old Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and hit N. Hopkins Ave., I had that strange feeling of deja vu, though I hadn't been by there for years--at least not physically. 

Photos: Intelligentsia: SOE Ethiopia Sidamo Espresso

This was after I'd taken my first sip--you can see how the colloids and lipids in the espresso cause it to cling to the wall of the cup.
 

Editorial: Transit (Part 2)

The photo I posted earlier today is really one of those that can only be made less impactful by adding commentary.  I took it with my iPhone from the upper deck of a Metra train, so if you can't identify some of the elements, let me explain: it's a Jaguar dealer that also houses a Starbucks.  It's a stage set that Hollywood couldn't build as well--and it's on display for countless thousands of eyeballs that pass by each day on the train. Truly a match made in marketing heaven: each party has something the other could use.  Starbucks benefits more, I think.  This is basically saying (erroneously) that Starbucks is a super high-end brand.  Jaguar gets the benefit of having some estrogen and, to a lesser extent, youth thrown into the mix.

Why do I write about this?  Not only is this issue of transit 100% on topic--if people can't get around efficiently, there are no coffeehouses, plain and simple--this picture demonstrates what we're sorely lacking in Milwaukee.  Chicagoland public officials have wisely and providently ensured that this picture is possible, and will remain so, by their investments in creating and maintaining the Metra rail system.  That creates wealth. Jag-drivin', latte-sippin' wealth.

Editorial: Transit

"Spending billions of dollars on permanent infrastructure creates real value and also has the added benefit of raising property values, whose plummeting is the real cause for this recession." (Link)

Photos: Intelligentsia: Millenium Park