Life & Leisure
Holiday Fun Guide
It’s hard to get into the “seasonal spirit” amidst mobbed malls, wintry wind chill and foul fruitcake. But besides these holiday high jinks, there’s enough merriness and cheer for all to enjoy in Milwaukee.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Blue wings and hearing loss
Without warning, he fires, and my left ear – only inches away from his gun – explodes. The ex-duck has barely hit the water before I realize something has gone very, very wrong.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Matt Wild
Light my Fire
"Fat is the canvas upon which the flavor flows. It’s the glue that sticks the flavor particles to your tongue,” David Piette, Executive Chef of Sabor Brazilian Churrascaria, avers.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Art vs. Craft
After seven rounds, nationally-recognized Art vs. Craft has become a Milwaukee institution – by way of minimally institutional principles. Also an anomaly: over 75 progressively-minded, “new wave” artists, crafters and designers will be vending their handmade and independent wares – just in time for the holiday feeding frenzy.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Amber Herzog
When the Banana Leaves Split
North Shore Bistro 8649 N. Port Washington Fox Point, WI 53217 414-351-6100 “Yes, we have no banana leaves. We have no banana leaves today.” This devastating news from his purveyor might have crushed any other chef just hours away from a gala dinner for the prestigious American Culinary Federation. The problem? His showcase dish was to be Polynesian-style triggerfish steamed in banana leaves. Wolf, however, put his thinking toque on and turned potential disaster into a creative opportunity. With the prestidigitation of a master illusionist he came up with the solution: The Milwaukee Zoo! After all, who in the area buys more bananas? Wolf admits he had a moment of sweaty panic, but the Zoo’s contribution saved dinner for some very discerning primates with cultivated palates. A Homestead High School graduate who grew up in Thiensville and Mequon, Wolf was a regular guy into sports, hunting and fishing. Football, wrestling and track were his games. Nothing suggested that he would end up as the Corporate Chef for the high-end NStars Restaurant Group. During high school Wolf was a self-described “Friday Fish Fry Bitch” at a local eatery. [I know the feeling having been a Friday Night Football Pizza Bitch in college myself.] As a teenager, Wolf also worked at the Four Seasons in Mequon – and at Sardi’s. He still gets a dreamy look in his eyes describing Sardi’s beef and chicken spiedini cooked with tomatoes and peppers, simmered until the meat fell off the bone. He studied the gastronomic arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and returned to Milwaukee upon graduating. “After culinary school I worked for Larry’s Brown Deer market. It was a great experience working with such high quality cheeses and imported products.” The young chef then worked at Mike & Anna’s for eight years. “The owner, Tony Harvey,” says Wolf, “created a great environment to learn in. It started out as a 50-seat Northern Italian bistro. Tony’s mother was a blast and his dad was a World War II vet with great stories. As young as I was in this business, I had the opportunity to do whatever I wanted. We had a chalkboard menu that constantly changed: rack of lamb, fois gras, scallops, turbot. Whatever we wanted.” Since Harvey also ran Rent-a-Chef, a catering business, Wolf was left much to his own devices at the restaurant. The North Shore clientele had high expectations and chefs like Scott Sebastian, Patrick Schultz, and Richard Staniszewski consistently met and exceeded them. It was a place for great food in a warm, inviting environment. Wolf recalls Mayor John Norquist, who lived nearby, as a frequent diner. “He’d have his bottle of wine, dinner and then fall asleep there right in his chair — he must have felt very comfortable.” The family feel of the restaurant extended to the little kitchen garden in the back full of herbs, edible flowers, nasturtiums, pansies and tiny roses. The owners of the North Shore Bistro – Michael Tarney, Elias […]
Nov 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
20 Years in The Life
In a city quickly becoming known for both the abundance and quality of its film festivals, he LGBT Film Festival is one of Milwaukee’s longest running. Once housed solely in the UWM film department and programmed in conjunction with Great Lakes Film and Video (no longer in existence), the festival has grown over time and now incorporates the efforts of the Peck School of the Arts – UWM’s visual arts, dance and theatre department. Now in its 20th year, the LGBT Film Festival is no longer just a community tradition; it has become a showcase for some of the finest films and videos from and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. The LGBT Film Festival started in 1987 to address the lack of representation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people on screen. Its growth in popularity can be attributed in part to the boom of the independent film market and a greater general awareness of the LBGT community. But its long-running success has been achieved through consistently providing a well-run event offering an excellent balance of thought-provoking and entertaining films. The process of putting on an 11-day film festival takes planning – weeding through film submissions, making contacts and solicitations, researching and attending other gay and lesbian film festivals and reviewing old films. And while the festival itself has gotten bigger, making it happen still falls, as it has for the last decade, upon one man: Carl Bogner. As an undergraduate student in the film department at UWM in the mid ‘90s, Carl ran the Union Theater. After receiving his film degree, he was asked by Dick Blau, then Chair of the UWM Film Department, to take over the festival. Now in his 10th year with the event, Carl has seen the festival grow to hit more notes on the cinematic scale. It has become a textured body, striking a perfect balance of audience-pleasing films and more challenging and academic works. Carl sees the growth of the LGBT Film Festival, and the gay community in general, from a generational perspective. The younger gay and lesbian demographic are “just cooler.” He continues, “I don’t mean to say they have it easier, but it’s a wonderfully different attitude associated with identity than, say, people my age.” One factor is the lack of labels or cultural taboos that many of the younger generation of gay and lesbians associate with, most notable being the trauma of “coming out,” which has been, until recently, a staple of gay and lesbian film festivals. “For younger people, gays and lesbian film festival have a different kind of weight and interest. I don’t think they feel like they don’t have access to gay and lesbian images the way early generations did,” Carl explains. Finding the one perfect film for opening night that serves the diverse LGBT community can be a challenge. This year’s festival will open on September 6 at the Oriental Theater with Nina’s Heavenly Delights, from pioneering filmmaker and scholar Pratibha Parmar. Described […]
Sep 1st, 2007 by Blaine Schultz
Forever young
photos by Kevin C. Groen Chip & Py’s 1340 W. Towne Square Road (I43 at Mequon Road) 262-241-9589 Longevity in the restaurant business is a rare, hard-earned reward. Yet Julie and Richard Staniszewski have made the journey to the 25th anniversary of Chip & Py’s seem practically effortless. From the day they opened their doors at their original location on 5th and National in Walker’s Point to the day they popped the silver champagne corks this May, they’ve delivered consistently excellent food, potables and entertainment with a spirit of warm bonhomie that makes every customer feel at home. A quarter of a century ago, Julie Betzhold and her brother, John Herschede, had a partnership interest in the first location’s building. They were forward-thinking, seeing it as a base for casual sophisticates in a neighborhood that had yet to be discovered. The greater real estate plan included loft living and an infrastructure that was 30 years ahead of its time. Back then nobody understood the concept. Their best prospective tenant wanted banjo music and turtle races on the bar. With no disrespect to Bela Fleck, that wasn’t what they had in mind. What did appeal to them was Mike & Anna’s, Tony Harvey’s Southside avant garde gourmet eatery, and its chef, Richard. So they lured him to their project. Richard, now chef/owner of Chip & Py’s, was an unlikely gourmand. Raised in what he calls a “deep blue collar” family near County Stadium, he grew up sneaking in to Braves games. His father was a machine repairman and his mother loved baseball but hated cooking. His first food memory is of thin pork chops his mother fried. Dropping one on the floor, she returned it to the frying pan, explaining to her son, “That one’ll be mine.” But her son was doubtful. “How did she know which one it was?” he wondered, thinking that there must be better food out there somewhere. His favorite treat was smoked chubs, prompting his longtime friend and fish monger, Tim Collins of St. Paul Fish Market, to ask him later, “And did you have shoes?” Upon graduating from Solomon Juneau High School, Staniszewski put in six months at a factory, hating it so much he turned to bartending at Cassidy’s, Barbieri’s and then for Tony Harvey’s Rent-a-Chef Catering, a big player in the North Shore. When Harvey opened Mike and Anna’s on 8th and Rodgers, Richard took the helm of a restaurant that would be Milwaukee’s first casual fine dining bistro. Due to the demands of the North Shore clientele from the catering business, they kicked up the carte with epicurean entrées, and the place took off. Responding to his market is a hallmark of Staniszewski’s business philosophy, coupled with a commitment to value that he took to his own business in 1982. “We talked to everyone we knew and asked what they’d like, gauged their response and put it on menu,” he says. “It was an exciting time – just prior to the downtown […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Let us eat cake!
photos by Kevin C. Groen Cake Lady & Petite Pastries 3561 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. St. Francis 414-294-4220 cakeladydesigns.com Michelangelo fashioned the treasured Statue of David and the Pieta. Rodin gained prominence for his ponderous works, The Thinker and The Kiss. An anonymous artist chiseled out a place in art infamy with the Venus de Milo. None of these renowned sculptors, however, have anything on Sara Unkefer, owner of The Cake Lady and Petite Pastries. Her towering confections are not only artistically impressive, they’re edible! Wedding cakes festooned with elaborate piping, swags, grape clusters and dotted with frosting pearls are her forte. But one of Unkefer’s greatest gifts is her ability to realize her clients’ desires in cake. She has created a wild, teetering tower of silver and gold fondant-wrapped gifts; colorful fish cakes as big as a reeler’s imagined catch; football helmets and cartoon characters. From the kooky and kitschy to the elegant and fabulous, The Cake Lady does it all. The 32-year-old, her husband Briton (a corporate chef) and their toddler son Levi are Bay View residents and the pastry shop is just a couple of blocks away in St. Francis. With their combined experience and reputations, this couple could live and work anywhere, but chose Milwaukee for proximity to both their families. Sara Unkefer grew up in Appleton, one of six kids. Her mother had an artistic streak, expressed in home crafts like Mickey Mouse and Cookie Monster cakes for birthdays and painting ceramics. Unkefer helped paint the intricate Hummel characters and holiday decorations because she had a steady hand, a must in her profession. “I was an adventurous kid,” Unkefer says. “I was very decisive. I knew what I wanted and was willing to put up an argument to get it.” Her parents were a catalyst for her experimental zeal. She instilled the philosophy that nothing’s impossible. “Growing up in a family of six gave us a lot of strength. They taught us to embrace life and not to be sacred to do what we believe in.” Though her parents never traveled beyond Canada, their children all had the wanderlust. Unkefer worked long hours in Door County restaurants summers and falls to finance her exploits. There she met a young woman who brandished photos of herself with Taliban gunmen in Afghanistan. While most people would be terrified by this disclosure, for Unkefer it deepened the intrigue of travel. After a year at UWM studying anthropology, Unkefer set out to experience ethnic traditions in situ. Backpacking by herself, she toured Mexico, Central America, the Carribean, Holland, Spain and Belgium. Fellow travelers introduced Unkefer to diverse culinary traditions. One trekker carried three duffle bags of spices he had collected on his travels. His meals, prepared in a borrowed kitchen or in banana leaves over an open fire, were so amazing they prompted Unkefer to abandon her vegetarian lifestyle. In Guatemala she encountered a man who’d built a wood-fired oven for baking breads and pizza. It was an encounter that […]
Jun 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Vital’s 2007 Farmers Market Guide
By Amy Elliott, Evan Solochek, Jon Anne Willow In the urban epicenter of metropolitan Milwaukee, it’s far too easy to forget that we live in Wisconsin, a major player in the nation’s agricultural life and a leading producer of cranberries, corn, oats, potatoes, cherries, green beans and, of course, fresh dairy. Enter the farmers market – arguably the best way for urbanites to participate responsibly in our rich agricultural infrastructure. While some markets still feature trucked-in fare, more are focusing on what we have right here. There aren’t many downsides to buying locally. Healthier produce raised with fewer chemicals comes to us across far less distance and with shipping costs minimized and no middle man to pay off costs are drastically reduced, and the effect on the environment is alleviated. But most of all, it’s good to know where your food comes from, how it gets here and who’s dealing with it. And with lots of markets offering flowers, baked goods, coffees and teas, artwork and even live music, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more pleasant way to spend a few precious summer hours. NOTE: Some information is unconfirmed and noted with an (*). Bauer’s Farmers Market 11813 7 ½ Mile Rd., Caledonia 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, July through November. 262-835-4386. Brown Deer Farmers Market Bradley Commerce Center, N. 43rd St. and Bradley Rd. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Wednesdays through October. Annuals and perennials, herbs, roses, and fruits and vegetables. 414-354-6923. Brookfield Farmers Market City Hall, 2000 N. Calhoun Rd 7:30 a.m. – noon, Saturdays through October. Flowers, fruits and vegetables, Piedmontese beef, maple syrup, chickens, eggs, bison meat, baked goods, dried floral, garden art and much more. Weekly entertainment and demonstrations. 70th annual Dahlia Show September 23, with more than 600 blooms on display for judging. 262-784-7804 or brookfieldfarmersmarket.com. Burlington Farmers Market Echo Park, 588 Milwaukee Ave. 8 a.m. – noon, Saturdays through November. 262-342-1171. Cudahy Farmers Market 4700 S. Packard Ave. 10 a.m. – sold out, Fridays through November. Locally grown and produced baked goods, fresh produce, apples, honey, flowers, crafts and more. ci.cudahy.wi.us. Delafield Farmers Market 514 W. Main St. 7 a.m. – 1 p.m., Saturdays through October. Producer-only market; locally grown vegetables, fruits, herbs, honey, cider, flowers, annual bedding and perennial plants, ironworks, homespun woolen yarns and other locally handcrafted items. 262-968-4471. East Side Open Market 1901 E. North Ave. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturdays, June 30 through October. Produce, agricultural products, flowers, herbs, CSA, amazing artists and marvelous local musicians. theeastside.org. East Town Farmers Market Cathedral Square Park, 520 E. Wells 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Saturdays through October. Farm-grown produce, baked goods, specialty foods and arts & crafts. Free entertainment and children’s activities. easttown.com. Elmwood Plaza Farmers Market Durand Ave., Racine 8 a.m. – noon, Tuesdays and Fridays through November 2. Seasonal asparagus, rhubarb, beans, tomatoes, corn, melons, bedding plants, apples, baked goods, chickens, eggs and fresh flowers. 262-886-3284. Fondy Farmers Market 2200 W. Fond du Lac Ave. 7 […]
Jun 1st, 2007 by Amy Elliott
The “Other” Baseball
By John Hughes There you sit, at Miller Park again. The new leaders – Payne, Melvin and Yost – have made a good impression on you, and so, as an act of faith, you have trekked out to the ballyard and paid dearly for parking, tickets, peanuts and Cracker Jack. You are seated in this vaulted structure, which, despite the leaky creaky roof, impresses you. The losing doesn’t torment you like it once did, because by now it’s as familiar as a March blizzard in Milwaukee. But even amidst all the splendor Brewers baseball has to offer, you’re still feeling bad. If you are any sort of baseball fan, this is a scenario not unlikely to play itself out in your life soon. The 2003 season begins while this edition of Vital Source is on newsstands. The Brewers will resume play and you will find yourself watching them, thinking “what is wrong with this picture”? And if you give it a moment’s thought, the answer will come. For all the talk about the market offering the price it’s willing to bear, about these players just getting what they can as anyone else would, it troubles you that they are paid so much. True, it is just one symptom of a greater illness – the mass profiteering of professional sporting organizations on every front, from palatial stadiums to insane merchandising – and salaries are just another side effect. But the magnitude of their income, compared to the rest of us, seems a dishonorable allocation in a sport to which the majority of Americans, most working class, once felt a deep connection. The Brewers’ payroll this year will be roughly $50 million. Their opponents, on any given day, will have a payroll varying from $50 million to over $100 million. So, with 25 on each team, that’s 50 athletes out on the ballfield you’re observing, making $100 million to $150 million, or higher, for laboring from mid-February, with the beginning of spring training, until October 1st, or, if they’re quite good, until around November 1st when the World Series ends (and they are awarded an enormous bonus). That is a stupendous sum of money. In a world in which school teachers and nurses and social workers and construction workers and waitresses do heroic feats daily, and face budgetary pain nightly, to see young men making that sort of money, without even passion to offer fans, makes you feel like an accomplice to a crime each time you pay for your ticket, each time you pay $5 for a macro-beer. The yearning for passionate baseball If you’ve been a fan awhile you can remember Clemente, Yount, Yastrzemski, Aaron, Munson and Seaver, can remember the passion they poured into their treasured craft, and what it felt like to revel in their joy. Now, you feel nausea, or worse, echoes of the ennui that permeates the field below as you watch now. In comparison, players today mostly seem like poseurs, who would rather be at […]
Apr 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
