2007-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2007
Union Forever
It’s an unseasonably hot October afternoon in Greendale, and Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant are holding a press conference. Looking appropriately pallid and drawn, Lincoln dabs at his brow and scans the crowd, patiently awaiting the next question. Minutes pass. Flies plow through the humid air. People shuffle their feet uncomfortably and General Grant looks like he’s going to pass out. Finally, a doughy, middle-aged man in Packers-flavored Zubaz raises his hand and breaks the silence. “Mr. President,” he begins. “Which battle of General Grant’s recent campaign do you feel has been most important for the Union?” Lincoln clears his throat and starts to answer, but his words are lost on me (something about Pittsburgh?) My brain – usually a finely furnished warehouse of post-collegiate knowledge and Full House trivia – is currently nothing more than an aching, throbbing, hung-over mess from the night before. Now, half-asleep in an overcrowded barn, listening to the Great Emancipator himself yammer on about an ancient, tide-turning battle (Vicksburg?), the events of the past 24 hours begin to blend together. One second it’s “We will never forget the sacrifices of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,” the next it’s “I now pronounce you husband and wife through the authority of the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California.” Eventually, the two men finish things up and the crowd breaks into applause, snapping me back to the re-enacted reality at hand. I’m at the 4th Annual Civil War Encampment at Trimborn Farm, located in charming Greendale, Wisconsin – a five-minute drive from the Southridge Olive Garden. It’s a quaint event, and not nearly as kitschy as one might expect: basically a home-brewed Renaissance Fair with slightly more historical significance and a lot less jousting. As always, I’m accompanied by my long-suffering girlfriend, who, like myself, finds any event whose itinerary includes the words “Press Conference with Abraham Lincoln & General Ulysses S. Grant in the Threshing Barn” simply too good to pass up. Leaving the confines of the Threshing Barn behind, we take in the sights. Horses stand tethered to trees near a clutch of Union tents and lean-tos on the farm’s west end. The Confederate camp lies 100 yards to the east, just beyond a stone root cellar and an entirely authentic Cousins Subs cart. Barefoot children in Huck Finn suspenders dart past period-costumed women tending to small pit-fires across from a dilapidated pump house. A vintage baseball team playing sans gloves – The Milwaukee Cream Citys BBC – puts on an exhibition near the Jeremiah Curtin House (free tours all year round!). The sound of snare drums and harmonicas is inescapable, and the air is thick with the smell of gunpowder and horse shit. We sit down in the grass near the main field for an infantry firing demonstration. As we watch the “troops” go through an endless series of formations and exercises (prompting one snot-nosed weasel to shout, “Start the war, already!”), I’m struck by the precision, the exactness, the reverence of their actions. It’s a […]
Nov 1st, 2007 by Matt Wild
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
