Dine and Dash

Last night we looked at several restaurants in the downtown area for a corporate dine-around night in 2008. We started with the old world German restaurant, Karl Ratszch's, with it's unique atmosphere (they have been in business since 1904!) - had a German bier and went on our way across the street to Zarletti just for a quick look. I like Zarletti - very good Italian food with a clean, upscale atmosphere - big windows yet cozy. Next we went to Yanni's - I just wrote about Yanni's as I had taken the ladies on tour to lunch there on Tuesday this week. As usual, they were incredibly cordial and provided a sampler tray of oysters rockefeller, bbq ribs with truffle mashed potatoes, crab stuffed shrimp and Steak Diane - everything was really tasty and I look forward to going back for dinner. Then we moved on to Coquette Cafe just for a look. They were pretty busy and a quick look was all that was needed. This is one of my favorite restaurants in the Mil. Next we visited Coast and had a few entrees to taste. The salmon was a hands-down favorite - we also tasted stuffed Chicken and Tenderloin. Mmmm..on all. The popovers, which I normally devour, were a bit overcooked. Bummer. To end the evening, we had an outrageous display of chocolate desserts provided by Bacchus. Unbelievable - every one was absolutely dee-lish! Our guests were pleasantly surprised and impressed with each of the restaurants and of course, "who knew Milwaukee could be so cool?"

Touring Milwaukee

I had the opportunity to take 10 ladies on a Milwaukee Tour on Tuesday. They were all in the city for a convention with their spouses. We toured downtown, the original Juneau settlement, and then watched the Brise Soleil on the Milwaukee Art Museum open at 10am. Beautiful morning! We continued through the city along Wisconsin Avenue and saw the sights up to Miller Brewing/Miller Park. From here we went to The Basilica of St Josaphat. The Basilica is absolutely breathtaking. I had called ahead hoping they would turn the lights on for us, but to no avail they did not get the message. Luckily the sun was shining so the stained glass was brilliant enough. I am hoping that I have better communication with them for future groups. For our lunch stop we went to Yanni's - they did an incredible job. Service was outstanding and the food was wonderful, plus it is a very impressive looking restaurant. I have no problem in recommending them. Our tour continued through the city to Brady Street and along Lake Drive up to Silver Spring. Had to stop at Kopp's for a custard treat! On our way back along the lake, I stopped at the Art Museum so the ladies could go inside to see the Quadracci Pavilion. All in all a great day.

Tuesday evening I helped out at an event held at House of Harley. What a great idea to use the dealership for an event! Food was catered in and music was provided by a DJ. The attendees all received a discount for shopping and they were able to pictures on bikes with the "Harley Angels". They even did a couple of burn-outs. Good time. I was there to serve beer. It's been a while since I was on that side of the bar!!

I think overall it was a positive Milwaukee experience.