A smorgasbord of a post ...

Forgive me if this installment is a bit all over the place, but it's nearly Wednesday already, and this past weekend didn't exactly feature a neat and tidy, cut-and-dry, highly-bloggable (is that a word?) activity.

Instead, the past few days have featured several random, somewhat bloggable (yeah, I said it again) outings. So without further ado …

Twisted Fork

Friday while I was at work, Dave and I talked on the phone and he offered to take us out to dinner that evening. It's a rare occurrence for us due to our lack of funds, so I was excited. I proceeded to spend way too much of my afternoon debating restaurants and reading Dennis Getto reviews online. I kept going back to restaurants we've been to before and loved: Sake Tumi, Swig, Pizza Man – but I knew we should try something new.

I decided on Tess, an intimate restaurant situated in an old Victorian house in a residential area of the east side, which is owned by the same people who own Holiday House and that I've heard nothing but good things about recently.

Pleased with myself for finally making a decision, I called for a reservation and … they were closed for a holiday party. Drat.

Long story short (or sort of long already, I suppose) – we decided to give Twisted Fork a try. I've lived in Milwaukee for more than three years and have never been to this well-known east side restaurant except to have a drink on several occasions.

Our dinner was very enjoyable and we had a nice time, though, as with many restaurants we try, I won't be in too big of a rush to return, considering the huge array of dining options Milwaukee has to offer.

The restaurant is cute, but loud, and the service was good. We shared crab cakes to start out, and they were tasty, but as we said that night, you can't really do a crab cake badly. Dave had a hanger steak that he thought was too charred on the outside – but the seasoned fries that accompanied it were delicious.

It was a bitter cold evening and I was in the mood for some comfort food, so I opted for pasta. On the waitress's recommendation (I always like to narrow it down to a few items and then ask the waitperson what's best – they serve it day in and day out, so they usually know what's up!), I had the chicken linguine, which was served with asparagus and tons of mozzarella cheese. It was really good, but extremely garlicky. There was going to be no making out for us after dinner!

For dessert, we shared a brownie with ice cream, which we chose because the waiter lights it on fire before it comes to the table, and it was alright, but it was drizzled with a raspberry sauce (I guess it must have been liqueur) that sort of ruined it for us. The crème brulee trio we shared was the highlight of our meal – three small dishes of the sugar-covered pudding, one vanilla, one espresso and one banana bread-flavored. YUM!

After two beers for Dave and two glasses of wine for me, plus an appetizer, two entrees and two desserts, we'd spent a hundred bucks with tip. This is why we can't go out very often – it's impossible to do it well and do it cheap!

I'd recommend the Twisted Fork for a group of friends but not necessarily a romantic date. A fun date, sure, but a romantic one, not so much. From reading Dennis Getto's review, ALL the food is supposedly quite garlicky, and as I said, the place is pretty loud. I'd go back, but probably for breakfast or lunch so I wouldn't spend so much!

BBC

Staying on the east side for a moment … BBC is right across the street from Twisted Fork, and we were there Saturday night for Dave's company Christmas party. I'm not sure what all can be said about a bar, especially since I’m not exactly a bar connoisseur. However, we had a good time there – played some foosball and pool, and had drinks and hors d'oeuvres. (And I read that it has two levels and features live music upstairs nightly.) The service was good and the place is big enough that even when it got crowded later in the night, it was still manageable and fun.

Bayshore Mall

Dave and I live in the North Shore, very close to Bayshore Mall, and yet for the past year or so, I've avoided that area completely because of the construction going on there. I knew they were working on making "Bayshore Mall" into "Bayshore Town Center" and that the addition of such establishments as California Pizza Kitchen and Trader Joe's was creating quite a buzz.

I was in need of a pair of shoes and was curious about the new additions, so Sunday afternoon Dave and I made the short drive over there. And HOLY MOLY was everything different! It was like I was in a different city!

Parking was, surprisingly, a breeze – the vast parking structure had a digital counter outside of it that continuously reported how many spots were available inside. We entered and found a spot right away and then walked along the sidewalk, marveling at all of the new stores and the pretty storefronts that faced out onto the street.

Christmas lights covered trees and lampposts along the sidewalk, and a huge Christmas tree was displayed in the center of it all.

There are tons of restaurants there – Potbelly's (whoo hoo!), Bar Louie, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, and a place called Devon Seafood Grill that we definitely want to try.

We walked inside, I got my shoes, and then we stopped for a few minutes and listened to a group of kids singing Hanukah songs in the middle of the mall. The place was bustling, and I was very excited to realize that this mall is so close to where I live - and so different than the other malls in the area!

And finally … Chicago

Yesterday I spent the day down in Chicago, shopping til I (nearly) dropped. Last year we got to go to the spa, this year the boss took us down to Chicago for the day.

We took the Amtrack down bright and early yesterday morning, which took about an hour and a half. My boss gave us all spending money, which was such a treat since I hardly ever get to go shopping these days! We did a ton of walking, as is usually the case when visiting a big city like Chicago or New York, unless you want to spring for cabs.

We shopped on Michigan Avenue for several hours in the morning, had a delicious lunch at an Italian place called the Rosebud, and then shopped the rest of the afternoon until our train left at 5:08.

I came home with about 10 new tops and it was so exciting! It feels so good to have some new clothes. Despite sore arms from all the bags and blisters on my feet from walking miles in the rain in dress shoes, it was a totally fantastic day.

Now here I am, nearly halfway through the week already and looking toward the upcoming weekend once again. And it's going to be a full weekend!

Friday night we'll be seeing The Nutcracker at the Milwaukee Ballet, which I'm really looking forward to. I've never been to a ballet, and I've never seen a performance of The Nutcracker! Friday night is opening night, and the show runs through December 29.

Saturday night we're seeing Linda's cabaret at the Skylight Opera Theater, and mom and Dale are going to come along, too. And then Sunday, we're heading down to Illinois for a Christmas party at my cousin, Sarah's house.

Tis the season to be busy, busy, busy, that's for sure! Hope you're all enjoying it.

Comments

[Christi]

I was at Bayshore Mall yesterday doing some Christmas Shopping as well and I couldn't believe how much that place had changed!! It reminds me a LOT of Old Orchard down in Illinois!!!

I've heard Bayshore get a lot of bad wrap about how unpractical it is for an outside to mall to be in the Midwest but I think people forget how willing a lot of people are to drive down to Chicago and shop Michigan Avenue in the dead of winter. What makes this so much different?

Sounds like your Christmas Party was fun. I wish i could go shopping!!!! (for myself I mean) =)

[pretty gal]

You work with some uggos

[Christi]

That wasn't very nice =(

[Erin]

No, it wasn't.

[kelly]

I was at Bayshore for the first time this weekend too and totally felt like I was in a different city. I loved it! It sort of reminded me of The Grove in Los Angeles - but on a bit of a smaller scale. There is a place in Madison that is somewhat similar too called Greenway Station and in the summer there are concerts and little fairs - I can totally see Bayshore doing the same thing. It is such a great addition to the northeast side of town.

[Krista]

Uggos? Seriously? Who says that? Oh, right. "Pretty gal" does.

[Andre]

Yeah, "uggos" is a dumb word. I prefer "fugly".

[Pretty Gal]

Cool people and non-uggos say uggos. Sorrrrry Krista, you cant use it.

[Christi]

Not only do we get awesome posts on a weekly basis from your blog Erin, but we also get a dose of drama through the comments!!!

Your blog rocks =)

[Krista]

Awww. Gee. That reeeeally sucks. Hmph.

[pretty gal]

Good one? Man an uggo and no come back skills. You are not a catch, krista. No sir.

[Andre]

Prettygal, what were you doing up at 8:30 this morning? Most gradeschoolers sleep in when they have a day off school.

[prettygal]

Again, Good one. Come on people. Give me something to work with. These weak comments are less than desirable.

[Erin]

I know - why don't you post a link to a photo of yourself, PRETTYGAL, and we can all discuss whether or not you should be calling OTHER people unattractive. How about that?

[Dave]

R U HOTRNOT?!?!?!?!?!!111

[Andre]

She probably looks like a monkey.

[Krista]

Not, dude. NOT.

[Charlie]

I love the Twisted Fork, espcially sitting in the big chairs by the window

Great place for meal before or drinks after a movie at the Oriental