I'm a terrible speller ...

I have many, many favorites in Milwaukee ... Milwaukee is one of the most (if not the most) under-rated dining city in the country. Lake Park Bistro is consistantly wonderful. Nanakusa (sp?) in the Third Ward is delicious Japanese food ... honestly some of the best Sushi and Sushimi I have had anywhere in the country. I have had some very memorable meals at Croquet Cafe, which is also in the Third Ward. The Public Market is fantastic. One of my favorite "foodie" experiences in Milwaukee is to go to the Public Market and let whatever looks delicious dictate my menu for the evening. For dessert I reccomend Polaris the restaurant on top of the Hyatt. The food is just so-so, but for out-of-towners, it's definitely worth the experience to be able to see all of downtown Milwaukee from above it. Metro Cafe for atmosphere exclusively is also wonderful.

I'm not sure how willing you are to travel outside Milwaukee proper, but the burbs offer some great restaurants as well. I have never been dissapointed at Eddie Martini's, the meal I had at Weisberger's in Waukesha is the best meal I have ever had in Wisconsin, one I will never forget. Mitchell's in Brookfield is quite good and there is a place on Pewaukee lake called Fishbones that is absolutely outstanding. I could go on and on and on. Milwaukee is so fantastic for a foodie if you just give it a real chance. I hope that helped, please let me know if you need any other info, I could go on and on and on.

A few years ago my brother and I went to an African restaurant in Florida. Two intersting things on that point, 1. The African restaurant didn't specialize in the cuisine of a specific region or country, just African, and 2. I realize Florida isn't known for African cuisine. Despite these points, my brother hasn't stopped talking about a "peanut butter rice" dish that we ate there. It had a peanut butter taste to it more than a peanut taste and there were no peanut pieces. Has anyone ever made anything like this or have any ideas on how it would have been made? I would love make it for him.

It looks amazing and I have already called to make a reservation, but they are, unfortunately, closed for a wedding tomorrow night. It looks exactly like what I'm looking for, thank you!

As a birthday surprise my fiancee has planned a weekend away from Boston to a Bed and Breakfast in the the Woodstock/Lincoln area of New Hampshire. Being the food lover/foodie I am, I am very focused on the all too important birthday dinner tomorrow night. Does anyone have any recs for an up-scale restaurant with really delicious food. We enjoy all types of food and price is no object (in this situation at least). A great wine list is a definite bonus. I would love a romantic ambiance if possible and it would be wonderful to go someplace where I can dress up and not be out of place. Please help me out!

Exactly! I was waiting for someone to write this! My grandmother was born in Cosenza, Italy, immigrated here at about and 5 and learned to speak English at about ages 7 to 10. I was raised to pronounce many Italian words with no vowel at the end. About 8 years ago or so when we took my grandmother to Italy she was able to speak the language somewhat, but not fluently. Her explanation was that she didn't speak "Italian" she speaks "dialect." To this day, she still has trouble understand the "universal" dialect.

My vegetarian friend absolutely loves their veggie burgers. Also the onion rings and French fries are delicious! I would make a meal just out of that ... maybe that and a Frappe.

While I was living in New York a friend and I went on a quest for the perfect cupcake. We started with Magnolias having heard all of the rave reviews. Once tasted we agreed that it was good but that there had to be better out there. And so the quest began - once or twice a week for over a year we would try something new. In the end, Magnolia's was truly the best NYC cupcake we tried!

Oh my goodness! I think this might be my new favorite website! The hard part is deciding which to try first!

Dinner on Friday night was good - not excellent - but good. The wine list was far too over priced and the wait staff was horrible, quite unprofessional in fact. One waitress yelled to a waiter across the dining room, I was shocked by her lack of professionalism. We started each with an Onion Soup which was absolutely delicious, possibly the best I have ever had. Next we shared the special appetizer, a crab and avocado salad. Large pieces of crab meat, fresh avocado, but there seemed to be something missing, maybe it was the dressing. It just seemed like there needed to be something to marry the two that wasn't quite there. My steak was delicious, a very nice cut and perfectly prepared. Dessert were the profiteroles (am I spelling that correctly?). To be honest, being the chocolaholic that I am, the dish was saturated in chocolate, which is my favorite way to have any dish, bot sure if it's the true "foodie" way to eat it however. My fiancee had the scallops and seemed to really enjoy them, he himself is a chef and in effect is quite picky, so they must have been delicious, or I'm sure he would have said otherwise. All in all, an enjoyable experience. I'm excited, however, to try Gaslight once it opens. There was a feature on the restaurant in this month's Improper Bostonian which has really gotten me excited! It's supposed to be quite casual and affordable which is very nice. Apparently wine by the glass starts at $4.50. As a graduate student, finances are tight so that's always good news!

Thanks for all of the advice! I'm very excited!

I have dinner reservations there for tomorrow night. Has anyone been there? How is the food? The service? Any recommendations? They didn't have the wine list on their website. Is the wine list good? How about the prices on wine?

So I've decided to make a night of it! Going to a traditional French restaurant for dinner (you know, to experience the real thing) then going to see the movie (to see Disney/Pixar's interpretation of French dining). I'm so excited!!!

Does anyone know when this restaurant is scheduled to open? Also, I'm trying to find a low cost French restaurant with a good wine list (hence my interest in Gaslight) - suburban suggestions welcome, anyone know of anything?

And what about frozen custard? You gotta try that Kopps is very close to Taste of Home (less than 5 mins away) and it's my absolute favorite! That will complete your Wisconsin experience!

Just in case anyone is interested in the real thing, it was developed based on a chef featured in this month's Food and Wine and the recipe is included in the magazine.

I was wondering the same thing. I just recently found out about the event and know very little about it. Is it worth the $60?

It's pathetically obvious who is going to get voted out each show. Last week before they voted out Clay they featured the story of him talking about his father's suicide. This week before eliminating Sandee they featured her story - "three years ago I had never been in a professional kitchen. I went from line cook to chef in 3 months." They tell the story of the contestant before letting them go.

I second Meskel. Also, it's BYOB so definitely pick up a bottle of wine down the street!

I just read the recipe you had scanned for "war cake." I have made that cake before. It is actually quite good. Is is much more the texture of a bread or even a fruit cake, but quite good. It was developed during the depression when things like sugar, eggs and butter were rationed.

This may be widely known ... I apologize if it is ... but an interesting cookbook that I picked up a couple of years ago was a special edition by Better Homes and Gardens which has its most popular recipes decade by decade from the 1920's until present day. Very unique -- not only trends in what people ate but how it was prepared and even how food stylist and photographers in different decades featured the dishes.

I was in this exact predicament last night ... sadly. I accompanied my boyfriend where he had evening business about 2 hours outside of Boston. At about 9 pm we were both starving and the freeway sign had 2 options -- Applebee's or Chili's. Considering the food is nothing to get excited about we oped for Chili's simply because they have a summer special on (overly fruity) Margaritas! So I guess, in short, my decision would be the one with the best bar!

What about Tortilla Soup from the movie Tortilla Soup? Or even "Beef ragout, Cheese souffle, Pie and pudding "en flambe"" quoted from the Beauty and the Beast Classic "Be Our Guest."

That was going to be mine liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. From the Silence of the Lambs quote "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

It was breakfast -- wasn't it? Eggs and Toast?

Well I found this to be quite interesting. I've always been a big believer that you can learn a lot from cookbooks. In fact, in college we were assigned a paper on a cookbook. At first none of us quite understood what kind of academic paper could possibly be created from a cookbook, but we all very quickly learned the value in the assignment. In fact, it literally changed my life.

I think your perspective is unique. I agree with rockycat that some of the dishes you found unusual are not at all strange to many of us in other regions -- but what is wrong with that? A lot of your personality is included in the essay and that's wonderful. Reading your reaction to items I consider normal and you find strange made me laugh and I thought about trips to other regions of the county and my own experiences with food I found strange yet others ate regularly (my major memory of this would be scrappel in South Carolina).

No research needs to be done, in fact you would completely lose your tone in the essay and turn an interesting (dare I say "cute") essay into an academic piece. I am a food academic, have devoted much of my life to it, and ,even in the academic sense, can learn a lot from essays much like yours. Gastronomy, Foodways, etc. are not just about what you eat, it's about individual experience and reaction.

Thank you for your post!

I know it's a chain ... but a small one ... Smith and Wollensky's?

Where I grew up in Wisconsin grasshoppers are still quite common. We have them every Christmas and you can order them at most restaurants ... so they're still alive in one part of the country!

I think Guy is the absolute perfect host for the show! I loved him on America's Next Food Network Star - he just got it! He knew what to do - how to be fancy and yet create dishes the home chef could take on as well has how to be different yet not scare people away! Also I really appreciate a good dive! Back in my broke NYC days I was always looking for a good diner or dive, so I especially appreciate the show! Also I feel like it's a very good mix of places - traditional diners as well as new takes on the concept! Really enjoy it!

I'm so glad to hear good things about Legal Seafood on this site (finally!). I really enjoy Legal Seafood and like the fact that it's a chain -- in an unknown city it's a place I can go and be sure the food is good. The clam chowder is second to none and their Sangria is delicious! The seafood is always fresh, the rolls are always hot and overall the service is usually good. At the same Legal Seafood chain (Prudential Center in Boston) I have had the worst service of my life and the best service of my life. The best was so great, however, that it cancels out the bad service.