Bowl in One
This cold snap had me thinking about a lot of things – buying more long underwear, getting out of Wisconsin, how much soup a person can eat in a week. I venture a guess that a soup joint like Stewps had a pretty good week (5301F S. 108th St., Hales Corners, 414-529-8534). By 3:00 today – Friday the 25th – Stewps had served upwards of 96 people, a Stewps employee by the name of Candy told me. And she still had three hours to go before closing. Beef stew, one of three varieties offered daily, is quite the seller, she adds. Three soups change every day. (I counted more than 180 possible kinds listed on the Stewps Web site: www.stewps.com – Caribbean seafood chowder to pork with winter veggies). FYI: Mom’s chicken soup, Jack Daniel’s chili and all the vegetarian soups are gluten-free. Soups are available in 16-, 24- and 32-ounce sizes. Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sparkling Knowledge
Bubbles go to your head. Isn’t that the general thinking? I love the mouth feel of sparking wine and Champagne, and I don’t mind – as long as I’m not driving – that it goes to my head. As for knowledge of all things bubbly, if you’re yearning to know more, the Milwaukee Wine School is doing a three-part series of classes in February. It starts on Feb. 4 with an intro course: The Beauty Behind the Bubbles ($45). The Feb. 11 class focuses on differences between Champagne and “Methode Champenois” ($55). The difference comes from where the wine is made, but you’ll learn lots more about that. The third class, Feb. 18 ($70), gets into the varying styles of Champagne. It’ll touch on grand crus, premier crus, blanc de noirs and blanc de blancs. Classes begin at 6:30 p.m. and are held at the Champagne lounge Cuvée, 177 N. Broadway, Third Ward. To register, go to www.milwaukeewineschool.com.
Food Inhalation
Fat Tuesday – this year, Feb. 5 – is the day to stuff your face before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Some restaurants are planning much more than a one-day Mardi Gras affair. For example, Elliot’s Bistro (2321 N. Murray Ave., 414-273-1488). The French restaurant will celebrate Louisiana cooking from Feb. 1-17. That means oysters, turtle soup, jambalaya, Cajun frog legs, shrimp étouffée – as much as your heart desires. Monday, the 4th, is also Psychic Night at Elliot’s. Eat, drink and learn your future – if you hold stock in that sort of thing. The event features 15 readers, for whose services you will pay $20 per reading. Munchies and drinks will be available. 4-10 p.m. Next week I’ll have more restaurants doing the Mardi Gras dance.
No More Plastic
For months now, I’ve been carrying a few plastic bags from Whole Foods scrunched under my car seat, next to the snow scraper and umbrella. Maybe seven times out of 10, I remember to bring a bag into the store with me to reuse for my groceries. The news may have reached you that Whole Foods will phase out plastic bags in all its stores by April 22 (Earth Day). The store will continue to have recycled paper bags, but the real push is to get people to bring a reusable bag. Whole Foods sells its “A Better Bag” (made of recycled plastic bottles) for 99 cents. So the other day, I realized I probably have another handful of those Earth-unfriendly Whole Foods plastic bags at home. How do I get rid of them without doing a disservice to our environment? Whole Foods has recycling centers in the store where you can leave the bags. I feel better now.
Can’t get enough dining? I chat about restaurants every week with Jane Matenaer and Kidd O’Shea on “The Mix.” Listen between 8 and 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31. That’s 99.1 WMYX-FM.
Also check out Colleen Heather Rogan’s weekly Shopaholic column and our Events Editor Evan Solochek’s picks for the best events in arts and entertainment in This Weekend.
