1. Grab a Burger – Any Burger – at Oscar’s
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
To celebrate the arrival of Ann Christenson’s awesome burgers package in our August issue, MilMag had a team lunch outing last week at acclaimed burger joint Oscar’s (1712 W. Pierce St.). It was a great reminder that as often as this place appears on various best-burgers lists, it’s so deserved. The big, thick burgers play well whether you take a minimalist approach or go whole hog. My go-to is definitely the latter: The Big O, a spicy number loaded with chipotle jack, smoked gouda, bacon, chorizo and pickled jalapenos. That this burger can be had (with fries!) for under 11 bucks is one of the world’s greatest joys.
2. Get Pancakes at Walking Daisy
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
People around here like breakfast. I do, too. The new “all-day” breakfast joint Waking Daisy just opened at The Corners of Brookfield, and the thing that’s getting tongues wagging about it is the Daisy Cake. It’s a very thick, fluffy, cakey thing that I can’t imagine eating the entirety of myself, but it’s certainly good. I split the table pancake with my friend, and a wedge of that single cake was enough for me. The brown glaze on top is maple butter sauce, which is just sweet and rich enough. This yeast-raised cake is their iteration of the Golden Pancake served at Golden Diner in Manhattan’s Chinatown. I just saw the recipe for that popular pancake posted in the New York Times’ food section, so yep, this is trending.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
3. Try All the Sporkies (Well, Maybe Not All of Them…)
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, DIGITAL EDITOR
Managing editor Archer Parquette and I went to State Fair to try all of the Sporkies winners. I absolutely cannot recommend you try all eight (8) winners, because it not only wrecked my stomach but also made me question my friendship with Archer, my sanity, life… all that to say it was a lot. Way too much to eat in under two hours. But, I can recommend that you try some of the Sporkies! My favorite was the Gochujang Smash Burger. If you want to read the entire account of our journey – and all of Archer’s opinions on the Sporkies, with a smattering of my thoughts – check out this story here.
4. Listen to Tyler Childers’ New Snipe Hunter
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
The voice of Appalachian Kentucky dropped this new album July 25, the day before his show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. It’s a fantastic record, with Childers’ signature songwriting – insightful if a little talky, rich storytelling and a flair for the unexpected – imbuing varied bluegrass/honky-tonk/Southern rock compositions. There’s plenty of huntin’ in the holler and drinking songs, but Childers also veers into a tongue-in-cheek take on Australian wildlife and a charmingly earnest appreciation of Hindu themes. “Bitin’ List” is an epic kiss-off: “And if there ever come a time I got rabies/You’re high on my bitin’ list.” Snipe Hunter ranges wide but hits every seemingly disparate note.
