Good Eats For a Good Cause

Saturday, May 1st was the Riverwalk for Breast Cancer at Frame Park. The weather was wonderful and the turnout was amazing! As of 11 am on Saturday, over 173,000 was raised by walkers, donations and stores around Waukesha. All of that money stays local to help research and fund projects for breast cancer right in our community. In conjunction with the walk every year is one of the Art Crawls in downtown Waukesha. Shauna and I got a chance to experience the crawl in full swing this year and I must say - I haven't seen downtown that crowded in a very, very long time. Lots of the shops had treats for their customers and we making donations to the cause through specific purchases. Of course I had to stop at Bangles & Bags and check out the new merchandise. My eyes caught many amazing bags, but I decided to go with a neutral striped one that was larger sized and will go with just about anything. I would say her prices are ridiculously reasonable. A lot of her jewelry is like $5 for a pair of earrings, $10 for a necklace. I would definitely consider this place the next time you are looking for that little extra something to dress up an outfit!!

Just down from Bangles & Bags is 1 2 3 Framing (I think that's the name) and the artist was creating original pieces of art on the road. All prints had the breast cancer ribbon or the Riverwalk for Breast Cancer logo on it. Shauna bought one that was a giraffe print with a breast cancer ribbon big on it. I liked them but I fell in love with a different print inside for my living room wall. I just need to get a frame for it now! (I know its a frame shop, but I'm on a budget). We walked thru a few of the other galleries in downtown and then headed to South Street to check out a newer floral store.

Jess Fleur Fun! is a really cute fresh floral store with home decor and fun stuff too! They had cute fridge magnets, flasks, purses, scarves, windchimes and of course flowers. The owners are super nice and very informative. We really enjoyed our chat with them about what they all can do for you. I will keep them in mind the next time I need a flower arrangement for a friend.

By this point we were pretty shopped out and hungry so we made our way to Sprizzo's and it was jam packed in there. We waited about 10 minutes for a table and ended up taking two end seats at the bar. That was ok but not ideal because I felt like people were watching us. The servers were too busy to take the time to watch us but sitting higher than anyone else in the restaurant was intimidating slightly.

The gentleman next to us ordered nachos and I definitely will consider that the next time I'm out. The plate was heaping with gooey cheese, chicken and jalepenos - it looked sooo tasty, I hope I didn't drool at all. I ordered a 1/2 turkey sandwich and a cup of the cheesy spinach soup. The color of the soup was less than appetizing (think split pea) but the taste was amazing. There was enough pepper to give it a kick without overpowering the cheese or spinach taste. We debated dessert there but decided to head over to Generations for a martini and maybe dessert there.

Generations was extremely crowded as well and we ended up getting a table outside. It was a bit chilly but we got to people watch a bit and didn't have to wait up to 35 minutes for dessert. I ordered a Raspberry seduction martini and Shauna had Bedroom eyes. Both of our claimed to have X-Rated in them, but I think it had the actual vodka and not the liqueur version. Either way, they were both amazing. I also was succumbed by dessert and had their pan friend cinnamon bread with ice cream and caramel syrup. Shauna got the last piece of chocolate truffle cheesecake (slightly too rich for my palate) but we were both in heaven. Joe McCormick actually came out of his busy kitchen and chatted with us for a bit. The mom and grandma make the desserts for the restaurant and he handles all the tapas. I think he has found himself quite a nice gig there. I have a gift certificate to use when I go with a group, so I'm excited to go back there again soon.

So that was my Saturday, Flashback to Friday night - we went to Magellan's again and took advantage of their amazing pizza and a pitcher deal. It was agreed that they have the best pizza of Waukesha by all four of us. And my friend Nick used to make pizzas and sold recipes for them so he is definitely one to not throw around a title like that. Too bad the pizza and pitcher deal was only last month, but I'm gonna keep an eye on the Freeman like a hawk for their next offer. That was is too good to pass up. Not to mention Magellans had their tappers hooked up and a mini-bar on the M2 side. It's taking shape!!!

Flashforward to this Friday, Tiffany and I decided to get dinner in Waukesha and decided upon El Ranchito after a Strongbow at House of Guinness (always delicious). I have never eaten at El Ranchito (www.elranchitowaukesha.com) but the cute garage door patio always made me curious. Unfortunately it was rainy and chilly out so we couldn't dine outdoors, but inside was just fine by me. The drink special was buy 1 small margarita, get 1 free, and you had all the options available to you: blended, on the rocks and flavors galore. I just went with the basic on the rocks and they were ok, but not the best margaritas in town. 2 for $5 isn't a bad deal at all. The menu is very extensive and a lot of it I could not understand but chips and salsa always help the reading go easier. I finally found Flautas (probably my favorite thing) and ordered some with chicken inside.
You could definitely tell these were hand-rolled and the meat was delicious inside. Tiffany chose the poblano peppers that seemed to be fried in egg and then she pulled it apart and put it on tortillas. The peppers because the consistency of spinach after being cooked and she really enjoyed her meal. I was stuffed leaving and because I wasn't going to be home much this week, I let one flauta stay behind.

The place was not very crowded but very cutely decorated. I would definitely consider taking a large group there because it was sectioned off nicely so that you had semi-private dining areas to eat in. Maybe my next birthday (just no tequila shots!)

I did splurge late, late in the evening on a piece of cheesecake with warm berry compote and whipped cream when I met some co-workers out late at night at People's Park(they serve til 1 am). One had a steak that looked amazing and two others had burgers. I figure at 11 pm cheesecake wouldn't sit so heavy in my tummy, but it definitely won't help my Weight Watchers weigh-in this week!