February in Milwaukee

It's not often that I make it to Milwaukee but February I made it there at least 4 times. It was pretty nuts for me, but I hope to make it more routine in the future. #mkefoodies is helping with that alot!

Ok - I'm technically starting on Jan. 29th as I attended a Wave game with the Waukesha Biz Alliance. I can't remember the last time I went to a wave game, but it was really, really fun. The UW-Madison band was performing and they were fun to watch. Not to mention it was Autism Awareness night at the game and that's a cause that is close to my heart. We got to do a meet and greet with some players and the coach before the game. There were pretzels and chips & salsa for us to snack on which held me over a bit. But I knew that if we were going out after the game, I needed something a bit more. Wave Games don't have a lot of variety of food, so I had a regular hot dog and a beer.

The Wave won and we headed out to Brady Street to see what was going on. We decided on Nomad, as it's a fave of Tory's and mine and we were very happy with the decision. The beer selection is amazing there and I got to try some new witbiers there. Unfortunately the names escape me! And surprisingly, the prices are cheaper than some bars in Waukesha that claim to have a great selection.

Then, my next trip to Milwaukee was for the Cupcake Clash on Feb 13. I had attended a cupcake event last September so I thought I knew what I was walking into. Boy was I wrong (but in a good way). The lines were wrapped around MSOE and we couldn't wait to get in. Organization was lacking a little but I understand and appreciate the efforts of every volunteer. Those that bought tickets in advance were extremely confused as to how to get in early and beat the lines.

Once we got in, there were so many tables of cupcakes and I was a little overwhelmed. We instantly bought more tickets to make sure we wouldn't have to wait in line later. My friends and I packed together and made sure we didn't get duplicates so we could try a lot of them. Some of my favorite cupcakes were a mimosa cupcake, a pancakes & bacon cupcake, a Guinness cupcake, a wine cupcake and a popcorn cupcake. Of those, the mimosa was my favorite overall and popcorn was the most unique in that they actually powerderized popcorn to use as the flour for the cupcakes.

After we headed west of MSOE for my first experience at AJBombers! WE got there at the perfect time as everyone else tried to get in after and ended up waiting. They have a unique ordering system in which you fill out your form yourself so there are no order mistakes.

They also have free peanuts and little peanut bombs to deliver them to the tables.

They surprisingly have no tap beers but that was ok for me. Food came out fast and I was so hungry for salt that I dug right in.

 

While we waited, they had my grandpa's favorite game for us to play. It's a brain teaser that can keep you busy for hours trying to master. The object is to only have one nail left. 

The burger was very flat and not overly greasy, but the cheese and pickles really made it yummy!  We ordered fries on the side and that was our only disappointment. There was no crunch, but they were soggy either. They were hard to describe and luckily they were only $2. Actually all of the food was reasonable so I was very happy with our lunch choice. I will definitely be back to try a few other burgers in the near future. And I will also have to try Sobelman's and be my own Food Wars judge!

 Wow - this is taking longer than I thought - Distil and Crisp will have to come in a future post! I'll write again soon!