RiverMill Foods

It's been a while since I have had lunch in downtown Waukesha because frankly I have just been too busy. I have missed my walks downtown over my lunch and decided that with the beautiful weather today I was definitely overdue. I had no idea what I wanted for lunch and was planning to just wander until something caught my eye. Well the first place that I saw, coming from South and Grand, was RiverMill Foods. I had heard great things about the place from my friend Jeremy as he has lunched there and purchsased some of its artisan breads. He has also tweeted about his times there and RiverMill Foods is very responsive with social media.

RiverMill Foods is a family-owned business right on the 5 points in downtown Waukesha, next door to Generations at 5 Points. The window lettering states they have "Artisan Breads, Cheesecake,  Homemade Soups, Fresh Salads, & more." Owner Laurie was the smiling face that greeted me upon entering the store today. The wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread filled the shop and made me really hungry for lunch. Two chalk boards listed the salads and sandwiches right where you place your order. I loved that the main ingredients of the different salads and sandwiches were listed out. This left my decision easy for lunch. Laurie clued me in to the bottom of the menu where they offer a lunch combo for a very reasonable $6.50 which is your choice of 2 of the following: a small salad, half sandwich or wrap, cup of soup or fresh fruit bowl.

I decided to go for the Lunch combo and ordered the Greek Salad and Turkey BLT on a broccoli cheddar roll. Laurie informed me that everything was made fresh to order and only with the freshest ingredients. My salad would be made just for me and if I didn't want something on it, I should just say and she would omit. I didn't ask if I wanted extra ingredients if there was a charge, but I was happy with everything on my salad and extremely happy to know it wasn't sitting in a cooler getting wilty.

It took only a few minutes for my order to be ready, but that gave me a chance to look in the cooler at the cheesecakes! They have 2 more chalkboards over the cooler that state the soup options that they have frozen to take to go and cheesecakes by the slice, 6", 9" or mini 2" sampler packs. These soup flavors got my attention right away and I know I will be back to try them: French Onion, Fiesta Tortilla, and Roasted Tomato Herb. But what really got my attention was some of the cheesecake flavors: Lemon Blueberry, Kahlua Fudge and Caramel Apple. I resisted soup and cheesecake for today but I know that I will be back there soon, now that fall is in the air, for some soup. And who doesn't love cheesecake? I may bring one for my work birthday treat if I don't feel adventurous to create something on my own. All they need is at least 24 hours notice to make the cheesecake.

Ok - onto the taste. I took my lunch back to the office although RiverMill Foods does have two bistro tables to eat at. I opened up the salad and was instantly impressed with how fresh everything looked. (Sorry my picture of the salad is of it almost finished. It was so good, I was too consumed with flavor to remember to take a before shot.) The salad consisted of mixed greens, tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese and sunflower seeds with an oil vinegrette dressing. I haven't had many greek salads in my life but this one was really good. The dressing was amazing. I thank Laurie for letting me know about the pits in the olives so I wouldn't bust a tooth, but they were easily manageable. The salad was just the right size for lunch. The sandwich looked just as good. Nice slices of turkey and tomato, with bacon, lettuce and mayo filled the broccoli cheddar roll perfectly. My first bite and I knew I was in trouble. The bread was so delicious and added an enticing flavor to the sandwich that I couldn't get enough of it. I was definitely a member of the clean plate club after lunch, but I didn't feel stuffed. It was the perfect amount.

I know that I will not be a stranger to RiverMill Foods and will definitely buy some artisan breads and frozen soups to get me through the colder months. I can hardly wait to go back again.

Until next time, Happy Eating!