Big Weekend in Waukesha

August is just a few short days away and with the start of the month comes a big weekend in Waukesha.

Friday Night Live takes over downtown on Friday night. I have only made it out to one of these so far this year, but I'm planning to change that now that my schedule is a bit more open. The music I heard the last time at a few stages was very enjoyable and the community has so many talented musicians. I really like Friday Night Live and seeing all the businesses open and busy with customers milling around and purchasing gifts.

Saturday starts off with the Waukesha Farmers' Market. Though I haven't made it to many of these this year, from what I saw at a roadside stand, this is going to be a good weekend to attend the event. The stand by Christina's on Summit Ave/Hwy 18 looked freshly stocked with gorgeous tomatoes, squash, and corn. I hope to swing by this week and get some before the weekend. But I also plan to check out the market. I love this time of year. My yard doesn't allow for me to grow any plants due to the lack of sun exposure, so I can't wait to pick up some locally grown fresh fruits and veggies to have at my house. Time to start researching some new yummy recipes to try!

I have also started training for a half marathon. I don't have a half in mind that I want to participate in, but I have had the goal that I will run a half marathon by the time I'm 35. No time like the present to begin training! Part of training involves eating right and getting proper nutrition. So the farmers markets and I will be really good friends for the next few months!

Also, this weekend is Shrek the Musical at the Waukesha Civic Theatre. The musical has a short run, July 31 - Aug 9, but is sure to be entertaining.My guy and I are attending the 7:30 show on Friday night. Maybe I can convince him to get a appetizer at Meli beforehand :)

I am getting very close to my 400th blog post. With that post I will have a great new feature that I will be sharing with my fans and I'm sure you will enjoy it. I'm finalizing a few details but I hope to share it with you in a week or so! Stay Tuned and hope to see you out in Waukesha!

Spring in Waukesha

Spring has officially sprung in Waukesha and even though the Mega Weekend has passed, there are so many great things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months in Waukesha.

 

I'm very excited for the Farmer's Market. Although I wasn't able to attend it this weekend, I drove by on my way out of town and saw that it was hopping with people. It looked like there were a lot more booths and booths closer to Barstow than before. The area where the Salvation Army/Antique store resided that is now a grassy area had booths which is new for this year.

I will be out of town next weekend too, but hope to attend the following weekend.

High Roller Fun Rentals is now open later in the evenings at Frame Park. Rent a fun bike or boat and enjoy some time at the Fox River. I plan to do this with my guy and his girls this summer. Not sure which one we will do, I'll leave that up to the girls, but it's going to be a blast.

I also look forward to returning to both Crush Wine Bar and Two Brothers Wines. Crush is having some tastings that interest me in the near future and I hope to help bottle some with with the brothers. I had such a great time at both places. Check out my experience on the VisitWaukesha.org blog.

I also need to introduce my guy to the rooftop of People's Park. He is a fan of their fish fry so I think a Friday night on the roof is in our near future!

Friday Night Live doesn't start until June and I'm curious how it's going to work with the road construction this year. But it's a great event to attend with friends and family and get them to downtown Waukesha and listen to some tunes while we wander from shop to shop.

I see a new popcorn store is opening on Main Street in June. Seeing as Poppin' on Broadway is going through a transition, I'm excited to see what this new place will offer. Hopefully Poppin reopens soon as I just love the Broadway mix and my dad wants me to pick up some cheddar caramel corn for him. The new website looks great!

Waterski shows start up later this month--Badgerland on the Fox River and Pewaukee Lake Water Ski Club on Pewaukee Lake. I think this is another great event to take my guy and his girls to.

Classic Car Shows on Wednesday nights at the Gasthaus look to be a big hit. I could hear the music from my backyard last year but never made it over for a show.

I'm sure I will get great use out of my State Park permit and head to Lapham and a few other parks this summer. Lapham has great trails for walking and running and the tower always has great views!

Mega Weekend in Waukesha

This weekend is going to be a big one for Waukesha. There is so much going on and the weather is looking to cooperate as well (knocking on wood as I type this).

First and foremost is the rescheduled Spring Clean Up. The weather looked uncooperative last weekend and a decision was made to reschedule it until May 2. Some groups still braved the chilly weather and cleaned up some last weekend. But this weekend, is the main cleanup.

Next up is the first Waukesha Farmer's Market in downtown Waukesha and it opens at 8 am. The market is located on Riverfront Plaza and could possibly stretch to the other side of the river on the Riverwalk if space is needed. The market has the following when seasonally available:

● In-season fresh vegetables  ● Fruits   ● Cut flowers, annuals and perennials
● Dried flowers   ●Baked goods   ● Oils   ● Herbs   ● Jams   ● Salad dressings
● Cheeses   ● Locally raised meats including lamb, beef and pork
● Locally-made art and craft items.

 I hope that Key Westconsin is planning to have their breakfast again this season!

Next up is the Riverwalk for Cancer in Frame Park. People begin congregating at 8 am but the walk doesn't start until 10 am. The kickoff is near the baseball diamonds. Take a nice walk around Frame Park and support a great cause, raising money that stays locally for cancer research. Then after the walk, check out the Farmer's Market.

And if you stay long enough in downtown, the 86th Art Crawl is in downtown Waukesha beginning at 4 pm. In the past, I know that if you had on your Riverwalk for Cancer shirt special promotions were made available. I don't see anything on this, but if you participate in the walk, it might not hurt to keep the shirt on and continue showing your support that evening.


The Waukesha Choral Union presents "The World's A Stage" at 7:30 pm on Saturday at Humphrey Memorial Chapel at Carroll University. 

Other events going on this weekend include:

Thursday - Crush Wine Bar - a tasting with "Mr. Napa" Frank Mirenda

Friday - Sunday - Waukesha Civic Theater - Les Miserable

I hope People's Park's Rooftop dining will be open with the great weather this week. Not to mention all the patio dining in the city. With the influx of people coming for all these great events, we are going to need the extra space this weekend!

And there is some road construction going on, but I'm sure the sidewalks will be available for travel and there are plenty of parking options in and around downtown. Come see all that Waukesha has to offer and stroll around downtown checking out all the new and long-standing businesses.

Spring in Downtown Waukesha

Now that the weather is nice enough for me to take a walk on my lunch hour, I have the opportunity to check out all the new and changing things around downtown.

You have probably heard about the Generations at 5 Points/Smokey O's switchero. Generations still has the shades drawn on the front and Smokey O's has paper on the windows. I hope these businesses open soon.

225 South is coming along nicely. The new dark paint color and sign really make the spot look classy. I can't wait to try the food. I love me some pasta!

Spring City Wine Co. will be opening soon next to the Clarke Hotel. Two wine shops on one street is heaven for me. I'm interested to find out more about the wine machines this shop will have.

Crush Wine Bar is having their Grand Opening this weekend with tastings, music, events and more all weekend long. Be sure to check it out. I'm a big fan of the place already!

Fruit of the Spirits Candles is going to be having their Grand Opening on May 2, the same day at the first Farmer's market of the season, Riverwalk for Breast Cancer and downtown Waukesha Art Crawl. This is a great day to open and get your name out there to the masses.

The former Random Twigs location looks to have some action going on inside. Check out LTE Waukesha for more info. I can't wait to see what that is to become.

Burlap & Lace's Boutique on Broadway is a nice addition to downtown. The clothes are so cute!

Frank's Sewing Center is leaving downtown but staying in the city. I understand their parking lot situation and I wish them good luck in their new location on St. Paul. Now we just need to find some entrepreneurs or established business to fill some holes - Frank's Sewing Center, Horse Emporium and I think there are one or two smaller locations available across the street from these on Main. Let's fill up downtown!

On North Street, I walked by Brew City Salvage and it looks like a great business. I will have to check it out when they are open and see what it's all about.

April 25th is the downtown cleanup from 8 am - noon. If you are available, they would appreciate the help in cleaning up the city. Meet at the Springhouse by Waukesha State Bank and you will be assigned a duty.

May 2nd is a huge weekend in Waukesha - The first Farmer's Market of the season held on the Riverwalk, the Riverwalk for Breast Cancer in Frame Park and the Spring Art Crawl in downtown.

I am probably missing a few things in my report, but I hope to stay up-to-date the best I can and share my downtown Waukesha knowledge with all of you!

Happy Spring Everyone!

4 Counties, 1 Day

This past weekend I was supposed to go camping and hiking with some friends at Devil's Lake. Unfortunately some of those going ran into issues of being able to go for the whole weekend and so we ended up cancelling the trip all together. Although I would have been a trooper and survived, the weekend started out on a rather rainy and chilly note, so I think it's best we didn't go.

So when I had no plans in place for Saturday, I joined my parents on a road trip venture through 4 counties covering about 140 miles round trip.

We started in Waukesha to hit up the Farmer's Market. I wanted some more kale for the Zuppa Toscana soup I wanted to make now that the chill is in the air and my mom needed to find Buck, the cutting board man, so he could make her a custom board to the dimensions of the sink in her kitchen. We located Buck and she picked out her wood pattern and handed over the dimensions and Buck said he would have it for her hopefully by next Saturday. Speedy delivery folks! I got my kale and we left the market.

We stopped at Sprizzo's for some breakfast to fuel us up before the venture my parents had planned out. My dad and I both had the Breakfast Stratta, but unfortunately mine was a corner piece and the bread was really tough to cut through, making it impossible to bite through parts of it. I ate enough and wasn't about to complain over a few bites I really didn't need anyways. My dad's piece was great and he was a proud member of the clean plate club.

My mom asked for the quiche special that was zucchini, tomato and Monterrey jack. After a few bites, she realized she got the other special with crab and mozzarella but said it was really good so no complaints by her either.

My dad and I both also tried the Sweet Peach Ginger tea that was on the menu and I fell in love. I took the little box the tea came in to remind myself when out shopping to pick some up. But if I can't find it in the area, I already scoped it out on Amazon.

The lunch specials looked amazing and I wanted to stay but we had to get on the road. I will definitely have to keep Sprizzo's in mind for a Saturday lunch. Beer Cheese Soup and a Blueberry Crunch salad - sign me up! 

Then we were off to Johnson Creek. My parents are heading to Paris for a vacation with my aunt and uncle in a few weeks and needed some quality walking shoes. And if you know anything about the Outlet Mall at Johnson Creek, you will know they have a ton of shoe stores. We only had to go into one because my dad found 3 pair (2 for Paris, 1 for work), my mom found a pair and I found new brown boots for the Fall/Winter. The boots are even made with Gortex, yet are fashionable.

Then we ended up buying something at practically every store we walked into - including an amazing deal of 100 chocolate truffles for $30 at the Lindt store. Then when you spend $30 at the store, you also get another pound of dark chocolate truffles for just $5. If you have ever bought these at Walgreens or the like near the checkout, they are usually around $.79 each....well with all we bought, we got them down to $.27 each!

We decided we had better leave the Outlet before we go broke. So it was off to Darien next for Sorg's Quality Meats and Sausages. I had never heard of this place and had no idea what to expect. If you have ever been to Ray's Butcher Shoppe on Loomis or Robert's Specialty Meats in Waukesha, this place is very similar.

They feature excellent looking cuts of fresh meat, as well as sausages and other products to make a great dinner from. I picked up the Italian sausage for the Zuppa Toscana soup, as well as some Chicken Alfredo brats and Bourbon Summer Sausage. I can't wait to try those.

My parents picked up some Bison sausage sticks, beef summer sausage, Braunschweiger, Portabella brats and a round steak. We walked out with all of that for around $50! It was definitely worth the drive.

Then it was back north to Fort Atkinson for the Simple Life County Store (sorry no pics - left phone in the car). My parents came across this place a few years ago in a magazine and decided to drive out and see what it's all about. They have visited about twice a year ever since. It's an Amish bulk food store that buys in mass quantity and repackages for customers into smaller portions at a great price. You can pick up all sorts of baking flours, soup mixes, spices, cookies, candies, treats and more. My cousin has one up in Appleton by her and her son is Gluten Free so she can find special treats just for him at this store and know the products are safe for him to have.

We picked up some popcorn, caramel corn, pesto dip mix, pancake mix, seasoned rye chips and mint chocolate chips. (I plan to use those for some chocolate cookies for the Cookies for Kids Cancer Bake sale and Cookie Swap I participate in annually)

And then after all of that is was time to head back to Waukesha and get me home. Total tally was 140 miles give or take because of some poor directions from Google Maps that put us in a route around a farm field randomly. Total counties we drove through: 4 - Waukesha, Jefferson, Rock and Walworth.

Don't worry we didn't drink all of these!

My friend ended up having a cookout/wine night and fire instead of us camping, so I headed over to his house and enjoyed a good time chatting with friends new and old, eating, sipping on wine and just relaxing around a fire.

Wine and a Fire - perfect Fall night!

Waukesha Wandering and Burlap & Lace

I spent some time with my mom a few weekends back and we decided to do some shopping in Waukesha. She knows that I always can find us something to do so we didn't really have a plan and just decided to start downtown and wander.

We started with The Steaming Cup for a quick breakfast before some "power shopping." I hadn't had their breakfast yet and though the menu is small, it is very diverse. I chose the Brazilian Breakfast and my mom picked the Cranberry Bolo. Neither of us was 100% sure what we were getting but we sat down with our coffee and chai and waited for the result.

Had to sit at the Carroll College table :)

We were both extremely pleasantly surprised with our breakfasts. Mine was a yogurt cup with acai puree, granola and mango. The puree was sweet but the yogurt helped to mellow it. I would definitely order it again. The granola is super yummy.

Brazilian Breakfast and Iced Chai

My mom's Bolo was a light, airy bread that was lightly toasted and served with the cranberry cream cheese. (It's the same that is used in the Cranberry Bog sandwich that I love so so much!)

Cranberry Bolo and Iced Tea

I only had a cup of the yogurt, so I helped my mom finish her bolo, we chatted a bit and I noticed the rack of games. I forgot they had these. What a fun concept to meet up with a friend in the evening and while having a cup of joe and catching up, you can play a game!

Games at The Steaming Cup

After cleaning our plates up, we headed off to the Waukesha Farmers' Market. We wandered without planning to buy anything and of course left with peppers, green beans, kale, tomatoes and oatmeal. We can't resist the fresh, local goods. I actually just blanched the remainder of my beans and kale and froze it to have it in the future. It's amazing how much longer fresh produce lasts than the stuff that you buy in a chain market grocer!

We stopped by the Plowshare booth at the Farmer's Market and found out a bit more on the fundraiser and fashion show later this month. My mom was very interested and because half of the cost to attend is a donation, we decided we are going to go and see what this is really all about.

Then of course we had to stop into the actual Plowshare store in downtown, because my mom can't go to downtown without stopping in. My teenage cousin's birthday was coming up and we picked up a cool recycled rubber bracelet for her and a flexible fabric frisbee for her brother in the shop. And for ourselves, we picked up some dehydrated mango that we had sampled in their booth at the market. It was delicious and the bag is very generous for $6.

We then wandered a bit more through downtown and saw that a new shop had opened called Burlap & Lace Marketplace was open on Grand. It's painted a very bright teal-blue on the outside with cute decorations to really make your eye catch it because it's not on the main drag of downtown Waukesha.

Burlap & Lace Marketplace

Burlap & Lace Marketplace

We went in and it truly is a lot of burlap and lace items, but so cutely set up. The shop is comprised of local artisans that rent booth space and display their handmade goods. There is coffee, knitted goods, soaps, wine cork art, burlap wrapped decor, handmade stationary, key chains, wall hangings, chalkboard art, antiques and more.

Does it get any cuter than these baseball, football and Wisconsin hats for little ones? 

Burlap & Lace Marketplace

Soon they will have a salon open in the back of the shop and offer classes for DIY projects. I am very interested in those. I signed up for their mailing list so I would be in-the-know when those classes start up.

Burlap & Lace Marketplace

Burlap & Lace Marketplace

I think this is an excellent addition to downtown. I love to buy from local artisans and this shop will definitely top my list when I need to buy gifts for friends. I just read on their Facebook page they currently have 29 vendors with a few spots still available and hope to expand into the basement in Spring.

They are open Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 6 and on Fridays they will be open until 9 pm through October.

(I even got an idea for my annual Christmas gift for my friends based off of one of the items that caught my eye in the store.)

Waukesha Upcoming Events

This weekend is the next Art Crawl in downtown Waukesha. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it as I will be standing up in my friends wedding. But I did want to share with all of you the fun things planned for this weekend and the coming weeks.

This isn't an event but I did want to share that the Clarke Hotel is now serving complimentary breakfast to their guests. This has been a long time coming and the first step in the revamping of the hotel and restaurant. I can't wait to try out the restaurant once it's open.

Every Friday thru Sept. - Waukesha Friday Night Live - 6:30 - 9 pm - listen to great music and entertainment on the streets of downtown.

Every Saturday thru Oct. - Waukesha Farmer's Market - 8 am - noon - On the riverfront in Waukesha, see a great selection of products from local vendors.

Saturday, Aug 2:


The 82nd Art Crawl is being held from 4 - 10 pm. Here is a flyer with all the information.

But before the Art Crawl the Duck Race will be held at 12:30 pm on Saturday, Aug. 2. The launch will happen at the Barstow Bridge and here is more information.

Tuesday, Aug 12: 

VOTE - Use your voice and vote in the primary election. This primary will decided the next Sheriff of Waukesha County because their is no democrat on the ballot. 

Friday, Aug. 15:

Run From the Cops 5K Fun Run - Details here 

In addition to these special events, the downtown businesses have live music and entertainment scheduled throughout the week as well as food and drink specials - so many it's hard to keep up with. Hope you can make it downtown to experience one of these events. 

Summertime in Waukesha

So, so, so much to do in Waukesha this (and every) summer. I can't wait to take it all in.

Here is just a sprinkling of events that I can think of to kick off your summer.

Waukesha Friday Night Live - Every Friday from June thru October the streets of downtown Waukesha becomes a festival of fun with the streets closed down and many stages of music set up. See great local acts, check out the shops and enjoy yourself while meeting up with thousands of other Waukesha friends.

Waukesha Farmer's Market - Since 2008, I have seen this steadily grow in size and variety of vendors. It is now over 100 vendors with all sorts of things - plants, veggies, candles, woodwork, jewelry, meat, popcorn, flowers and much, much more. Every Saturday morning from May - October you can find Riverfront Plaza shut down between Broadway & Barstow and full of lively vendors.

Carl Zach Cycling Classic - Watched this for the first time last year and it was exciting. How these folks can stay on those skinny tires around the tight turns of downtown Waukesha at the speed they are going, completely boggles my mind and gives more props to them from me!

Gibson Guitar Town & Murals - Walk through the historic downtown area and you can't help but see murals everywhere! Many of them relate to music and Les Paul (The Wizard of Waukesha) that started three years ago as part of Waukesha being designated a Gibson Guitar Town. But a few other businesses have other murals as well - Waukesha Tattoo Company, Bernie's Tap Room (inside), Couri Insurance and Discount Liquor. 

Outdoor Dining -
     People's Park roof is a popular stop with great views of the city.

     Sprizzo's artistic outdoor area is a nice place to take in the sites of the streets.

     Magellan's retracting windows to open up the whole bar to the outdoors is awesome.

     Bosco's back patio is covered from the elements, has lawn games and big TVs to take in the games.

     Sloppy Joe's offers outdoor games like hula hoop and bean bag toss to those walking by.

     Divino Gelato has nice benches and a few tables to enjoy the downtown with a sweet treat.

     Jackson's & Bernie's have a few tables available to enjoy dinner at on the sidewalk.

     The Steaming Cup has a lot of tables to take in your morning or afternoon coffee.

     Just outside of downtown on Grand is La Estacion with excellent Mexican cuisine and a gorgeous stone patio.

If I missed any more, I apologize!

There is plenty more planned for downtown this summer, including more live music throughout the week and weekends, parades, events, charity run/walks....you name it....Waukesha has it going on. Hope you can come down and check it out soon!

BlogPal: Weekend Activities

Fall is upon us in Wisconsin - fields are changing color, leaves aren't looking as vibrant of a green and getting ready to turn orange/red and drop from the branches, and pumpkins have arrived at some of the stores. This is my favorite time of year as I feel mother nature is at her prime. Days are warm for a tee (long or short-sleeved) and jeans and evenings are cool for fleece jackets and bonfires.

My BlogPal and I decided to focus on Weekend Activities for this next posting because there are just so many things that we can do on the weekends. 

I also think that there is a ton to do in Fall on weekends. Maybe this is something more exclusive to Wisconsin because we know our evil winter of snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, bitter winds and below zero temps is coming too soon, so we try to get out and use up every ounce of daylight we can.

Some of my favorite things to do in Fall on the weekend are:

Local Farmer's Markets (Here is a county-wide guide) - These usually go thru October and squash are plentiful and cheap. I love making soup with Butternut Squash and I can't wait to make it by the gallons and freeze it this year for all winter-long enjoyment. (Speaking of Butternut Squash - I did buy a few store brands of soup to compare to mine and see what different flavors those provide, but I'm really digging my Butternut Squash Apple soup.) 

Pumpkin Picking - Soon enough the hay wagons will be out and it will be time to pick your pumpkins and begin carving them for Halloween. These trips are best done on weekends, when there is no rushing around and you can enjoy yourself in the field and really pick out your favorite pumpkin.

Hiking - Beautiful leaves on scenic trails make the Fall one of the best times in Wisconsin to go on hikes. And trails are a plenty in this area. This Friday, my boyfriend and I are going to walk on the Fox River boardwalk. The boardwalk isn't extremely long, but it does walk you over the Fox River in Waukesha and you get to see nature in it's natural environment.

Homecooked Meals - I have time on the weekends to usually go into a bit more of an elaborate production of a meal than on weeknights. Sometimes I'll even let the crockpot do the work so I can still run errands and such on the weekends, but making a large pot of chili, lasagna, beef stew or something nice and filling is what I do on the weekends.

Tomorrow I hope to share with you my recipe for Crockpot Cashew Chicken. It's pretty simple and really flavorful. I modified a recipe that I found from a fellow blogger.

Watching Football - Yep I'm a CHEESEHEAD from Wisconsin and a large part of my Sunday is dedicated to watching my boys, The Green Bay Packers, cream their opponent. I'm sure some of you root for other teams and I'm sorry (jk jk) but isn't a lazy Sunday and football on the tube a perfect way to end the weekend? And last year, I was lucky enough to see my boys play live at Lambeau and I hope to have the chance to do that again this year.

Grandpa's Pickles

Whenever I would go to my grandparent's house in Milwaukee near the airport, my grandma always had hundreds of jars of canned fruits, jams and veggies in the cellar. My grandpa worked hard on his garden and the apple and pear trees always bared quality fruits to can. My brother and I loved my grandma's pears - they were so soft yet crisp.

Although my grandpa has passed away and my grandma no longer cans, the recipes live on in the next generation. We are on our second batch of dill pickles from 2013.

My parents and I went to the Waukesha Farmer's Market and I instantly smelt dill. I wanted to make pickles from the second we got there. The first week, we bought a few pounds of pickles and the next week, my mom found them 5 for $1.

We have a large crock that we fill with the pickles and fresh dill and then fill it all up with brine.

My grandpa's recipe is really simple and based on 4's:

1/4 cup salt
1 cup vinegar
4 cups water

Combine and bring to a boil. Then it's as simple as pouring it over the crocked pickles and.....tada done! (Unless the crock hasn't been filled with brine - make a little more until the crock is full!

Leave the pickles out at room temperature for 3 days, cover and into the fridge they go until you want to eat them.

My mom and I experimented a little more with the recipe this year. The first batch I added a garlic powder to the brine and the second batch, my mom added one piece of fresh garlic into the crock. I haven't tried those yet, but we thought it would add a little zip.

Wauk Wednesday: Montecito Lunch

Occasionally on my lunch, I like to get in a little walk around downtown Waukesha and then grab something to take back to the office. I had no idea where to go this past week and just started wandering around.

I saw that Montecito's OPEN sign was lit up and headed over to see what they had for lunch. As you walk in the door, you can't miss the specials written on a chalk board straight ahead. It read "Pasta Bowl, salad or soup and bread for $7" and although there were other specials, I stopped reading as this sounded great.

A server politely greeted me and I asked her what the special was all about. She gladly shared the pasta bowl options were spaghetti and meatballs or chicken Alfredo  After my chilly walk, I knew that the Alfredo would hit the spot and placed my order.

While my lunch was prepared, I took a seat at a table in the lounge and waited while it was prepared fresh for me. The lounge has some new artwork added to the walls since I was last there and I can't wait until summer for the patio to be able to be opened and show off how awesome it is. The lamp posts are a nice touch.

Lounge at Montecito with garage door

About 10 minutes later, my entree was brought out by a member of the kitchen and he explained that my butter was in my salad container so it wouldn't melt and wished me a great day. (Very friendly staff!)

I walked back to work with the smell of garlic wafting around me. It made the walk feel warmer than it was.

I opened everything up when I got back to my desk and was amazed at the nice presentation. The salad had a great selection of greens, sliced radishes, carrot slices and broccoli and the dressing was a nice, creamy (I believe homemade) ranch.

I then started in on the entree and it was definitely a homemade Alfredo sauce. It was really creamy and had great seasoning. I had enough leftover for another meal and this was the lunch special!

The roll was one of my favorite parts. I don't know what they do to the roll to make it so irresistible but I'm glad I saved it for the end. It was warm and flaky and almost tasted like it was quickly deep-fried.

I wanted another dozen rolls after finishing that one, but knew that my waistline wouldn't appreciate it and overall I was stuffed!

I hope to make it back to the Montecito for dinner as I have been there a few times for cocktails and know those are great. The restaurant is currently the host of the Waukesha Winter's Farmers Market and even though I haven't made it to one yet, I have seen photos and it looks like a great selection of local goods. It's open 8 - 12 pm.

NOTE: There is a Waukesha Winter Farmers Market this weekend and an Irish Art Crawl on Saturday. For all the details on that, click here.

I did snap a photo of the current drink specials everyday and they sound pretty good.