Daylee Public House - To Go

Daylee Public House outdoor patio - on W. Main Street
Photo: Daylee Public House

It's no secret that I am a fan of Daylee Public House. I have introduced many people to Megan and her lovely establishment and have never had a bad experience. She makes you feel like you are with family when you are there (and the good family, not the crazy uncle that bothers you.)

Heat lamp at Daylee Public House
Photo: Daylee Public House

Daylee is good for small groups, large groups, private parties, catering, and more. There is plenty of space inside and out, and she caters to all seasons!

Grilled cheese and tomato bisque at Daylee Public House
Photo: Daylee Public House

My co-workers and I went to lunch on a very chilly Friday afternoon and ordered tomato bisque and fancy grilled cheeses from the menu. Though she has a create your own grilled cheese, we were all drooling over her menu options and ordered those. The boursin cheese and fresh ingredients put her grilled sammies over the top.

NEW Wraps at Daylee Public House
Photo: Daylee Public House

Megan also shared with us that she has four wraps on her menu now as well. I love a good wrap sandwich and these look amazing. I can't wait to try them out.

Soup to go at Daylee Public House
Photo: Daylee Public House

Besides just going to Daylee's for a meal and a good time, you can bring Daylee's home to your family. Megan keeps a fully-stocked freezer of take-and-bake meals that range from soups and sides to entrees and desserts.

Take and Bake Meals
Photo: Daylee Public House

I couldn't resist her freezer when we were there and brought home meatloaf (for two) and lasagna rollups (for the family).

The hubby was very excited to see the meatloaf in the freezer that we made it the next day. Every package comes labeled with the ingredients and directions. I whipped up some of my favorite creamy mashed potatoes and let the oven do the rest of the work with the meatloaf.

Daylee Public House Bacon BBQ Meatloaf

My mom makes a good meatloaf--I have never had much luck making one. Megan's is really, really good. It's juicy and the bacon takes it to another level. As you can see I like my potatoes because the meatloaf portion was decent sized and I loaded on the taters!

Other meals of Daylee's that I have taken home included stuffed meatballs, meat lasagna, and glazed carrots--all were fantastic. You can stop in and seen what Megan has Tuesday through Saturday or email her and she will respond and let you know what is currently available. I have never had a difficult time finding something I would like to eat from her selection.

As for catering, she will make you whatever you wish for your event--the skies the limit. My bridal shower was held at Daylee's and my mom and I put together a menu of our favorite items and Megan surpassed all our expectations with the food.

So consider Daylee's for all your eating and drinking needs. And watch my blog soon as I attempt to recreate her tomato bisque and grilled cheese at home.

Wings Around Waukesha: Club 400 Wings

I am a Carroll University (but back in my day College) alum and one of the places that I frequented on a Thursday night, for a few libations to relax after a stressful week of classes, was Club 400. That bar and Mulligans (now Spurs Saloon) were the closest bars to campus for the Carroll community to enjoy. I never ate food there during my college days, but it was shortly after I graduated and started my "real job" that I found out about the upstairs at Club 400 and spent many Thursday nights up there.

On Thursdays and select weekend nights, the upstairs of Club 400 is open to accommodate the increased number of diners. Though I used to go with my coworker and her family and close friends, many of my fellow Carroll alum would be in attendance as well. It was always great to catch up and I made a few new friends as well.

I hadn't been to Club 400 for quite a few years, but recently my fiance and I were looking for a place to eat and he had never been. We arrived early and took one of the few booths across from the bar on the main level. The building is a historic landmark and the itricate wood detailing of the back bar definitely shows off this fact. I walked up to the bar to see how the wings had changed since I had last been there. They now have order forms and you order by the 1/2 or full pound, pick one of the ten sauces, blue cheese or ranch, and celery.

I ordered a pound of teriyaki wings with bone-in and my fiance ordered a half of each garlic Parmesan and Thai flavored boneless wings. We were feeling glutinous and ordered onion rings and sour cream and chive fries too.

It didn't take long for our food to arrive and our little booth for two was completely covered with baskets. They brought over a bucket for wing bones and the table had napkins on it.

We dug in while the food was hot. My wings were just as good as I remembered. They are a decent size wing and just enough sauce. The sauce had great flavor as well. I was able to finish almost all my wings.

My fiance liked his Thai wings better than the garlic Parmesan. Because of my sensitive buds, I only tried once of the garlic Parmesan--it reminded me of Pizza Hut's garlic breadsticks that they used to sell in the PIT at Carroll. Ahhhh the memories!

The sour cream and chive fries were delicious as always with ranch on the side and the onion rings were really big and yummy.

If you are looking for a great wing place in town, Club 400 is the place to go - and non-wing eaters will find plenty on the menu as well.

Club 400 Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.4

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (10 flavors - many were too spicy for me)

Size: 4 Drumsticks

Taste: 4 Drumsticks

Price:  2.5 Drumsticks on non-wing night 7.00 / 4.5 Drumsticks on wing night $.35 each

Temp: 4.5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available but napkins were right on your table.

Wings Around Waukesha: Mainstream

Here it is - the first wing post on my blog! Sure I have talked about wings before from some of my favorite places, but never to the level that I am going to take it this time. I'm starting it off with Mainstream Bar & Grill. It was at this bar that I really brought the chicken wing blog idea to fruition. I had done some research of all the bars in the area and their wings and specials, but this was the first place that my guy and I ventured to on a mission to try their wings.

Although Tuesdays & Thursdays feature $.45 wings, we went on a Sunday, because...why not? We got to the bar right around noon and picked a table for two. The bartender came over and welcomed us.

We went right to the Chicken Wings area of the menu and started plotting our game plan. Ten wings are $7.95 when not on a wing special night and every five can be in a different sauce.  We asked about the sauces on the menu and if they were in order of heat. Unfortunately they are not.

The menu lists them as: Naked, Garlic Herb, Honey BBQ, Caribbean Jerk, Buffalo, Demon, Inferno, and Thai Peanut. The bartender let us know that the spiciest is Inferno and Thai Peanut is about the same level as Buffalo.

I ordered ten wings and selected Garlic Herb and Honey BBQ. My guy ordered Thai Peanut and Caribbean Jerk. We also ordered the Fried Chip Basket because the chips are amazing! And I figured we might need a side to enjoy with the wings.

It didn't take too long for our wings to come out and the bartender apologized that the cook accidentally made all ten for each of us with one of our sauces. She would be bringing the other five for each of us out shortly. This was no problem for us and we appreciated her apology.

And so we dug in. What I noticed first about the Garlic Herb wings is that the wings weren't overly saucy and I wouldn't be elbow deep in wing sauce causing me to use 10,000 napkins. For me this is a plus--I appreciate wings that are coated, but not dripping with sauce. And I loved the flavor on these wings. The mix of herbs and garlic was terrific. My new goal is to figure out their blend and use it on all my chicken. It was really good. I couldn't stop eating them!

My guy's Thai Peanut wings were nicely coated in sauce.. We of course shared our wings so I could try the other flavors--I agree that these had a slight kick but weren't overly hot. The heat mainly comes at the end. I could probably handle a few of these, but for my guy, he thought they were a nice heat and could eat them all day.

I didn't take shots of our additional wings because my fingers were a little too greasy (and maybe I forgot). The Honey BBQ is a very sweet sauce with no kick at all--very mild. This sauce too would be great on grilled chicken.

Unfortunately my guys Caribbean Jerk wings came with the wrong sauce, but whatever the sauce was, it was really good. The bartender was quite busy at this time and because the wings were still delicious we continued to eat without complaints.And the chips were a welcome snack for us to munch on between wings. We will definitely be returning to Mainstream to eat here again and try more wing flavors. And my guy has to have one of their burgers - I love those too.

Mainstream Bar & Grill Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.3

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (flavors in heat order would be helpful but great variety)

Size: 3.5 Drumsticks

Taste: 4.5 Drumsticks - huge fan!

Price: 3 Drumsticks on non-wing night (~.80 each)/4.5 Drumsticks on wing night ($.45 each)

Temp: 5 Drumsticks - came out hot but we were able to dig in right away!

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available

Boscos Social Club

When I think of bars that I want to go to for a beer or cocktail in a fun atmosphere, Boscos Social Club almost always pops in mind right away. This place has been in downtown Waukesha since 2011 and has been constantly evolving and changing.

I actually went to college (and hung out on occasion) with the owner Jimmy and am glad that he stayed local and has opened two businesses in town (Spurs Saloon)

This building housed a lot of different bars before Boscos, but I never frequented those.  I believe the best addition they made to the place is the awesome "backyard." They have three covered outdoor patios with large flatscreens to watch all the major sporting events on. There is even a heat lamp for the colder nights. They also have an area of uncovered chairs and tables, a tree, an outdoor bar (so you don't have to go back inside) and an area for bags and other yard games to be played. The entire area is strung with bistro lights, making it a very fun and inviting atmosphere.

Recently, they tore down a raised seating area inside the bar to make it more accessible for larger crowds and put in a wall length booth seat with tables and fancy chairs for a lounge feel. I love the cool light fixtures they have in the bar.

There are a few hightop tables that can be moved for when they have a DJ and want to dance the night away.

The bar also boasts a digital jukebox, dart boards and the "dog wall" - my favorite. They have a wall covered in pictures of dogs that are framed up.

The selection of alcohol and beer is very extensive and something is on special every day! The bar even has two Shot-ski's hanging behind it but I haven't seen those used yet.

They offer free popcorn to the customers as well, which we enjoyed on a Sunday afternoon recently.

And they really out do themselves for seasonal decorations every year. Halloween is the one I see that they go to the extreme. But I have also seen Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, Easter and more.

We have made this a destination for a few Halloween Pub Crawls through town in recent years.

View out Boscos front window. 

Halloween decor at Boscos

Rumpelstiltskin with a crazy zombie behind him

Dexter and Robin Hood by the Boscos Bar

German guy and Personal ad playing a game at Boscos

They offer specials during Packer games and have Emil's pizza available for purchase too--I recommend the Cheeseburger pizza!

This is a bar that does draw the college age crowd and gets extremely busy in the later evenings. So if you don't like larger crowds, just come early! It's worth a stop to see what this place is all about. You won't be disappointed.

Boscos also recently opened Spurs Saloon on Williams Street in Waukesha - by La Estacion and Club 400. I haven't stopped in yet but I hope to soon and see how much the place has changed since my college days of it being Mulligans.

Chef Spotlight: Bernie's Tap Room

Bernie's Tap Room is an excellent addition to downtown Waukesha and I'm so glad I took a chance on the place. My first time in was right after they opened for a beer or two with some friends. The walls were bare, but the exposed stone and wood on the west wall behind the bar was just rustically beautiful. My friends tried some food that night and I was super impressed with the beer list.

Week 1 of being open - love the exposed stone

Bare walls on opening week are now painted warm hues

During the Waukesha Christmas Parade was when my friends and I decided to sit in Bernie's and enjoy some drinks during the parade. Because Bernie's is up off the street, we could see over everyone to the parade and enjoy the duck flatbread and some beers.

beer dinner chop salad

 When I started attending the beer dinners and immediately was hooked. I have attended four in total and if they continue to have the dinners, I will continue to attend. It is definitely something that my friends hear me talk about often. The pairings are just crazy good and at the second last dinner, I sat with the chef's boyfriend. After the meal, she came out to thank us for coming and then sat down at our table. I told her that I write my little blog asked if I could pick her brain about her skills to share with others via the blog. She was delighted so I threw her some questions and here it is:

Brooke

Brooke attended the culinary program through Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. Through this program she met some amazingly talented people and great friends. Although she didn't cook except for special times as a child, she admired those with the skills from the table.

She moved to Wisconsin not too long ago with a long-time friend and worked for a corporate hotel kitchen where the food was very cookie-cutter. She wanted to get outside of the box and use her skills to create her own style, which led her to Bernie's.

Because Bernie's is a place that serves a great selection of craft beers, the beer dinners were a perfect fit to introduce customers to the art of pairing and enjoying how an entree brings out different flavors of the beer. Brooke's goal is to create "craft food" to go along with all the craft beers and not just have a menu like all the other places in town. (She is doing an awesome job at this!)

Strawberry Marscapone Tart from a beer dinner

The beer dinners allow Brooke to really pull at her creative strings and she is free to create the entire menu. She thinks about seasonal and holiday ingredients when starting the menu. I wonder if she will grab items from the upcoming Farmer's Markets to use on the menu - I love local food!

Beef Stew from a beer dinner

Brooke works hard at home to perfect the menu well in advance of the beer dinner. She makes her KitchenAide mixer and two burner stove work overtime to get things just right. I guess I should stop being picky when looking at apartments that they don't have a full size stove, huh? If a chef can work on two burners, I should be able to manage with a mini stove, right? Hmmm...

Brooke considers her style of cooking to be "freestyle." She can make anything that is in a cupboard or refrigerator into something unique and awesome, thanks to her culinary education.

Brooke would like to thank everyone that has supported Bernie's in their first half year of being open and invites anyone that hasn't stopped out yet to give it a try :)

I personally recommend the Duck Flatbread and the Garlic Chicken Flatbread. I took those to a get-together and they were huge hits. And they stayed plenty warm on the 20 minute ride there, so I know I can order after work and bring it home for my family to try as well!

Wauk Wednesday: Bernie's Tap Room Beer Dinner

Very similar to the dinner that I went to at Magellan's a few weeks back, I couldn't resist when I found out that Bernie's Tap Room was going to host a beer dinner. I had been to Bernie's a few time before, for drinks and then enjoyed the Waukesha Christmas Parade within it's warmth with a duck pizza. It was that pizza that told my tummy I had to come to this dinner.

Again my partners in crime were Tiffany and Brandon - we all love beer and food! The beer this time was Milwaukee Brewing Company, of which I am a HUGE fan. I took the tour for my birthday with my group of friends from Fox Run Sentry Liquor a few years back (RIP to the best store ever!). This tour gets you pretty "happy" as they are very generous with the pours while educating you on all things beer and their brewing process.

Brandon and I arrived a bit early and saddled up to the bar to enjoy a Fatty Boomblatty by Furthermore because we would be having our fill of Milwaukee Brewing Company for the rest of the night. Tiffany joined us shortly after and we were seated at the large family-style tables that are customary in German Beer Halls.

The same representative from Beer Capitol that did the Magellan's/Six Point tasting was our representative for this event. I was pretty excited as he understands the beers and the history very well. The neighboring table did this dinner as a birthday celebration for one of the attendees - very awesome!

Cake on the neighboring table - Happy Birthday nice man!

Beautiful wooden table at Bernie's Tap Room

We started with a Caesar salad with garlic crostinis on top. The salad was covered with the perfect amount of dressing and Parmesan cheese and the garlic toast on top was light, crispy and delicious. This was served with Ulao Wit (5% ABV), a clear (odd), light, citrus wheat beer named after the Ulao river in Belgium.

The next course was my personal favorite - Beer Cheese soup with popcorn on top and a pretzel roll on the side. The soup was nice and thick and tasted like a sauce that would go perfect on Mac N Cheese. I scarfed this down, dipping the pretzel roll in and enjoying the popcorn on top. I wanted more, but knew I had three more courses to go and needed to pace myself. This was served with Love Rock a Vienna Lager (5% ABV). This was a light refreshing beer that didn't overpower the soup.

Course three was a flatbread pizza of onions, asparagus, mushrooms, garlic and goat cheese (all hail the goat cheese - love love love). Neither Brandon or Tiffany are fans of mushrooms but they both ate the pizza slice and even had second slices. Asparagus was a nice refreshing touch that I wouldn't have thought to ever put on a pizza. No single veggie overpowered another and the crust was nice and crispy. This was served with Polish Moon, a milk stout (4.5% ABV). This was a dark coffee stout that really helped bring out the different vegetable flavors. Love that it is served in a snifter!

Veggie Flatbread from Bernie's Tap Room

The next course is the only course that is currently on the menu. But fear not, they are constantly tweaking the menu and offering specials to see what the guests of Bernie's truly want to see on the menu. We were each served two pulled pork sliders with extra BBQ sauce drizzled on them. They were a little messy, but the BBQ sauce is really good - a nice vinegary, sweet bite. The pork was tender and smoky. This was served with Hop Happy IPA (7.7% ABV). Although I am typically not a fan of the hop-heavy beverages, this one helped cut the zip of the BBQ - a great pairing.

It's about the get messy!

The final course was something that I was curious about since I read the menu waiting at the bar - ginger crisp waffle with vanilla ice cream and maple stout drizzle. Maple is typically hit or miss with me but this was AH-MAZING! The ginger waffle added a spice that was mellowed by the sweetness of the stout sauce. I didn't ask if the ice cream was homemade or not, but the sauce melting in the ice cream made for a great end to the meal. The owner came out with spoons so we could all scrape our bowls. This was served with Louise's Resurrection, from my notes, smooth, strong, vanilla, malty yum-yum beer (7.5% ABV). I couldn't believe how nicely this beer finished off the dinner - almost like an after dinner drink.

Before

During the melting phase

Must eat it all

Gone!

Bernie's really went all out with the menu and pairings and after talking with the owner after the event, this is something that they are hoping to do almost on a monthly basis. I'm not sure my waistline and wallet could handle this monthly ($30 isn't too bad for all that food and beer, but def the waistline can't handle the goodness), but I hope to attend another one soon.

I'm so happy that Waukesha establishments are stepping up to the plate and offering events like these to showcase their chef's skills as well as knowledgeably pair the food with great beers.

Shopping Local: Waukesha Edition

This year, I am making a very solid effort to SHOP LOCAL for Christmas. I would say about 90% of my items for Christmas were purchased at local stores in and around Waukesha/Milwaukee. I have had a few of the items for a few months now in preparation for the holidays. But I'm still finishing up in the next few days finding that gift for the hard-to-shop for. I'm hoping tomorrow I can find some goodies at the Indoor Waukesha Farmer's Market held at Montecito Restaurante.

So are you trying to shop local this year? When you shop local, more of you dollars stay in the community and help that community grow. Downtown Waukesha is an excellent example of shopping local. The shops, restaurants and businesses all have many options for gifts and buying these gifts will keep Waukesha prospering. And we all want that!

Image from GreaterSpokane.org

If you aren't familiar with Waukesha - let me do a brief breakdown of the types of stores that I am familiar with. (I'll be missing a few most likely as the list is long, so please don't be mad if I forget a few).
 

For the food lover, there are so many options, restaurant gift certificates, food items, kitchen accessories and more. Some of my go-to shops for my foodie friends:
-Poppin On Broadway - gourmet popcorn (more on this shop after the holidays, but you must get in here!)
-Allo! Chocolate - chocolates and candies
-The Steaming Cup - tea
-Cafe de Arts - coffe
-RiverMill Foods - breads & cheesecakes 
And then a gift certificate to one of the restaurants is always a great option (People's Park, Magellan's, Sprizzo's, J. Lotti's, Bernie's Tap Room, Divino Gelato - the list goes on and on)

For the accessorizing friend, there are many shops with purses, scarves and jewelry. Some of my go-to shops to glam it up:
-Bangles & Bags - purses, scarves, jewerly
-Plowshare Gifts - scarves, purses (fair trade)
-Restyle Studio  - scarves, jewelry
-Copacetic - hats & shirts

For the cocktail connoisseur, Waukesha has watering holes to wet everyone's whistle. My favorites are:
-Nice Ash Cigar Bar - new expanded whiskeys and great cigars and hookahs
-Boscos Social Club - nice lounge bar with a little bit of everything
-House of Guinness - Irish bar
-Discount Liquor - support the independently owned shops. It's not Wal-Mart! Get personal service and help picking out the right wine, beer, liquor for that loved one. The staff is spectacular with this (especially Tiffany!!!).

Image from Exceptions to the Rules

For the art lover, Waukesha has a million art galleries! Ok, not a million, but they have a gallery for everyone's taste.
-Almont Gallery - really cool salt & pepper shakers on cars to zoom down the table
-Clinton Street Gallery - great Raiku pottery
-River's End Gallery - Beautiful paintings and glass art

And then there are a few more shops that fit into categories all on their own.
-Waukesha Tattoo Company - although I am un-inked still, there work is so beautiful from what I have seen. The team over there is really active in the community and the company shows great morale amongst the staff by going out together.
-Martha Merrills - for the book lover in everyone, this shop features stories by many local authors.
-Beading Hearts - a bead store, recently expanded to offer yarn and classes

There are sooooo many more shops in Waukesha that I cannot list them all. So if you have time, take an afternoon to stroll the streets. Waukesha is even offering horse-drawn carriage rides on the weekends to get you around town.

Hope this list helps you out and maybe tempts you to come visit my town - I hope so!!! Happy Shopping!

Wauk Wednesday: Pizza Battle???

Generic pizza image to make you drool!

A few years back, restaurants in downtown Waukesha were boasting to have the best burger in town. Small conversations were started to have a competition but unfortunately that never came to fruition (Sorry if I was one that dropped the ball on that!) We still don't know where the best burger is, but no matter where you go, you are getting a great one (IMHO).

From my recent wanderings around Waukesha, I totally see a necessary food battle - - - - - PIZZA!!!!

I walked downtown a lot in the last week and the common restaurant food was pizza & flatbreads. Sure there are other things that people in downtown are known for, but pizza-ish items seem to be the "hot dish" right now.

There are so many places in downtown now that are offering pizza as part of their menu
Magellan's
Montecito  Ristorante
Bernie's Tap Room
Mia's
Jimmy's Grotto
Mainstream Bar & Grill 

And I'm sure there are more restaurants that possibly offer a pizza/flatbread special one night a week or pizza soup, bread, sandwich, etc. that I'm missing.

Finally, there are those not in downtown -
Scrima's
Matteo's Italian Ristorante
Michael's Italian Restaurant
Sal's Pizza
Master Z's Cue Club
Fox View Lanes
Bobanna's
Spring City Restaurant
(I used a Yelp list to help me remember them all.)
 
And there are the chain places in town as well - Papa John's, Little Ceasar's, Domino's, Papa Murphy's, Pizza Hut, Toppers, Rocky Rococo's, Subway  -- so basically there is no shortage of 'za in town. (No offense to them, but I would want to keep the battle to the local independents!)

I have only had pizza from a very small selection of the independent locations - Magellan's, Mia's, Michael's & Fox View Lanes and all of them were great in their own sense.

Of those, I am the biggest fan of Magellan's pizza for a more gourmet 'za. They have great specials throughout the week and the crust is amazing.

Fox View became a favorite while I worked at Fox Run Sentry Liquor (RIP) but recently haven't had it. The toppings are plenty and the flavor is great when you are having beer and shooting some pool.

Mia's I had with co-workers a few years back over lunch and it was good but I didn't feel there were enough toppings.

Michael's put plenty of finely chopped toppings on their pizzas but this makes it almost impossible to eat without a fork and knife. We would also get this at Fox Run Sentry Liquor as it was the owners favorite.

Although I didn't put Jimmy's Grotto on my list, I have had their Ponza (deep friend calzone that is heaven!) The toppings they use in the ponzas are great, so if this is any reflection of the pizza, this will be a winner.

So what is your favorite place? If you are from Waukesha, please help me add to the list if I missed any and if you aren't orr haven't had any of these, please help me give me a place to travel to to try out.

I recently had Rustico's in Milwaukee and the pizza was nothing less than extraordinary. Crisp on Brady is also a fave. I tried it twice with some Groupons and love it. The gluten free 'za needs work, but the regular slices are generous in size, toppings and flavor! And they feature local artist's work on the wall - BONUS!

And for those that live in Waukesha, what do you think about having a pizza battle?