Generations at 5 Points Brunch

Downtown Waukesha aficionado, Tom Hekkers, made me aware of a brunch at Generations at 5 Points on the weekend between Christmas and New Years. I asked my friend Tiffany to join me and we made 11 am reservations.

It was a cold day, but we still decided to walk downtown from her place and check out anything else going on. Sunday mornings are pretty mellow in downtown, but Generations was hopping. A large group was seated in their front lounge full or downtown business owners (love seeing them support others!) and a few other bar tops and tables in the back were seated as well.

I had never done a tapas brunch before and was really excited. I previewed the menu the day before and slimmed it down to my favorites. Tiffany hadn't had a chance to see the menu so we ordered some drinks while we meandered the menu.

I went for the red sangria which had quite the kick. The fruit was chopped up small, but didn't get stuck in the straw. Tiffany went for the build-your-own-bloody-bar and created herself a meal in a cup :)

Then we got down to business. Tiffany chose two entrees and I chose two. We figured we would definitely leave full, but have a chance to try so many things. The first dish out was the tuna tower. Rice, fresh tuna, greens and pickled ginger stacked up with wasabi and soy sauces decorating the plate. It was so pretty we didn't want to eat it.....yeah that lasted for two seconds. Great flavor and exceptional sauces.

Next up was the Eggs Benedict - best hollandaise sauce I think I have ever had. And using prosciutto instead of ham was genius! I am not a fan of runny eggs, but I even had a bit of the yolk on this as well it was so good.

The macadamia nut pancake was next - it was HUGE! Plenty of macadamia nuts and the fresh strawberries paired well. The crown royal maple syrup saturated the pancake and really added to the nutty flavor of the dish.

Last was the duck platter that included pan seared duck breast with blackberry jam, duck bacon, eggs (I chose scrambled) and hash browns. This was a meal in itself but it was really good. Ever since the Bernie's flatbread experience of the 2012 Christmas parade, I am a big fan of duck. I couldn't really taste the difference in the bacon but it was thick cut and flavorful. Nothing really special about the eggs or hashbrowns but it was a savory way to end the meal.

We did get mimosas as well to have with our meal and our server was on top of clearing plates and refilling our waters too. I love a proactive server! Tiffany and I both agreed that the Eggs Benedict was our favorite!

I thought the "sangera" typo was pretty funny so I took a picture :)

I read on Generations website that there will be some Valentine's and St. Patty's specials coming soon, so I'll have to keep my eyes out for them. And if they have another brunch, I'll make an announcement on my Facebook page. It's definitely worth it.

I do understand that tapas come to the table when they are ready and they aren't meant to all come out at the same time, but I did feel that our tapas were spaced out just a little too long. Tiffany and I tried to eat really slowly so that we would just be finishing one dish when the next would come out, but the pauses were just a bit too long for me still. La Merenda does a great job in downtown Milwaukee of getting tapas out with good timing.

But if that is my only complaint, Generations you are doing a-ok in my book!


We headed over to Nice Ash for a "pre-Packers game, our bellies are full and we just want to go somewhere comfy and relax for a bit," beer and got a chance to catch up with Jeff and Becky. We ended up staying for part of the game before heading to Boscos to catch the Packers win over the Bears.

All in all, another wonderful Sunday in downtown Waukesha!

Generations at 5 Points

Last week, my mom met me for dinner after her conference in Pewaukee. I got to pick and chose Generations at 5 Points (that is literally right on the 5 points in the middle of downtown Waukesha). It has been over a year since I have been there, so I was definitely due.

I scoped out the December menu before we left and picked out a few things I liked. I like that they change the menu monthly. Some items stay each month, but seasonal creations are added and they are usually really creative.

We got there shortly after 5 and the place was empty. They said another table had just left so we had perfect timing to keep the flow going. We chose a high top across from the bar and were greeted by our server quickly. We each ordered a glass of wine and studied the menu. A few more couples came in and then a party began to set up in the back of the restaurant.

I decided on the cranberry cream cheese crusted pork tenderloin but to my disappointment, they were out of that. I selected the basil pesto pasta and my mom chose the pan seared duck breast. 

I understand that tapas restaurants serve portions that are meant to be shared and maybe we should have said something, but we ordered our tapas as perfect sized entrees seeing as it was just the two of us. We just wanted something light. (It says right on their website tapas don't come out at the same time) My pasta came out a good 10 minutes before my mom's duck. They explained how food comes out of the kitchen (when it's done) but this still bothered my mom a bit because if I waited for her to get her duck, I would have had cold food.

We did share bites from our entrees and everything was absolutely scrumptious. The fresh basil in over the pasta (homemade noodles?) really pulled the dish together and made it something I would recommend to everyone. And look at that fresh Parmesan cheese!

Ever since I had duck on a flatbread at Bernie's, I have looked for it on other menus to try it other ways. And because my mom ordered it, I got to try it with a wine sauce. It was really good over the edamame and wild rice salad. We weren't expecting the rice and edamame to be cold, but the food paired together really well.


We will definitely return after the New Year, but maybe with a larger group to try more of the tapas and maybe with more dishes, there won't be such a large gap in between plates. I know there are a few things on the December menu my dad would just love so I hope they return in the New Year so he will try the place (keep the butcher chop chili around!!)

Generations is very reasonably priced for the quality of food that comes out of the kitchen and is a great addition to downtown Waukesha. Tuesdays is 1/2 price bottles of wine night. They have lounge chairs in the front, live music on the weekends and a great selection of martini's. It sort of reminds me of Splash in Oconomowoc that I recently visited.

They have a lot of gluten-free and vegetarian options which is great to see that more restaurants are aware and making dishes for those with allergies. I definitely recommend bringing a few friends with you and checking it out.

A Night Out: Swig & La Merenda

Me at Swig

Two weeks ago my friend Kathy and I had our monthly dinner out. We decided to go to La Merenda, and after a lunchtime conversation with some co-workers at Rochester Deli (delicious as always), I found out that we probably need to make reservations. When I got back to work, I went to La Merenda's website and saw they have Open Table. If you haven't used this for reservations, you should. It's a great program and you earn rewards. I logged in and found out the only reservations available were 5:45 or 8:30. The early time wasn't possible because I was coming from Waukesha so we picked the 8:30 and decided to check out the Third Ward first.

Because we were using the trusty CityTin again, we decided to check out Swig for wine and maybe an appetizer. We took a table outside because it was a gorgeous night (and NO ONE was inside the place). As we were looking through the menu, I couldn't help but notice that everyone walking by was dressed really well and super fashionable. (Some of the fashions were a little questionable, but I know I had seen them in magazines - just not my style). I then went on my phone and saw it was Fashion's Night Out. I ran into my cousin and Aunt and they were all decked out for the event too. We didn't partake in that and just wanted food and wine :)

Classic Bruschetta from Swig

While we enjoyed the "tableside runway show" we sipped on some wine and enjoyed a delicious bruschetta. The tomatoes that Swig used were perfectly ripened and the touch of oil and cheese was just perfect on the crostini.

When Kathy got to the bottom of her glass of wine, there was a ton of gooey sediment. We mentioned it to our server and she apologized and said she had never seen that in a glass before. We weren't  asking for a discount or anything, but it definitely didn't make us want to stay for another glass. We paid our bill and headed back to the car and over to La Merenda.

I didn't read the address properly so it took us a few trips around the block to find the restaurant as it is all by its lonesome. We found a close spot on 1st Street and walked over. From the outside, the place doesn't look like much but there are some really nice condos/apartments right across the street. I believe the restaurant does valet but there is plenty of close street parking.

We walked in the front door which leads to the bar area that was really full. The host stand was beyond the bar just before the dining room. I asked the host if it was possible to be sat early, but we were fine waiting in the bar if needed. He happily told us that we could be seated then and took us past two large parties in the dining room to a table in the middle (almost 45 minutes before our reservation!)

The room has cement block walls that are painted a warm orange color. Mirrors, artwork and other household decor made the room very inviting. I then realized that all the tables and chairs were different and looked like they would have all been picked up at rummage sales. It's a very comforting concept.

We dove into the menu and asked our server how many tapas two people should order. We were told that the average is 2 - 3 per person and we could order them throughout our meal.  We started with some wine but I was very impressed when I saw all the local beers on the list - YAY Local! (sorry for the dark pics, I didn't want to ruin other diners' experiences.)

We saw one item that stuck out to us right away - the Goat Cheese Curds. I have really gotten into goat cheese lately and the creamy sauce sounded awesome. We then decided on the falafel, empanadas and jerk pork loin in order to try things from all over the world.

We enjoyed our glasses of wine for only a few minutes before the food started to come out. It comes out as it is done so that you can focus on just that one dish at a time. The goat cheese curds from Wisconsin came out first and we dug right in. (Per the menu La Clare Farms goat cheese curds smothered in Tia Paquita chorizo tomato cream sauce over garlic crostini) The curds were fresh, the sauce was perfectly spicy and it all went together so well. In a unique way, it reminded me of the seafood fondue from Thunder Bay Grille.

Goat Cheese Curds

I wanted more, but I decided to eat the next tapa. I stabbed a falafel ball from Lebanon and some tahini sauce and dug in. (Per the menu crispy chick pea fritters served with pickled turnips over tahini sauce) I had only had falafel once before at Casablanca , so I didn't have much to compare to, but it was pretty good. It was a larger ball to be eaten on its own, where Casablanca's were in a wrap. It was still good and he tahini was very flavorful. I liked the picked turnips but Kathy wasn't much of a fan of that dish. It was a little drier and maybe an acquired taste.

Falafel

 

Next I grabbed an empanada from Columbia (Per the menu Savory fried pastry filled with braised grass fed beef, pears, tomato, local beans and Carr Valley sheep’s milk feta, served with a toasted cumin vinaigrette truffled). Yay goat cheese again and they were fried perfectly. I loved the toasted cumin vinaigrette, but I was sad that I couldn't taste the pear, only a lot of meat and beans. That was the reason we ordered it and we couldn't find any pieces in it or taste it.

Empanadas

Last was the jerk pork loin from Jamaica. (Per the menu Hometown Sausage pork loin marinated in Jerk spices and grilled, served over sweet potatoes topped with vanilla mango sauce). This was the largest tapa and so we each had a decent sized piece of pork along with some sweet potatoes. The pork was extremely peppery with a little jerk taste, so using the sweet potato sauce on the pork, helped bring down the bite. The potatoes were amazing! It was a perfect Thanksgiving dish in place of that marshmallow yam thing and I'm going to try it this year.

Jerk Pork Loin

We were so stuffed but both of us saved the Goat Cheese Curds for our last bite. I highly recommend this dish as well as the restaurant. We did enjoy this restaurant during Eat Local Week in Milwaukee but it was almost all by fluke. They use as many local ingredients as possible and the menu changes up often. I definitely want to return with a group of 4 so I can try more items on the menu.

They also have a "rewards program" as I found out in our check sleeve and signed up. When you sign up, you receive 200 points right away, and for every 250, you receive a $25 reward. (This will go a long way here). The points never expire either so you don't have to rush to fit them in in the year.

Until my next post, Happy Eating!

A Night Out: Wine Maniacs

Wine Maniacs - Logo from WineManiacs.com

I have been doing a really good job lately of using up Groupons that I purchased months and months ago. It has given me the opportunity to try new places and if you haven’t set yourself up to receive Groupons, LivingSocial or Google offers, I suggest you do! Especially if you are planning a vacation! You can get deals for the city you are traveling to, in order to cut out some expenses.

My latest Groupon brought me to Wine Maniacs in Oconomowoc. I was ecstatic when this place went on Groupon because I had seen the construction process on Facebook and the wall mural made of corks is right up my alley. So I was curious to find out what the place was really all about. My friend Tory lives in Oconomowoc and with Wine Maniacs being right off of Hwy 16 and Brown St., I headed out there to have dinner with her. 

The restaurant is located in a new “strip mall” that also houses a gym, dentist and chiropractor I believe, but once you enter the wine bar, you wouldn’t even know it was near anything else. The inside is painted in warm cream/yellow tones with dark woodwork and stone tile floors. There are tables located by the front windows, bar area as well as seats at the bar. They have a few tables outside, but the wind was a bit too chilly for us to sit out there last night. The fountain also seemed to be leaking and I wouldn’t have wanted to get sprayed.

Outdoor Seating around the fountain at Wine Maniacs

The tables inside are decorated with wine labels collages and a piece of glass laid over them. Some tables had random patterns and some were all the same labels. A candle with a decorative cork holder sits on each table. From our table we had a view of the wine store, a private room and the bar.

Onto the food. We were greeted by a pleasant server who dropped off cucumber water to us. It was refreshing but after a while, I really wished it was lemon water instead. I don’t know if there is a connection between cucumbers and wine to clear the palette? We looked over the wine menu first. Right now they have a huge list of “blowout” wines on the menu that if ordered by the bottle are 50% off. I didn’t get tempted by anything on that menu and we went for a bottle of Rigal Malbec, a French wine that was $24, which means to buy a bottle at a store, it will be around $8.

Wine Maniacs collage tabletops

Wine Maniac's candle holders with corks.

While we waited on the wine, we looked over the menu. It had a list of their small plate entrees available after 4:30 pm on one side and at first we thought that was all they had.  Then we saw the flipside of the menu had sandwiches and salads and we both picked items from this menu. I ordered “The” Panini and Tory chose the Bistro Bomber. We both chose pasta salad on the side. Unfortunately the menu online doesn't parallel the one we received, but it is similar.

The server came back with our wine and two pretty glasses. I was the one that got to taste it and just smelling the nose, I knew that I was going to like the wine. I swirled, sniffed, swirled and sipped! The first taste was delicious and I knew that we would like how it paired with both our meals. This was the first French Malbec, as most are from Chile that I have tried. It is a smooth wine, similar to a Bordeaux and not as dry as a Cabernet. I tasted some earthiness to it as I do with all Malbecs, but that is what makes it unique.  

Rigal Malbec

Our sandwiches came a few minutes later and I was very please with my presentation of the food. Tory wasn’t expecting her bomber to literally be an Italian Sausage link on the huge baguette, but more of a patty-style sausage. Her sandwich was impossible to eat as a sandwich, no matter how we thought to smash it down or take it apart. She ended up ripping pieces of the bread off to eat and then cutting up the sausage and eating it with the fresh mozzarella and basil. She said it tasted great, but unfortunately wasn’t easy to eat and she wouldn’t get it again for that reason only. 

Bistro Bomber

My Panini had chopped up chicken, bacon, tomato and cheese on it. I think the atmosphere and wine gave it a little edge over other paninis that I have had at other restaurants. I would think a way to improve it would be to put some spinach or basil in it before pressing it. The Honey Mustard was a nice surprise in the sandwich and had a heavier honey taste which I really liked. 

"The" Panini

We both agreed that the pasta salad was nice and creamy, however, whatever peppers they used in it, were way too spicy. The kick didn’t hit until you swallowed your bite, but it was quite the kick. Thank goodness chips came on the side of the sandwich too – great palette cleansers after the pasta. 

Gigantic Wine Glass with corks

After we finished our meal, we paid and then wandered the wine shop briefly. They had many wines that I had never heard of before, which makes it a place that I would like to come back and try again or buy a bottle for someone and have a better chance of getting them something really unique. I didn’t really look at prices to see how they compared, but the selection was nice. 

Cold Wines in the Wine Shop

The Wine Shop

Our server met us in the private dining room while I went to find the cork mural. He turned on the lights so I could get a picture and then explained a painted mural on the back wall that was of the trees from a vineyard and how they are this particular vineyards’ label. Unfortunately I can’t remember what vineyard it was – but I’ll look at labels the next time I’m in a liquor store and hope to report to you my findings. This private room is used on busy nights (Fridays and Saturdays), but the rest of the time, its closed off and only used if there is a tasting or reserved. The tables against the walls in this room have bench seating on one side and chairs on the other. The benches collapse flat against the wall to help save space if more room was needed. I thought this was a very smart way of saving space. I received information on upcoming tastings that will be held in that room, but with price tags starting at $50 per person, these are out of my price range currently. 

Mural made of all wine corks

I definitely suggest checking this place out to buy a bottle of wine, try some different wine flights, get a meal or just split a bottle with friends. Or if you want to enjoy a nice night with a fancy tasting, they have multiple each month to go to. Check out their website or Facebook page for all the details.

Until my next post, Happy Eating!

Juicy Olive, Lake Geneva

Photos and images used in this blog are courtesy of Golden Oaks Mansion's website.  

Occasionally, my foodie ways take me far away from the Waukesha area but I had a wonderful experience here a few weeks back and really want to share it with you. I hope if you end up in the area, you try it out.

A friend had taken advantage of a Groupon offer for The Juicy Olive in the Golden Oaks Mansion in Lake Geneva. Before I go any farther, I need to talk about my love of Groupons. This is probably one of the best inventions (in my mind) to get customers to your venue. I would say that not every industry can be successful with Groupons, but food, drink and entertainment venues do very well. I have purchased quite a few and unfortunately let a few expire, but I'm very happy with the places that I did get them for.

OK - back to The Juicy Olive. The place is situated 2 blocks from the lake in a really cute old mansion turned B&B. There are Greek goddess fountains in the front but it was a little too warm outside to enjoy the outdoors. Upon entering the mansion, you see the great old architecture that has been kept in tact. There are 6 rooms upstairs but I didn't inquire to the rates or occupancy. To the right is OMG Cupcakes, a quaint little boutique that sells tea and cupcakes and little tables in the front windows for which you can enjoy your treats. To the left is the Tea Room with old English style furniture. This can also be the B&B's sitting room.

If you walk through the Tea Room you get into the Juicy Olive. I would imagine that when this business was just a mansion, this would be the sunroom or the sitting room. The bar unfortunately looks like it was put in front of what would have been a beautiful old fireplace. The woodwork and mirror do look really nice behind the bar, but I'm not sure the actual fireplace is back there and may be storage cabinets now. The room only has 4 little tables and the bar, but it does have a cute L-shaped patio with a few more tables and chairs outside. There are full patio doors and large windows that fill the room with tons of great natural light. 

We were the only ones inside when we arrived but the place quickly filled up with other patrons withing 30 minutes. Each table has a dish of their "Soon to be World Famous" pretzel mix. The pretzels were salty with a buttery taste and amongst them m&m's for the sweet tooth. These were endless for us!

The Juicy Olive has a wine menu, martini menu, limited selection of beers and a small bites menu. Our Groupon (which I'm unsure what the cost was) got us 2 cocktails and and one of the small bites. Unfortunately, the website doesn't have the menu that we received, as ours was much more involved and had higher quality dishes.

We decided that because the Groupon already gave us such a good deal, we would order 2 small bites and cocktails. My friend settled just on Blue Moon beer as it was a drive for us. I decided on a Colonel Purple Heart Martini, with chambord, pineapple juice and vodka in it. It was delicious. It took us a bit to wander the menu but we decided on the Tenderloin Skewers and Stuffed Mushrooms.

While waiting for the small bites to come out, we took in the decor and watched the guitarist set up for the evening. Withing 10 minutes of ordering our first dish came out. (I overheard the kitchen brings out the dishes as they get them complete). Set in front of us was a beautiful Tenderloin skewer with red onion, pineapple, green peppers and the most tender tenderloin I have possibly ever had. Under it were a few slices avocado and a Chipotle sauce. The only disappointment was that the menu said "skewers" and we only received one. We both wanted to eat the entire thing upon our first bite. 

About 5 minutes later, the stuffed mushrooms came out. There were 2 large Portabellas on the plate that were cooked down slightly in a worchestershire sauce. On top of the mushrooms was creamy gorgonzola cheese melted and browned perfectly on them. We each got our own of these and it was absolute tastebud heaven - so delicious. Of course we wanted more but then, it wouldn't be a small plate would it? (sorry for the lack of photography)

After that we asked for the bill as we wanted to check out Lake Geneva a bit before heading home. The owner was walking around and talking with the guests and I overheard her say that the "Small Bites" menu and the Groupon were definitely helping to draw in more customers. The table next to us told her it was a great direction to go in by offering the smaller food portions and to keep up the excellent food skills. We agreed and thanked her for her hospitality and we were on our way.