Milwaukee, Day Four

The Dogg Haus
We were out trying to track down one of the food trucks and stumbled across this place. They have five locations around the city. The employees were really friendly. I had a Cajun dog and fries, and Oscar had a corn dog and chips. My Cajun dog had two different kinds of hot peppers and was delicious. We both said we'd eat there again if we go back to Milwaukee.

The Dogg Haus on Water Street - Source

Buck Bradley's
This was another place that made it's way onto our radar because it offers free shuttles to and from Brewers home games. Oscar was again the only kid in the place, but I didn't feel like a bad parent for bring my kid to a bar/restaurant because they had a kids menu. Oscar had some really great looking chicken tenders, and I had a brat and a Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout. The brat was from Usinger's, a really great local brat place across the street from the restaurant. It was by far the best thing I ate on the trip. The bun was buttery and toasted, and it made the brat taste that much better. I sadly was not wild about the beer.

Buck Bradley's - Source

The restaurant side of Buck Bradley's - Source

Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout - Source

On the shuttle ride back from the game I wanted a beer and asked the driver if he happened to take credit. He did not, and he insisted that I grab a beer anyway. I grabbed a Pabst Blue Ribbon because it was that or Miller Lite. PBR originated in Milwaukee but is now based in LA. Again, it is so funny to have a big name beer and call it local.

Milwaukee, Day Three

The King & I
It rained and rained and rained this day, and Oscar and I didn't feel like venturing too far with our umbrellas. The King & I, a great Thai restaurant, is right across from our hotel, so we just placed an order and ran across the street to pick it up. We split the Tofu Triangle appetizer, the Pud Thai with pork, and the King & I Banana dessert. We both loved everything, but Oscar especially loved the triangles. The dessert was really great. We got coconut ice cream along with a banana I initially thought was a free eggroll. We broke up the crunchy, mushy banana on top of the coconut ice cream, and it was out of this world.

The King & I Thai Restaurant - Source

Milwaukee Brat House
Quite a few places in Milwaukee offer their customers a free shuttle to and from Brewers games, and to save on parking we decided to eat dinner at these wonderful places on game nights. I was really excited about trying Milwaukee Brat House because I love brats. Given its name, I was expecting the Brat House to be more of a restaurant than a bar, but it definitely felt more like a bar that happened to serve food. Oscar was the only kid there, but the place has a kids menu, so it must be kid friendly. I had a brat on a pretzel bun, and it was pretty great. Oscar had the grilled cheese, and he really liked it. A lot of places don't really grill their grilled cheese, so we were happy to see crispy bread and melted cheese. I ordered a Lakefront Be Gone, and the waitress brought me two because it was happy hour.

Milwaukee Brat House - Source

The back, where the shuttle dropped us off - Source

On the shuttle back from the game, I bought a Miller because I found it amusing that I could drink a Miller and say I was having a local beer.

Milwaukee, Day Two

Milwaukee Boat Line
We loved the riverboat cruise we took in St. Louis last year, and so I was really hoping to find something similar in Milwaukee. When I came across 90-minute history and trivia cruises that covered not only the Milwaukee River but also Lake Michigan and the harbors, I was so happy. Oscar and I loved the cruise and got some great pictures, and we enjoyed the brats we bought onboard for lunch. Part of me really wants to do this again before we leave because it's so great.

Milwaukee Boat Line's Vista King - Source

Honeypie
This looked like a cute little restaurant when I checked it out online, and I was kind of surprised to see that although the restaurant was pretty packed, Oscar was the only kid there. There were Trivial Pursuit cards on our table, and Oscar kept himself occupied and quiet our whole time there by reading the cards. Honeypie has these delicious $4 cupcakes, so Oscar and I just split the soft pretzel appetizer so that we had room for our cupcakes. Being on vacation is so much fun. I had a Vintage Jinja Ninja and a Dark Horse Amber Ale (from MI, not WI) to drink with dinner. Jinja Ninja easily makes my top five favorite beers list. Oscar chose a vegan banana chocolate chip cupcake, and I chose a mint cookies 'n cream cupcake. They were amazing. We probably wouldn't go back just because Oscar was the only kid there.

Honeypie - Source

Dark Horse Amber Ale (sadly I couldn't find a Jinja Ninja picture) - Source

Honeypie Cupcakes - Source

Milwaukee, Day One

Classic Slice
I have been sick the past week and still have no sense of taste or smell, so while I can say the food had great texture, we have to go with what Oscar has to say about the actual taste of the food. He loves pizza, and he says this is by far the best pizza he has ever had. He loved it so much that he asked if we could eat there a second time, and that's saying a lot because he loves to try new places. I had a slice of cheese, and he had a slice of pepperoni. He also had a delicious looking chocolate-covered, sprinkle-covered cookie, and I also had a New Glarus Spotted Cow and a Sprecher Black Bavarian. I was so excited about drinking Wisconsin beer and then so disappointed when I realized I still couldn't taste anything. Oscar went through $3 playing Jr. Pac-Man before and after we ate, and then he checked out the cool playground across the street. We had a great time and would (will, if Oscar has his way) go back.

Classic Slice - Source

New Glarus Spotted Cow - Source

Sprecher Black Bavarian - Source

Citizen

I've been reading about how important it is for a businesswoman to have a good watch, and so the other day I bought my first non-Timex 1440 watch. It caught my eye as I browsed JC Penney's selection of women's watches, and while I kept trying to talk myself into buying something cheaper, part of me just knew that this was the one. It was marked down from $475 to $356, and I had a 10% off coupon and lots of JCP cash, so I went for it. It arrived on Monday, but I was out of town all week, so tomorrow will be my first day wearing it. I've never had diamonds before, so I'm pretty excited.

Citizen Eco-Drive Bella Diamond Accent Watch - Source

While I'm in no rush to buy another watch, I do enjoy seeing what's other there. There is one other watch that I like, and it's also Citizen. Silver is my favorite metal, and I prefer simple but feminine watches. This other watch is a little bit bigger, bulkier, and darker, but I really love the way the metal and the ceramic look together. Also, the diamonds on the black face are stunning. I usually wear cardigans to work, and this watch looks like it would go better with a blazer. If I start wearing blazers more often, I'll almost definitely buy this.

Citizen Eco-Drive Stainless Steel and Black Ceramic Diamond Accent Watch - Source

While I don't mind dropping some cash on a nice item I plan to use for a long time, I am not the type to spend a lot on a trendy item. Watches with white bands seem really in right now, and I think a white band would look great with my black and gray cardigans. I don't want to wear crystals or crocodile-printed rubber, so it may be a challenge to find something I like. This Relic watch isn't bad, but there's a bit too much silver for my liking.

Relic Payton White Leather Watch - Source

Peugeot has two $50 white leather watches that aren't bad looking. The first one is closer to what I think I want in a trendy white watch, but the second one is just so gorgeous with its mother of pearl face.

Peugeot 3008WT Watch - Source

Peugeot 3030WT Watch - Source

I'd rather have a few nice items than lots of cheap items, so I'll probably stick with a Citizen or two and maybe a Peugeot until one needs to be replaced. Even though Cartier and Rolex are out of my price range for now, I did look at quite a few and was surprised that I didn't like any of them. Maybe that will change by the time I can afford one.

Birmingham

I've spent two of the past three weeks in Birmingham, so I want to talk about Birmingham. Everyone outside of work who knew that I was going seemed to think I was going to hate Birmingham. I love to travel, and I love everywhere I go, so I found this sort of puzzling. When I'd ask why, they'd just roll their eyes and point out that it's Deep South.

Somehow this introvert has no trouble making company friends in another state, so my social life on business trips has been amazing. Evidently downtown Birmingham has really been coming back to life recently, and everyone is really excited to see what its future holds. My Birmingham buddies are hip people in their 30s-60s who know of all these great places I never would have found on my own. Here are my favorites.

Hop City
This beer and wine store had dozens and dozens of great things on tap, and their site says they carry over 1900 beers. It was tempting to get a growler of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel to bring back to my room, but I thought I should take it easy while out with my boss. I had a coffee stout and a Scottish ale at the bar.

Hop City - Source

World of Beer
Evidently this place has some sort of points system where you earn a point for every new beer you try. It's a chain bar, but it carries 500 beers (50 on tap) from 40 countries, so of course it makes my list of awesome places in Birmingham.

World of Beer - Source

The J. Clyde
The J. Clyde is a cute little tavern that faces a cobblestone alley - definitely not anything I would have stumbled across while driving around looking for somewhere to eat. I was warned that the beer was great but that the food was iffy. Our veggie and hummus appetizer was great, and my burger and sweet potato fries weren't bad. J. Clyde isn't someplace I would go for food, but I wouldn't mind eating there if I found myself drinking there again. They had lots of Alabama beer on draft along with some other great American and foreign beers. I tried Good People Coffee Oatmeal Stout for the first time here.

The J. Clyde - Source

The J. Clyde - Source

Paramount
This is a neat little bar and game room downtown that opened earlier this year. I don't play pool, and luckily we left Paramount for World of Beer before anybody I was with could start shooting pool. The food there is actually really amazing. We had the mozzarella balls appetizer, and I had the grilled cheese for dinner. Both were excellent. The beer selection isn't outrageous, but given the quality of the selection , the good food, and the game room, Paramount is still a pretty great place.

Paramount in Birmingham - Source

Paramount in Birmingham - Source

The Package Store
This one isn't a bar or restaurant, but it makes my list because I love beer. The lady who took me here just told me that she wanted to take me shopping my first night so that I had supplies on my trip. I was surprised in the best way when we finally arrived at a liquor store with aisles of great beer. One of these days I'm going to have to drive instead of fly to Birmingham so that I can go on a shopping spree at The Package Store. It's so sad going somewhere with great beer and not being able to bring any home.

Source

What did I buy?

Good People Coffee Oatmeal Stout - Source

There is a Good People in the Birmingham airport, and it's always crowded when I leave in the morning.


A few nights, of course, I couldn't be bothered to deal with rain and traffic, so I just brought a book down to the hotel bar and enjoyed my dinner and drinks with Dean Koontz and Catherine Coulter. One night a really interesting older fellow asked about my book and became my dinner companion. We bonded over our love of watches and travel and went on to discuss finance and consulting. It was great. Anyway, the hotel's beer selection is limited, but they do keep one local beer on tap and a few in cans.

Mother's Day

Oscar woke me up this morning and gave me a Home Depot project and some homemade soaps he made at school, and then he got dressed and took our dog for a walk. I usually have morning duty, so it was really nice to stay in bed a while longer. When he got back, he asked if we could make purple smoothies for breakfast. We used whole milk, plain yogurt, spinach, frozen berries, a frozen banana, protein powder, and chia seeds.

We picked up some Jimmy John's at 10:30 and headed downtown for the ballgame. Oscar got his free kids' promotional item, and I got my free moms' promotional item. We played for a while, went to our seats, had lunch, and then watched the game. Our team won.

After the game Oscar got some jelly beans, and I got an amazing pint of Rogue Voodoo Doughnut for myself for Mother's Day. It's usually $12-13, but I got it for $5. WINNING.

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut - Source