23 in 2023 -- Go to Sweet Lair in Menasha

Knowing Heather is usually up to a good coffee shop and likes board games, I suggested we meet at Sweet Lair in Menasha to catch up and exchange Christmas gifts. She was intrigued and agreed. Sweet Lair was on my 23 in 2023 list that I did not get to and I still wanted to check it out.

Sweet Lair is a board game cafe/coffee shop downtown Menasha. It is open Tuesday-Sunday. Hours vary by the day of the week. It has coffee drinks and sandwiches with names that play on board games like Hungriest Hippo or Mint Condition Frappe. 

The entire decor is board game themed. It is just a fun place to hang out.

After we ordered, we played a game of Uno Flip with the kiddo that was enlisted to help with grocery shopping later (and bribed with food). They have a whole wall of games including classics and modern games. At first the kiddo wanted monopoly but we didn't have all afternoon. Uno Flip is similar to Uno but has switch cards which means you flip the cards over and play with a different set of colors (Purple, pink, teal, and orange). 

Our food arrived. Heather ordered a Terrafroming Fusion Quesadilla. It was a buffalo chicken quesadilla that included bacon. It looked amazing. I wasn't overly hungry and decided to just have a brownie. The brownie was good but not as good as I expected. It needed something. I should have gone with a quesadilla. My mint condition frappe had coffee in it. I was not used to having coffee in my frappe. Let's just say I survived my first coffee drink but I did have a headache after.

I would definitely go back. I doubt I would convince the hubby to come with me but definitely a place Heather and I will keep in our list of places to meet up at. I might have to take Stacy the next time she's in town. If you haven't been, go check it out.

Pizza Snob Adventures -- Paddy's Pizza

 We have driven by Paddy's Pizza in Eden numerous times and kept saying we should eat there. I showed a picture of the pizza to the hubby after a Facebook friend went there and said it was worth the drive. We decided to stop on our way back from the train museum. 

Paddy's Pizza is bar and pizza restaurant in Eden. It is open Wednesday-Sunday, hours vary by day of the week. 

The restaurant itself is not very big and it's first come, first serve when grabbing a table. We got lucky that a couple was finishing up and said we could have their table. It does have a nice Irish theme going on. It reminded me of someone's living room. 

Besides pizza, they have a whole page of appetizers from garlic bread to deep fried green beans to mini tacos. You can also get salad, wings, pasta, even Shepard Pie's if pizza is not your thing. Of course we ordered pizza and garlic sticks.

The garlic sticks were half a pizza crust cut into strips. They weren't bad.

We got the homestyle crust and I fought the hubby for half sausage. The sausage is not homemade in house so he didn't want it. The pizza looked amazing but was actually boring. The crust was very good but the rest of it really had no taste. We were kind of disappointed. We were glad the crust was good otherwise it would have been really bad pizza. Even though it was our favorite pizza, I could see us stopping again if we are in the area and trying another crust type or even pepperoni. 

However, we are horrible pizza snobs and what we think is boring and tasteless might be perfect for someone else. Don't let our snobbiness stop you from trying the pizza. It is definitely worth the drive. Maybe this is one of those places that you need a garbage pizza for it to be amazing. We are not garbage pizza fans. 

Empanadas for Lunch

 The kids wanted burgers or chicken. Mom overruled them because she wanted empanadas. I really didn't care what we had. Empanadas is what we got.

Stacy always knows where to find the best food. La Masa on Brady Street is an Empanada Bar. It is located on the corner of E. Brady St. and N. Arlington Pl. There is a small parking lot nearby otherwise find street parking. We had ended up in the lot after circling the block a couple of times. It didn't help it was lunch time and the Packers were playing. They are open every day of the week until at least 9.

The best way of ordering the empanadas is as a platter of 12 especially if you are with a group. They serve 16 different varieties of empanadas and not all of them Mexican. They are some Asian inspired flavors and a few more American style ones. If you are just looking for plain chicken or beef you are out of luck.

I had to expand my horizons and reach outside of my comfort zone when it came to picking empanada flavors. On the initial pass through there was really only two that I would even consider -- Cheese Curd n' bacon and Jamon y queso (ham and cheese). However Stacy wanted a few more suggestions and I said I was willing to try Thai Chicken Peanut, Carnitas Verde, Queso Poblano, and the Cuban.

Each one is stamped with 1 or 2 letters that correspond back to the menu so you know which one you are eating. 

Hands down my favorite was the Cheese Curd one. It tasted just like cheese curds. The ham and cheese was very good too. I was not a huge fan of the peanut chicken -- a bit too spicy. The Queso Poblano was a bit spicy but you could pull out the pepper pieces.

I would definitely go back and recommend it to anyone that is looking for something different. It is worth the parking headaches. 

Lunch at the Pfister

 After several Doors Open stops, we realized we probably should find food before we had to meet the guys for the library tour. Downtown Milwaukee has many options. I wanted to see the Pfister since it was part of Doors Open and I was never there. We walked in and while I grabbed an art guide, Stacy realized we could have lunch at the café.

Despite my brain calculating how much this lunch would cost me, I didn't see a better option. Besides how often do you really get to have lunch at the Pfister? The Pfister is one of the premier hotels in downtown Milwaukee. It has been around since 1893 and is reportedly haunted. Most of the baseball teams that come to play the Brewers, stay at the Pfister. It's gorgeous and I had no objection jumping at the chance to have lunch at the Pfister. Besides it would be another new restaurant for me this year -- one of my 23 in 2023 goals.

We ate at the Café at the Pfister which is just what it sounds.. less fancy and smaller portions than at Mason Street Grill. It is a café that servers breakfast and lunch in a traditional café setting. They have both a coffee shop where you can get coffee drinks and pastries as well as sit down options. We did sit down

The menu is limited and Stacy and I did a Pick 2. We both ordered BBQ Chicken Sliders and a Chicken Caesar Salad. I'm not crazy about Cesar salad but this one had some lemon flavoring that sounded intriguing. If I did not go with that I probably would had the BBQ Beef Brisket. The prices were more than what I normally pay for lunch but for the Pfister completely reasonable. 

Our food was very good.. when it came. They somehow lost our order and it took longer than usual to get our food. Our waitress did bring us a fruit cup for the little one. I should clarify, the sliders were amazing. The salad not so much... we got Cobb salads instead of Caesar salads. The Cobb salad had diced tomatoes and blue cheese which is why I didn't order it to begin with. I picked around those and it wasn't bad just not the Caesar salad we ordered. The bacon was amazing treat. You can never go wrong with bacon.

Despite the wait and wrong salads, I would definitely go back. The hubby might not like it but I found it something out of the ordinary that was similar to eating at the Palmer House or other hotel. I would definitely recommend having lunch at the Pfister when you're downtown Milwaukee and who knows maybe you'll see the ghost.

5341. Go to the Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton

 Everyone always talked about what a nice place Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve was. I have always wanted to check it out. Lil' Bro and I tried to check it out a number of years ago and could find parking. We ended up at Lime Kiln Park instead. 

Since Lion's Den has been on my short list every year for the last couple of years, I decided to add to my adventure when the hubby was away. I was initially going to go on my way down to Stacy's but just couldn't get moving. Then I asked Lil' Bro if he wanted to join me on Sunday morning before going to see Andrea. He agreed.

Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve is in the town of Grafton on the shores of Lake Michigan. It is open daily from 6 AM to 9 PM (or dawn to dusk). There is no cost to visit. Parking seemed to be better than last time we tried to visit. We both found spots to park.

There are several trails you can take. Some of them are boardwalks. Some are a paved road. Others are wood chips. 

We started out on the Lion's Den Trail which gave us views of Lake Michigan. You can walked down to the beach using a set of steep stairs. We did not not venture down to the beach.

Because the trail is on the edge of a bluff, you have to be careful not to get to close. They have been many rescue calls for people falling over the ledge.

We really just wandered a few trails. Eventually we turned around and headed back to our cars. If it was just me, I would have explored more. But with little legs of my niece, we had to go at her pace. I never made it to the gorge or the bridge over the gorge. There's always next trip

It was definitely a perfect morning for a hike. There were people but it was not overly crowded. Sunday mornings must be the time to go.

If you are in the Milwaukee area, this is definitely a place you want to check out. Just be careful.

23 in 2023: Try at least one new Restaurant: Riverside Pizza

 I was told by my bro that I had to try the new pizza place in Green Bay, Riverside Pizza. It has been voted the best pizza in the Upper Peninsula and now opened a location in Green Bay. I went to baseball with the hubby and then we decided to give Riverside Pizza a try.

Riverside Pizza is located on Oneida Street. They opened in the former Heartland Pizza building. They are open Wednesday-Monday 4-9. They do both dine in and carry out. We obviously dined in.

The dining room is an "L" shape and not very big. It is a mix of high top tables and regular tables most of them 4 spots with a few larger tables mixed in. There is a bar with about 8 stools which is mainly for carry outs. One thing I found odd was you don't see the kitchen unless you can get a peek as the door swings open. They are very quick to shut it. This is unusual for pizza places. They usually wants you to see them making pizza. It also did not smell like a pizza place. Maybe it was too new but there was no smell of tomato sauce or pizza baking. We only smelled a pizza as someone walked by with it.

The menu is very limited. It is pizza, a salad, or a hot dog. That's it. No appetizers, no dessert. Just pizza. Okay great. Simple menus are easier for the kitchen but come on, where is the garlic bread. You need garlic bread or cheese bread with pizza. Heck, I'll even take a few garlic knots. Something to enjoy while I wait for my pizza. 

We ordered a sausage and pepperoni pizza. The plates they give you are 6" paper plates. Good thing the pizza is cut into squares otherwise it would not fit on the plates. Plus they don't believe in silverware. Pizza should be eaten with your hands is their belief. I agree to an extent. The crust is fine but once you get into the middle of the pizza sometimes a fork is a necessity especially with the more toppings. 

To be honest, the pizza was lackluster. It was good but just boring. The hubby enjoyed it. I thought it was missing something. I'm not one for sauce but this sauce was boring. It had no oregano or other spices. Maybe they ran out...or maybe they just don't believe in flavor. I'm glad we got meat because otherwise it would have been flavorless. The meat helped with adding flavor. The crust was thin but not entirely crispy. It was a thin, chewy crust which kind of reminded me of Butch's in Kimberly but thicker. 

I think the hubby has turned me into a huge pizza snob and simple pizza no longer does it for me. If the hubby wants to go back, I'll go. It's not high on my list of favorite pizza places but it's not the worst pizza I've ever had. It's just boring and I like flavor. I'm not entirely surprised the hubby liked it because is a plain kind of guy.

If you like your pizza on the blander side or just looking for something new, try Riverside Pizza. I may not be overly crazy about it but I am a bit of a pizza snob. 

23 in 2023: Discover at least 1 new brewery -- Timber Tap

I got an email from Kimberly Library inviting me to an event there were having at a new brewery in Kimberly -- Timber Tap. We would learn about the beer making process and sample some beer. Sign me up. The hubby was like can I go too? So I signed both of us up.

Timber Tap is still under construction and hope to open by end of April or beginning of May. It is located in the same building as the coffeeshop and BBQ place right downtown Kimberly on the corner of Kimberly Ave and Birch St.. It is a bit hard to find since they are on the backside of the building. Luckily one of the librarians directed us and they had signs out. 

The owners Paul and Carol introduced themselves, gave a little bit of a backstory about brewing beer in their basement for family and friends, and then explained how brewing small batch craft beer really is created. They had a very nice Power Point Presentation and handouts.

As they went through their presentation, they let us sample three of their beers: Red Ale, Porter, and a Cold IPA. We also sampled Malt Tea.

The Red Ale was not bad. I would order this if I was here with a group. It was not too beer-y. 

The Malt Tea was interesting. It is just sample of the wort or the liquid extracted from the malting process. It has no alcohol content yet as it has yet to be fermented with yeast. Malt Tea has the flavor of the malt used. I didn't real taste anything. It was kind of bland. The hubby tried this one too. 

The Stout was actually my favorite and I don't like dark beers. Either my beer palate is evolving or this one was especially good. It was not bitter at all. I would have to fight Stacy for this one if we had a flight.

The Cold IPA was my least favorite. It definitely was very hoppy. I was not at all but did finish my beer.

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to see the backroom where the brewing process would take place. It is small and reminded me of Basil's set up at Down Time Wines. 

We also got to sample spent grain cookies. There were white chip cranberry and chocolate chip. I preferred the chocolate chip but both were good. 

I already told Stacy that if we need a beer when she's up here for cookie baking that we should check this place out. Even the hubby, a non-beer drinker, was impressed. It will be a happening spot in Kimberly come summer. It is definitely worth checking out as they will also carry other guest taps.

23 in 2023: Go to Copper Rock Coffee Shop

 Copper Rock Coffee Shop has been downtown Appleton for many years and I keep saying I'm going to go. I am not a coffee drinker but I have found I enjoy chai lattes and hot chocolates. Heather and I had time to kill before Death by Chocolate started and I was like we can get coffee. As we headed towards downtown, I gave Heather the option of ACOCA coffee or Copper Rock which was on the 23 in 2023 list. She was like I'm always game on helping you knock things off. Off to Copper Rock we went.

Now TECHNICALLY, I have been to Copper Rock when Tara and I did Light It Up downtown Appleton. One of the stops was Copper Rock and they were serving cookies with Mrs. Clause. However, I really didn't count it since I didn't order a beverage.

Copper Rock had an assortment of beverages for me. They had several flavors of Chai lattes including chocolate and raspberry. They had frappes and hot chocolate. I was good to go. Trying to make up my mind, Heather saw the Valentine Day Specials. There was a Sweetheart Chai Latte which was a raspberry and vanilla chai latte. Sold. We both got one.

Despite being too hot to drink initially, the Sweetheart Chai Latte was amazing. It wasn't too sweet or fruity. It was the right combination of flavors to make it delicious. 

Copper Rock also has a baked goods plus a small breakfast menu and plenty of options for lunch. The food all looked amazing. Oh.. and it has gelato. This could be dangerous. There is definitely plenty of space to sit and chill. I am putting this on the list for potential Cookie Baking breakfast spots.

I am glad to support local coffee shops when I get a chance and I will definitely be back. If I was still working at the site and not home, this could potentially become a a very expensive habit since I would pass it every morning on my way to work. Even Heather sent a message to her coworker recommending this place. Definitely check it out.

23 in 2023: Try at least one new recipe -- Cherry Crisp

 Every August, the hubby and some of his officiating buddies get together for a fish fry. It is potluck style and one of the guys brought homemade cherry crisp made with Door County cherries. It was so amazing the pan was licked clean. I ended up getting some cherries when I went to see the fall colors back in October and wanted to make the cherry crisp. 

The hubby texted his buddy and we got the recipe via screenshot. Guys. I don't even know where they got the recipe to give credit where credit is due.

Since my cherries were already pitted, I drained the juice and added them to the sauce pan with the water and sugar. 

I used just the amount of sugar it called for. Because my cherries were already soft, I didn't have to cook them much once they started to boil. I just added the cornstarch and water and let cook until thickened.

To make the crust, I used my Ninja. Best thing ever to mix in butter. It makes it all crumbly. I'm glad the oatmeal was added after butter so I didn't pulverize the oatmeal too bad.

I added about a 2/3 of the mix to the bottom of my pan, added the cherries (which were not completely cooled), and added the rest of the mix to the top. I could have used a tad less on the bottom to have a little bit more on top. Live and learn.

I baked about 48 minutes. It could have gone the 50 minutes but I didn't want to get it too crisp.

It was a bit of mess to get out of the pan. Maybe it needed to cool more. Not really sure. Hopefully it will be better once it is cooled completely.

It was just as good as I remember. We definitely need to make a fall trip to Door County to get more cherries. Definitely a recipe worth saving and sharing.