Three Wisconsin Dining Experiences…Guess Which One I Liked the Least?

4-5 August 2023

It’s one of those summer weekends I wanted to get out of town, so I took half a day and hopped on the train to Milwaukee. If Chicago’s Union Station wasn’t such a headache to get to, I’d go up more often, as it’s a very short ride north. And, of course there was a delay, it’s Amtrak after all! It’s not an Amtrak trip if you make it anywhere in time!

Throw in more confusion when I got to Milwaukee, by the time I got to my motel near the airport I was tired physically and mentally. I think I was a lot less stressed in the office, where I was since 7am. And I was hungry, having skipped lunch. So I eventually hopped on the local bus and headed into town.

After a quicker-than-usual ride with no traffic, I got to the Historic Third Ward and eventually my dinner destination, Bavette La Boucherie. They saved a space for me at the end of the bar, so I naturally took it. It seemed a little chaotic at the bar, and where I was seated it was hard to get anyone’s attention. But soon enough I got my drinks order in and looked over the menu.

Nice negroni to start, and I relaxed. Looked over the menu and ordered two items to start the evening. I found it odd that a functional butcher doesn’t feature much of their meats on the menu and was somewhat seafood heavy. Then I had a flashback to a horrible night in Philadelphia when I noticed the same thing at Kensington Quarters…

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned I was planning to eat at Ward’s House of Prime, but it was closed this weekend so I endured that horrific “prime rib” at Tortoise Supper Club? Well, that’s now, and with Ward’s closed for the weekend I ended up choosing what would have been my second choice anyway. Did I choose right?

Well, the deviled eggs were okay, nothing too special. I switched over to wine and once I saw it I suddenly regretted ordering it.

This is apparently jamón ibérico… I sat and stared at it for a few minutes. Goodness, was this hand-cut or a product of a deli slicer? Was this even from a leg? My heart basically sank with this, and I laboured through the plate, having lost not just my enthusiasm but my appetite. For someone who skipped lunch and only had those deviled eggs since the night before, I really didn’t want to eat anymore…

This sadly reminded me of the last time I was in town and went to Amilinda, and had to go to Ward’s House of Prime right after to get over it. No such luck, so I had to decamp at nearby Char’d and get some takeaway. And a carafe of soju to drown this night away…

And of course the night ended with my Lyft app giving me crap. It’s like I have a Milwaukee curse…

The next morning I headed north, hoping to cut my losses. A good day, and I eventually ended up in Appleton. As I always do when I’m in this part of Wisconsin, I go hunting for Hmong food. And today’s lunch is a good haul, courtesy of Hmong Express.

Oh these eggrolls are to die for, so good. Rarely do I enjoy these things so much, but had to save room because…

Oh this is even better. The sausage is course and flavourful, while the pork belly is crunchy and rich. How can you not like this? And all this cost about as much as that horrible plate of “jamón ibérico” that I suffered through last night, which by the way, came in a vacuum pack without the leg (my server showed me what appeared to be a pre-quartered, de-boned mess that looked like a pork shoulder you buy at the grocery store…

Well, that was a fantastic lunch. I had plenty to do in and around the Lake Winnebago area, but didn’t realise there’s a music festival in town. So all in all things work out, once I got out of Milwaukee. And for dinner, I explored the venerable and beloved Greek restaurant in town, Apollon.

Old school, with a fabulous server. An enjoyable evening. Not great, but good stuff. The server made it an incredibly nice dining experience. A simple soup and salad to start (sorry, forgot to photo), my main course arrived, the mixed grill.

The lamb was quite nice, extremely tender. And shrimp and scallops were also quite nice. A pretty small portion, but I also remember I have a ton of leftover Hmong food from lunch back at the hotel, so I was okay. But I wanted a dessert, so…

This is a nice cheesecake, made apparently with a touch of Bailey’s but I couldn’t discern it. Too bad, as I wanted something interesting for dessert having passed on my favourite baklava. Oh well. A nice brandy tipple and I headed back by Lyft. At least the app didn’t go bonkers this evening.

And back to Milwaukee and Chicago tomorrow…

Can you guess what my favourite of the three was? Because it was pretty damn obvious which one fell flat.

Bavette La Boucherie
217 North Broadway
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hmong Express
339 West Wisconsin Avenue

Apollon
207 North Appleton Street
Appleton, Wisconsin