Summer, J, Ben and I drove to Milwaukee this weekend for Suzanne's wedding! We left Ohio Thursday morning and our only stop was in West Lafayette, Indiana, for gas. While we were there we grabbed a bite to eat at this place called Triple XXX.
Despite the name, there were NO boobies. Just mostly hamburgers! I got a chicken sandwich because I figured it'd be easier on the stomach for a road trip. I'd never seen a chicken sandwich quite like this, the meat was super thin! It was good.
The food was fine, but the marshmallow milkshake that we got to go was phenomenal. MARSHMALLOW MILKSHAKE!!!!!!!! Yum.
When we got to Milwaukee, we checked into our hotel and then went out to meet Ellie and Dan! We went to one of their favorite restaurants in their neighborhood, Cafe Corazón. They already had delicious chips and guacamole waiting for us when we arrived.
For dinner, I ordered fish tacos. They were SO good! But the most unexpected thing on this platter was the rice. It was AMAZING. I have never had outstanding rice at a Mexican restaurant before. It's always just been rice, you know? But THIS rice was different. It was SO flavorful! I ate every bite!!
Ben got a wet burrito. For fillings he chose chicken, tofu AND chorizo!!! This burrito was the size of a human head!
Here are Ellie and Ben's heads for size comparison.
Hooray! Dinner at Cafe Corazón! We decided that Cafe Corazón reminded us of a Mexican version of Purple Chopstix in Athens. It was intimate and filled with funky art, and there was even a screened in back porch area!! We hope that Ellie and Dan will come and eat at Purple Chopstix with us some day.
After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. We stayed at the newly-opened Brewhouse Inn and Suites. It's located on the site of the former Pabst brewery. Look at those restored original copper kettles!
J, Summer and Ben peeking over the kettle!
They had these futuristic-looking chairs.
Beam me up, Scotty!
The atrium also features this massive stained-glass window from the late-1800s of the patron saint of brewing. There's Ben sitting below him in the same pose!
We started Friday morning off with continental breakfast. Look at the Pabst decor!
Out front of the Brewhouse Inn and Suites.
We took a tour of the historic Pabst mansion!
The building to the right was a little chapel, where we bought our tickets.
J, Summer and Ben in front of the mansion.
Summer and me!
There were no photos allowed inside the house. It was a really nice tour though!
After the tour, we headed to the riverwalk. It was the perfect day for it! Plenty of sunshine, perfect temperatures. Ben said these sculptures reminded him of dinosaur eggs!
River!
Summer and J strolling along the riverwalk.
Peeking through a statue.
Fierce mermaid statue!
RARRRR!!
At this point we were hungry for lunch, and we noticed a restaurant called Port of Call Bistro and Beer Garden. The patio area was empty except for a giant stack of furniture in one corner. We asked the hostess if we might be able to sit outside, and she happily set a table up for us! VIP patio seating!!!
I ordered cheese curds for an appetizer. They were SO GOOD. Beer battered and fried white cheddar curds. They hand dip them in batter and fry them fresh, and they were so light and crispy.
I was pretty excited about them!
Ben ordered a bowl of the soup special - a potato bacon. It was delicious!
Summer and I shared the Salmon BLT. It was awesome! It had blackened salmon with bacon, tomato, arugula, Port of Call slaw and roasted red repper sauce on toasted ciabatta.
Our sandwich came with fries, which we requested to be upgraded to the Parmesan Truffle Fries, an item on the starters menu. This was the best decision ever. THESE FRIES WERE AMAZING. I think they might be the best fries of my life?!?!?!? Delicious!
We scooted our table along with the sun.
After lunch, we continued our walk. Look at these cute duck statues!!
Then we found the Bronze Fonz! J, Summer and Fonz.
Me, Fonz and Ben!
Fonz & Summer.
Ben & Fonz.
This group of kids saw me taking a picture of the riverwalk (they are sitting under the mermaid statue we passed earlier!) and they all waved to me! So nice!
Then they gave me a little peep show!
Next up for our afternoon was a tour of Lakefront Brewery. We played euchre while we waited for our tour to start!
Tour!
The tour is pretty great because you get a generous number of samples of delicious beer!
Ben and J checking out the machinery.
Conveyor belt!
This is the famous bottling line from the opening credits of Laverne and Shirley! Lakefront Brewery tours have a tradition of playing the theme song for everyone to sing along to.
J and I got to be the ones to put the glove on the bottle!!!!!!
Video! It was very exciting!
After the tour, we enjoyed another beer and an order of fried sausage balls.
Bubbles! How could you not love this place?!
Next on our agenda was happy hour at Foundation Tiki Bar! We met up with Ellie, Amy and Mike. This place was so cool! Look at those light-up puffer fish!
Look at that selection of glassware!
Ben and Summer both ordered Royal Hawaiians, which come in a beautiful mermaid cup that you get to KEEP! The Royal Hawaiian has two rums, pineapple, orange and lime. The drink of Waikiki!
I ordered Ellie's favorite, the Missionary's Demise. That's it on the left. It had rum, peach, honey, lime, pineapple and fresh mint. Cheers!
We got to sit in a cool alcove with tiki lights.
Mood lighting.
Here's what we really look like. Flash!
After happy hour, we took some group photos outside by the mural.
After that, we went to Nessun Dorma, a little Italian restaurant, for dinner. Upon Ellie's recommendation, we started off with an order of artichoke dip that was REALLY good!! It was garlicky and had a little kick to it!
Ben and I shared some tomato soup for dinner.
We also shared an amazing Italian Deli panini. This restaurant was fantastic!
After dinner, we headed back to our room. Our room was #420. Obligatory 420 photo. Huh huhuhuhuhuh.
The rooms were awesome! All rooms came with a little kitchenette! This would be a great place to stay for an extended trip!
Saturday morning we headed to Wolf Peach for brunch. This is one of Ellie's favorite restaurants. Ellie really hit the spot with all of her recommendations!! I wish she lived in every city in the world so she could always tell me where to eat when I travel!
Summer ordered a fresh grapefruit juice mimosa. LOOK at how refreshing that looks!
I had the slow-poached egg wood-fired pizza with brussels sprouts, red onion jam, guanciale and pecorino. It was amazing!!! The red onion jam was particularly delicious.
Ben got fried chicken and waffles! It came with hazelnut butter and sausage gravy. He let me have a bite and it was fantastic. This restaurant was superb!
After brunch, we headed to Delafield. Suzanne's wedding was at the Delafield Hotel, which is where we stayed. Our room was gigantic!
TELEVISION IN THE BATHROOM! Fancy!!!!!
Gift bags, whee! Summer and I both squealed when we were handed these upon check-in. I just love gift bags!
Then it was time for the wedding! Look at how gorgeous Suzanne looked!!!!!! What a classic beauty!
Summer, Ellie, Amy, Jane and me!
Ellie, Amy, Jane, me and Holly! Message board friends!
Cheers! Suzanne had two delicious specialty cocktails. An iced tea concoction and a punch!
Summer modeling the lovely table decor!
In Milwaukee, they drink Old Fashioneds with brandy instead of bourbon! When in Rome, right? Brandy Old Fashioned! It was yum.
The food was incredible!! There were turkey and beef carving stations, where you could make little sandwiches on these AMAZING little rolls. These rolls were definitely a 10. Crusty and perfect. Then there was a mashed potato bar!!! With so many delicious toppings! Broccoli, caramelized onions, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and more. Then there were also mashed sweet potatoes with candied pecans and marshmallow!!! Then later in the night they brought out amazing smelling pizzas. My only regret of the night was that this delicious dinner filled me up so much that I was too full for pizza later. TOO FULL FOR PIZZA. Sadness!
Mike, Yumi and Summer.
Bouquet toss!
Summer, Amy and I didn't get to play bouquet toss because we are married. See?
Amy!
Dance party!
Dancing video.
Sunday morning we got up early and drove back to Athens. We had a wonderful time in Milwaukee, and I feel like we really got to do a lot in a short amount of time! Congratulations, Suzanne and Nate!
