Best Food of the Year 2010

One of my favorite new finds this year was in November at The Codfather in the fantastic Camps Bay area of Cape Town, South Africa. Here diners select their 'Catch of the Day' from a grand glass case. The seafood and fish is priced by weigh...t, so there's opportunity to try an assortment. We enjoyed rich butterfish, large succulent Madagascar prawns, langoustines from Mozambique, yellowtail & sole. Each are lightly seasoned, seared on a flat top grill and delivered to the table in a large, hot skillet with a quartette of sauces - butter garlic, sweet Cape apricot chili, lemon & the ubiquitous ZA peri-peri. Sauteed root vegetables, lightly seasoned, also accompany the main dish. Buzzing from open to close, this is definitely a local hot spot not to be missed.

From Sea to Shining Sea...and then some

In October I was fortunate enough to have two of my favorite gals get hitched to wonderful, wonderful men (two different men).

The first wedding was in Sonoma County in California's wine country. I had been there earlier in the week for work - lucky for me I am in the label printing industry, and well - where there's wine, there's got to be labels. The weather was outstanding reaching the upper 80s. I had the chance to visit a couple of wineries including Spring Mountain, which is one of the region's oldest, and undoubtably one of the most beautiful. There we tried some of the Elivette Reserve wine that had the longest legs I've ever seen, and a smell that one could never say no to. The inside is immaculately decorated using a high top glass table for the tasting. This small design incorporation added volumes to the experience as the sun shone brightly through the window, the wine glass and the table top.

Most of my girl's family and friends flew into California for the occasion. It was truly a Wisconsin invasion!! In the morning of the big day I found a great little French Bakery - Costeaux - where my hangover was washed away with an APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON, SPINACH, SUN DRIED TOMATO, AND BRIE omlette, glass of fresh orange juice and a killer cup of java. And the breads, to die for!!


A few of us had some fun wandering through the local second hand store as well where we found a few fab finds including a pair of opera binoculars made in Paris, which dated back to the early years of the 20th century.

The ceremony itself was held at a family owned vineyard with a killer view. No flowers necessary with this background. The entire ceremony and celebration was filled with complete love and joy - and tons of fun had by all I can guarantee that. DJ FancyArms made for fabulous eye candy and we all had a memorable time.

On my way out of San Francisco I was able to hook up with a dear old college friend and one of my local Milwaukee ladies that has recently ventured too to the West Coast. We had a tasty dinner at Fresca where they have a variety of ceviches that are absolutely out of this world. What a lucky girl I am to have all of these wonderful people (and more) in my life living in the same fabulous city - and I didn't even get to visit will all of them!!

It was only the following weekend that I had a wedding in Cincinnati, Ohio. There my childhood girlfriend from age two had one of the most unique weddings I’ve been to yet.

My mother was my hot date to the event, which was one of the best decisions. It had been well over 15 years since our two mothers had time to catch up, so it was due time. On the day of the wedding we had some breakfast at my girl’s favorite local greasy spoon – JK’s in Madeira. For the rest of the day we buzzed around Kenwood mall.

The ceremony was in the middle of a park near the amazing Mirror Fountain that brilliantly reflected the fall colors dripping from the trees’ leaves. Celebrations commenced at the American Sign Museum which is home to hundreds of vintage neon signs for US hotel chains like Howard Johnson, historical food chains such as Big Boy and a plethora of drug store and pharmacy signs. It created the perfect backdrop for the wedding party who wore Adidas sneaks and most of which had detailed, colorful tattoos.

Dinner was something that I’d never experienced before: low key, made to order and amazing! In the months prior to the event, the husband-to-be ventured ‘round the city tasting tacos and more from the city’s most reputable Mexican restaurants. The delivery – a taco truck. Aye carrumbba! It was a magical event. Truly different.

In between these two fabulous events I traveled to Belgium for work to give a presentation on the market in North America. While there I was able to share a lovely dinner with a close friend at the perfect quaint spot on a side road in Antwerp. At Chez Fred we shared a lovely tuna carpaccio, well-made steak with peppercorn sauce and a great bottle of red.

Spoiled Brat in The Windy City

My team hosted a trade show in Chicago last week. It's always a great time despite everything being rather hectic. We have a great staff of people from around the world: London, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Milwaukee, Johannesberg and Minneapolis.

Along with the big event that draws about 13,000 internationals there is an awards gala with cocktails, entertainment and dancing. This year's was hosted on a Spirit of Chicago boat. We set sail about 7pm to socialize under the stars, afloat, gazing at the beautiful skyline.


Some nights we 'entertain clients' so as a team we usually invite a hundred or so to a big event. This year, on Mexican Independence Day we enjoyed Chicago style dawgs with all the fixins, light beer and a view of the White Sox baseball game from a VIP area above center field. What a view!! A number of our guests were non-Americans.



Helping describe the rules of the game proved to be a bit tricky! But there's no doubt that we enjoyed ourselves. A few of the Brits when home with foam fingers (Milwaukee Brewers fans were not happy about this).



After the game some Mexican friends and I (a Bolivian and an Indian) met up at a popular local hot spot where we shared tequilas and laughs with more of our Mexican friends. Viva la Mexico!! It was Mexican Independence Day and the celebrations were on!

The weekend closed with the best massage I've had in my life at Spa Space in the West Loop. After a serious weeks work, the rub down was much needed...and the tension melted away. Afterwards I met up with some old college friends in town for the Dave Matthews Band concert. It's amazing how time can go by, but friendship remains the same. We had a amazing seats at a rooftop club overlooking Wrigley Field. Food and drinks were included. The atmosphere was rockin. Absolutely amazing!!

Sunday afternoon I was lucky enough to catch a Northwestern University field hockey game. It was the perfect day for lakeside hockey.


Lunch at The Bagel with moms and Ana, discussions about our Senegal trip and a Bloomingdales invasion made for a complete Sunday before heading home to my Rubster.

Home Sweet Home

So, part of traveling to experience the world includes having a place to call home. Wisconsin is my home - I'm proud to say. Today is the start of our week-long annual Wisconsin State Fair which will feature a cheeseburger wrapped in a Krispie Kreme. This bit I'm not so proud of:



Other (more normal) tasty treats include: Cream Puffs, Lions Club corn on the cob, Saz's mozzarella sticks, baked potatoes, Wisconsin ice cream sundae with Door Country Cherries - and more! Last year's odd-ball feature was chocolate covered bacon - on a stick. (No, I am not joking.) And they charge like $2.50 a pop for it!



Our state's Green Bay Packers started their preseason last week so that means green & gold mania is just around the corner. Football season baby! This of course requires belittling all other teams that we rival with: Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys. Blah!

So in honor of Wisconsin, our Fair, its Packers and my Home I give you this joke (sent by a friend today). Enjoy! And remember, thank God. ;-)

Read Wisconsin's Pro Sports Buds here, featuring Rodgers' and Braun's impact in our Midwestern state.


And God Created Wisconsin...

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, "Where have you been?"

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things."

God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, "What's that one?"

"That's Wisconsin, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful rivers and streams, lakes, forests, and hills. The people from Wisconsin are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things. Champions shall come from here!"


Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, "But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance."

God smiled, "I will create Minnesota, wait till you see the clowns I put there. They will field a football team to provide entertainment, they will wear purple and play in a domed stadium."

Michael inquisitively asked, "Why a domed stadium?"

God chuckled and said, "You see Michael,...even I don't want to watch them play football."

Overseas for the World Cup

My travels in June took me to a number of countries: Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Spain. The World Cup started just as I was leaving US soil so I had the chance to watch football matches in every city I went to over 3 weeks. Watching Germany lose at the Frankfurt airport was tough. Having to board the plane as the USA was down by one in their second game was tough...checked Facebook for my Friend's reactions as soon as we touched ground again.

Watching Spain win to go into the quarterfinals while at a hip bar on the Barcelona coast was amazing! To experience the camaraderie of each country and the world surrounding this athletic event was quite the experience.

Even in Tel Aviv, Israel and Warclow, Poland - two countries that did not have teams in the tournamnet - there were bars with outside screens so people could enjoy the games. The Mexicans had a proud day in early June while we were in Israel. It was sweet to share the moments with a Mexican colleague. In Poland, Japan squeeked a win with many of its patriots in the audience, most likely employees at the high tech Polish headquarters of Google, Yahoo or HP.

Sharing the emotion of the game with the traditional food and drink of the country we were in, with friends from all over the world, made the Cup so exciting!

Drum Together, Right Now

Having the opportunity to visit Israel for both business and pleasure three times is something that I'm extremely grateful for. The country is an amazing place with rich history shared by the most prominent religions of the world.

In the Babylonian area of Tel Aviv the group I traveled with shared an intimate dinner in a cave like setting. For dessert we had some solid music entertainment with belly dancers. While the group managed to drum together in sync, I can't say so much for this chap shaking his rump.





Tel Aviv is an amazing beach town with fantastic restaurants. Don't miss Nana in Neve Tzedek. This is one of the best atmospheres that I've ever dined in. It's an indoor/outdoor, medieval setting with candles and stone.



Jerusalem is a humbling city. You'd be surprised at how safe the city feels considering there's so many people that want to destroy the place. But in how many places do you see a group of young girls, the oldest at most four years, walking the streets alone. In the American countryside? Maybe.

From all of my visits to Israel so far - yes, I've been lucky enough to travel there three times now - the most compelling memory I have of the place is the people, so I tried hard to capture some of them. Look at the yamaka, or kippah, on the little boys head on top of his baseball cap.

I love the Orthodox family walking away from the Western Wall together. And still overlooking the golden dome from Mount Olive will remain special; that's a given. How about the Super-Jew t-shirt!? :-D We liked that one.



Many people are concerned with safety when Israel is brought up. I've come to describe it: 'you wouldn't drive through certain areas of the city after hours nor would you cruise the Gaza Strip.'

So irregardless of people being fearful of the place, it's fabulous, and terror can happen anywhere. Still Israel brings people together like no other place I've been to, and I doubt any other place in the world could.

When you get the chance to visit, do. Or heck, create your own chance. But go. Take in the history, the culture, the fresh sea air, and the plethora of people from around the world that have moved to call this place home once again.