Mayura Indian Restaurant

We love Indian food and have tried most Indian restaurants in the Milwaukee area. On Friday night, Craig and I tried one we hadn’t been to before, Mayura Indian Restaurant.

The interior was nice, but pretty basic.

I had my usual order of Paneer Tikka Masala. It wasn’t on the menu, but I asked what vegetarian menu item was closest to it and he said they could just make it. I requested it be mildly spicy, but it definitely was more in the medium range, which didn’t please me.

Craig had Chicken Tikka Masala and thought it was just ok. The chunks of chicken were somewhat dry and too big.

We cooled our mouths off with a Mango Lassi. I think this was one of the best Mango Lassis we have had at a local Indian restaurant.

I’m not sure we’ll be going back to Mayura. I prefer another Indian restaurant closer to our house and we’ll likely stick to going there from now on.

Mayura Indian Restaurant
1958 N Farwell Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 271-8200

Rocket Baby Bakery and Trader Joe’s

I met Karis at Rocket Baby in Wauwatosa this morning to enjoy some fresh and delicious bakery.

Karis ordered a savory scone and I picked out an almond brioche.

We sat under the cute logo and Karis kindly taught me some Blogger tricks, since I’ll be making the transition to Blogger from WordPress soon. I learned a lot from her and I feel much more confident in learning a new blogging program. I think Blogger actually may be more intuitive than WordPress.

I need to go back for a french baguette and chocolate croissant sometime soon! So many tempting and beautiful baked goods to be found at Rocket Baby.

If you are interested in reading more about Rocket Baby, here is a recent article on the business from the Journal Sentinel.

After Rocket Baby, Karis and I went to Trader Joe’s in Brookfield! I am so excited to have a TJ’s much closer to my house now.

It was packed, as we expected it to be, but really not that bad. The store feels much more roomy than the Bayshore one. The parking lot is nicer to navigate too.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday as much as I enjoyed mine!

Le Reve Patisserie and Cafe in Wauwatosa

If there is one restaurant in my hometown that I have been talking about getting to for ages, it’s Le Reve. I finally accomplished that goal on Saturday. My friend Danielle and I get together at least once a month and we planned ahead on a shopping and Le Reve date. Both of our husbands don’t like French food (or so they think) and so I had the perfect dinner companion to go with.

Oh and please excuse my iPhone photos. I wish I could have brought my DSLR, but that just wasn’t possible because we went shopping at Mayfair before and after dinner!

We got there around 5:15 and found the restaurant busy, but nowhere near as packed as when we left. I would definitely recommend going early!

Isn’t the interior adorable?

We were seated upstairs and it was cozy, yet not cramped at all.

Danielle was shocked by how small her diet coke was, but I told her it must have been the kind they sell outside the US that isn’t sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

We started with Crostini de Brie and literally said oooh and aaah as we ate it. Total comfort food!

I ordered a crepe with vegetables (legumes printaniers) for my entree. It was tres bien!

We both still had room to share a dessert, so we ran downstairs to check out them out and decide on what to get. They were all so beautiful!

We finally settled on a Gateau de Noisettes–a Hazelnut Cake. The sweet older couple next to us teased about which of us would get the sole raspberry. Danielle got it. I preferred to have the toasted hazelnuts. I am a huge hazelnut fan. Have been ever since I lived in Europe.

I only wish I could have snapped a better photo. This was an amazing cake!

I also ordered some macarons to bring home with me. Can you believe that I had never had macarons before? I have always admired how pretty and petite they are, but never had the opportunity to try one. Not even in Paris.

I had to dig out my DSLR on Sunday and shoot some photos of these gorgeous and delicious cookies.

While I thought the pink was pretty, I actually preferred the green and cream colored cookies.

I hope to get back to Le Reve very soon! I’d love to try breakfast or lunch there next. Or maybe just go for dessert and coffee sometime.

Le Rêve Patisserie & Café
7610 Harwood Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
(414) 778-3333

Brunch at Blue’s Egg

I finally got to Blue’s Egg in Milwaukee today and it was with a bunch of lovely Milwaukee area bloggers!

From left to right: Inger, Alysha, Erica, me and Molly.

Karis is not pictured here, but she was with us too! She was nice enough to take this photo and share it with everyone.

I had tried going to Blue’s before (twice in fact) and the wait was always so long! In fact, Karis and I met there at 9 a.m. today to get our names down on the waiting list for a 10 a.m. brunch time. I think it probably is best to get there right when they open, around 7 a.m.!

I had a Red Stag Cinnamon Cider cocktail and it was tasty! 4 out of the 6 of us had this drink!

I ordered one of the daily specials, which was a raspberry crepe with a side and I chose fresh fruit.

Next time I go to Blue’s Egg, I want to get there early, try something savory instead of sweet and have a latte. I am already looking forward to my next brunch there!

Oh and it might have been packed today because it was recently voted Best Breakfast in Milwaukee according to OnMilwaukee.com.

Blue’s Egg
317 N. 76th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53213
(414) 299-3182
http://www.bluesegg.com

New scarf and Beans & Barley

After being sick all week, we finally got out of the house today and had some fun at Doors Open Milwaukee. More on that in a separate post.

I barely did anything yesterday because I pulled a muscle in my chest/back from coughing. Luckily, I felt much better when I woke up today and it only hurts a little. This virus is not leaving my body and it’s maddening.

I was sporting a new infinity scarf from yala designs today…it’s made of viscose from bamboo and super soft! The only thing I will have to be careful about is washing it and the other items I ordered. They say to launder with gentle soap, but don’t consider Woolite a gentle detergent.

Craig and I took a break from Doors Open mid-afternoon and went to Beans & Barley for lunch.

I wanted to choose something I normally wouldn’t make at home or find anywhere else, so I ordered a Walnut Burger.

Here’s the description from their menu: A seasoned walnut & cheese patty from Wisconsin’s Historic Trempealeau Hotel. We serve the burger on a rustic sandwich bun, with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato.

It was really delicious and a moist veggie burger. I loved the bun as well.

We both couldn’t finish our meals and decided to bring half home. I loved that the boxes they gave us are reusable.

We hadn’t been to Beans & Barley for a couple of years, so it was good to be back. I always enjoy checking out the attached market too.

Beans & Barley Market & Cafe
1901 East North Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202

(414) 278-7878 Customer Service / Voice

Dunkin’ disappointment

Last week, I went to the Dunkin’ Donuts closest to my work to use my free birthday drink coupon, courtesy of DD rewards. Most birthday rewards coupons I receive rarely result in any problems. Unfortunately, this one did and I wanted to share my experience, especially since it wasn’t a positive one.

When you sign up for their rewards program, you get one drink free and then another coupon for a free medium drink for your birthday. The coupons look like this.

source

My coupon explicitly stated that I would receive one free medium drink of my choice, including a coolatta. The coolatta was the most expensive drink on the menu and something I normally wouldn’t order, so I wanted to try it.

As I presented the coupon to the cashier and asked if the Oreo Coolatta would be fine to order, she said no but proceeded to scan my coupon anyway. I explained that I wouldn’t want the drink if that particular location would not honor it. I did explain that the coupon said that a coolatta was included. She looked at the coupon and said no it was not. Then another DD worker did the same and said it was not included. I had to point out explicitly where it said it was included and then they finally believed me. I don’t like it when companies don’t pay attention to the details on their coupons or when their staff doesn’t really read them.

I guess the main problem came from not being able to cancel out my drink order with the coupon and get the register to recognize it as being a free item. The cashier said fine, they’d honor it, but it had to be a small drink, not a medium. At this point, I just wanted to redeem the coupon and get out of there, knowing I’d never return to that location again. I won’t return there not because I was embarrased or anything, but because their service hasn’t been friendly on more than three occasions.

I got an Oreo Coolatta, which was super sweet and indulgent. I was drinkin’ dunkin for the last time from that particular location.

I apologize for the rant. I did write Dunkin’ Donuts and complained on their site. I still haven’t received a reply.

Also, I don’t want it to sound like I am ungrateful for getting this free item. I am saying that the service at that location needs to change because they are turning customers away.

All I want is for others to learn from my negative experience. Get your free Starbucks drink for your birthday instead. I don’t have problems with that birthday coupon and the staff there is always friendly. Plus I like their coffee better anyway. 🙂

Any readers have a similar negative experience they want to vent about? Sometimes it just feels good to get it out! I normally am not that defiant in such a situation, but I had had enough.

Anvil Pub & Grille in Cedarburg

It was my birthday on Friday and since I was furloughed for one last day this summer, I went to Cedarburg with my mom. For all of you non-Wisconsinites out there, Cedarburg is about 20 minutes north of Milwaukee.

I’ll recap what we saw there in another post, but for now, will talk about the great place we ate lunch at: Anvil Pub & Grille.

We got there at the right time because the place was filling up after we sat down. It was quite popular!

The interior of the restaurant was cozy and historic feeling. The building is a restored blacksmith shop from the 19th century, so a history nerd like me loved it.

The patio looked nice to sit on too, but it was a hot and sunny day, so we passed on that opportunity.

Since it was my birthday, I needed to celebrate with a cider at lunch. I chose a strongbow and since this isn’t as sweet as other ciders, I need to buy it more often. My mom is normally a beer drinker and hadn’t had cider in a while, so I made her try it. She enjoyed the flavor too.

Lunch was a veggie forge sandwich and it was really yummy! I splurged and got fries, which were fantastic. Normally I like to get something healthier as a side, but hey, you only live once.

Mom got a blackened salmon salad and said the salmon was delicious! The salad also had mango and avocado in it.

I would definitely return to Anvil Pub & Grille next time I am in Cedarburg. It made for a unique and tasty lunch spot.

Anvil Pub & Grille
N70W6340 Bridge Road
Cedarburg, WI 53012
(262) 376-2163
http://anvilpubandgrille.com/

Zoo a la carte

Craig and I went to the Milwaukee County Zoo for their Zoo a la carte last night. I had always wanted to go to the event, so I was excited when we got free tickets.

We had to buy our food tickets and we spent $20 total in the end. Each ticket was worth 50 cents and most bigger options ranged from 6 to 11 tickets.

The first item I tried was a slider from Burke’s Lakeside. I eat mostly vegetarian, but I had been craving eating a bit of meat all week, so a slider was the perfect amount of beef for me.

We had a little company nearby.

Next, Craig and I shared pasta nachos from Joey Buona’s. I was interested in trying this because it sounded unique and not something we would normally get or make.

Craig got a burger from Charcoal Grill and I grabbed us a strawberry lemonade from Alladin.

We let our stomachs settle by taking the sky glider ride above the crowds and animals.

The tiger in this photo was roaring constantly. We felt so bad for him being stuck in such a small pen.

We visited some of the animals, like the big cats, which were adorable.

This giraffe was staring right at me. So cute!

The funniest thing we saw was this elephant who was attempting to eat a bush across the moat. Naughty! At one point, I thought he was going to fling poop at us too, so I stayed back.

I ended the night with a Simma’s bakery chocolate cupcake with cream cheese filling and chocolate chips. It satisfied my sweet tooth!

The a la carte was packed and a very popular event overall. The negative aspects (in my opinion) would include the fact that they had a few chain restaurants (Applebee’s, Wongs Wok) and most of the food featured wasn’t that healthy overall. It was also hard for me to find vegetarian options. If I hadn’t just eaten at a Middle Eastern restaurant last weekend, I probably would have eaten a falafel from Alladin. Whole Foods was there and they had some of the healthiest options, but I didn’t feel like getting anything from the menu they featured.

AJ Bombers Milwaukee

We wanted to try a new restaurant when celebrating Craig’s birthday this past Thursday, so we headed down to AJ Bombers on Water Street in downtown Milwaukee.

I liked that we could fill out our own orders.

We played one round of “soccer” and realized we weren’t too good at it.

We had some peanuts to start.

Then our cheese curds arrived and we gobbled them up pretty quickly!

Craig ordered the Milwaukee burger, which was on the Food Wars show.

I had the veggie burger on a pretzel roll.

To me, the interior was very manly. Peanuts on the floor, peanut filled “bombs” that fly through the air, etc.

Craig and I both really liked the food we ordered and would return to AJ Bombers. This mostly vegetarian might even try a hamburger next time!

AJ Bombers
1247 N Water Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 221-9999
info@ajbombers.com

Feasting for Fido

On Thursday night, Karis, her friend Jen and I went to Feasting for Fido at the Milwaukee Humane Society.

Jen and Karis

Karis and I

We paid $50 in advance for our tickets (they were $60 at the door) and they included unlimited wine and water, two tickets for beer and/or soda and all the samples of delicious vegetarian foods and desserts you wanted.

Restaurants that offered samples included: Blue’s Egg, Cafe Manna, Cafe Perrin, Honey Pie Cafe, Juniper 61, Le Reve, Tess, Sven’s European Cafe, Ristorante Bartolotta, Simma’s Bakery, The Fast Foodie, The Green Kitchen, The Rumpus Room, Zaffiro’s Pizzeria and Bar, Umami Moto, Meritage, Mr. B’s and Maxie’s Southern Comfort.

The event took place indoors and outdoors. After trying some Stone’s Throw winery Merlot, we headed inside to check out the eats and the animals.

Le Reve was offering an array of beautiful and appetizing desserts.

I chose this passion fruit one and it was to die for!

If I could have chosen two kittens to bring home with me, it would have been these two guys (or girls). I have a thing for gray and white kitties with blue eyes, especially when they look this adorable sleeping.

I am definitely a cat person. The dogs were adorable, but I melt when I see the kittens or even the really fat cat available for adoption.

Outside, we found the eventual winner of best food sample, Meritage. I really enjoyed their watermelon, strawberry and feta salad.

Cafe Manna had some of my favorites available–limonade, a lentil burger and they had bone shaped cookies for humans!

We all ended the evening with beers. Karis and I tried the Hinterland Door County Cherry Wheat and it was tasty! Jen had the Glacial Trail IPA.

I’m so grateful to Karis for asking if I wanted to go to this event! I really loved everything about it–giving money to help animals, the vegetarian food and the setup.

Up next is a Feasting for Felix at the Ozaukee campus on August 9th. I think we’ll attend that one next year!