Dining with the "He's Just Too Marvelous" GourMario!

 

Memoirs of a Geezer

  

Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!

This Episode:         

Dining with the "He's Just Too Marvelous" GourMario!  

Why must they pile stuff on top of stuff so that you can't see what's under there?

My faithful devotees may likely have heard about or read my CV...  To wit, regarding my reputation as a gourmet and a gourmand, with widespread renown for my taste in and knowledge of fine cuisine.   NONE OF IT IS TRUE!  (I don't know what the hell they've been hearing or reading!  False information and rumors do circulate, after all!)

However, as a person neck- or follicles-deep in the morass of GeezerHood, I have had some experience with restaurant choices and fine dining; ...none of which has had any lasting effect on my appreciation or awareness of fine cuisine and the many fine restaurants known for serving said fine cuisine!........  (Possibly some of my senses have gone afoul!)  

Here comes the "However Part":   I do have some favorite dining establishments, and I'm certain my loyal readers and followers are eager, even anxious, to have them shared

Benji is Yummy and very
Affordable!  Highly Desirable!

via this writing!  Right?  Aint it so?  

Used to be a lot of these in our fine
community!  What happened,
fer Pity sake!

I don't know what ever happened to the "Ham n' Eggers," for example.  (I think I had unlimited credit in at least two of them!  Or was it Jack R. I'm thinking of...!)  I thoroughly enjoy Benji's!  Oh, and thank goodness Colectivo has come to its culinary senses and resurrected Baked Oatmeal and its fruity accompaniments!  My favorite edible dish at that establishment!  I normally request Steamed Skim on the side...  I like to dip my spoon it its foam prior to scooping a glob of oatmeal!...

  (This is just a probably unwanted aside:)  My    dear old mother used to make me eat certain portions of wilted and gloopy slop...  like canned spinach, soggy cereal with hot cocoa, and the aforementioned would form a most unpalatable skim on top.  Oh yes, and soggy potato chip casseroles!  I gagged a lot in my distant youth, still do of course...

Tell your Mom to avoid
canned spinach at
all costs!  Horrible stuff!
You could gag a lot!!

My children and grandchildren have urged the family -- all of us -- on occasion to sample certain trendy purveyors of fine food...  E.g.   Room Service; Lebnani House (shouldn't there be an "r" in that word?!); Naf Naf; I do like the various Shawarma House locations; Stella's; Zarletti; The
Capital Grille (Why must they put an "e" at the end?); Bartolotta's (various...  Had a free lunch at one of them...  That was satisfactory!); Mason Street Grill...  (Nothing wrong with any of them!  The better, more highly regarded ones are just kind of wasted on my undistinguished palate!)

I do fancy The Knick, and have enjoyed its fare on a few occasions.  Same with the Cafe at the Pfister, also Tre Rivali.  I've never dined at Bacchus, possibly (possibly??!!  Great Plumpy Aubergines!  Very little doubt!...) a bit beyond my / our financial wherewithal.  (Perhaps you'd care to verify with SweetHeart!!??)

Interior Photo of Old Town
Serbian Gourmet House!
Very Yummy Fare!

Oh yeah!  I should mention Old Town Serbian Gourmet       House, and Three Brothers.  SweetHeart, Joan, our daughters, certain friends and relations fancy both, and they have been our default locations on holidays and other festive occasions.  Wonderful stuff...  Some like the stuffed courgettes and some prefer the stuffed peppers! 

I really enjoy breakfast foods, anytime.  There's a number of fine breakfast houses in Milwaukee and vicinity.  (I mean...  How far does "Vicinity" actually travel?  I mean, Union Grove, Sturdevant, Caledonia, Cleghorn, Foothill...??)

Consider, for example, Toast, North Avenue Grill, Uncle Wolfie's, Blue's Egg, Melrose, Benny's, Comet Cafe, Honey Pie, Sweet
Diner, National Cafe, Anodyne Coffee...  I tend, lately, to prefer Scrambled Eggs with Onion, raw or cooked...  doesn't matter!  In
Turkey, I always used to order an Onion Omelette!  You know, in the "Chow Line." The cooks got to know me well!  They even became quite fond of me...  Oh...  until I started requesting a Three-Minute egg!

(Special Note of Dedication:    To SweetHeart, Bethie (who whenever I mention a restaurant or cafe I'd never heard of announces she's been there six or seven times!), Alie (she's only been there once or twice!), our Beloved Grandchildren, all of whom are far more gourmand, gourmet-ish or "Foodie" than ever I am or shall be!  Love to all, and may all of your / their dining experiences be delectable, delicious and memorable...  Mostly!!  Oh...  And hardly anyone experiences a blotchy tunic...  hardly!!)

(Humbly Submitted 09-09-2025 by Joel K!)