1. At work this week, we ended up talking EXTENSIVELY about skin care in the cold. Some folks took vastly different steps to ensure proper skin care in the winter months in Wisconsin, while others simply did the same things. Do you do anything different? 2. I had a dream about winning the lottery. Two questions, do you think dreams have meaning? If you one the lottery, and had to buy one building in Wausau, what building would it be? You can only buy one building. You can see my blog entry about lottery winning in my other blog here. 3. Do you keep a blog here on Citizen Wausau? Do you have a blog elsewhere? 4. With all the talk about money, loss of jobs, and all of that, do you feel that you have less money or your money has less power these days? Are you concerned for your future? 5. In honor of Jim Rosenberg (this is a little old school), would you rather be stuck out in the sea in a row boat or a small sailing skiff? 6. For Christmas this year I was given a fishing pole. My first one. I realized I do not really have any hobbies. Do you have any hobbies? My friend Pat Peckham turns wood and makes gorgeous pens. What do you do? 7. Do you think monkeys are really stronger than people? I mean, have you ever seen a fistfight between a monkey and a person? Or have you ever seen a monkey in the gym? How can we really know? 8. This past weekend I lept from the wagon and drank a significant amount of wine with an old friend. It was shockingly cleansing to be drunk. At one point I lost my hearing, and that seems bad. But, do you think that from time to time, we as people need to do something just to shake the weight off of our souls or our shoulders? How do you do that? And for the record, I liked both Shiraz and Chardonnay.
Voice the official Citizen Wausau blog
1. Do you have a “bucket” list? A number of things that you want to do before you “kick the bucket”? I don’t, and I’m not sure what that says about me. Perhaps it means that I won’t be disappointed in my twilight years by the whole of my life’s accomplishments. Perhaps it means that I have a stagnant personality. I’m not sure. My list would look like this: Write at least two books. Raise happy children.
2. Did you have a favorite TV show that you loved as a child? As a young child, I was devoted to Mister Rogers and Reading Rainbow. Later on ALF, The Cosby Show and Growing Pains were staples. During high school, Friends and Frasier floated my boat.
3. What are your top 3 favorite books? We have a book critic now at Citizen Wausau, and I like the idea of bringing the literary perspective to the community dialogue. My top three books would include The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera, The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell and The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. They aren’t masterpieces, but they are touchstones for my life. I go back and reread them time and time again, savoring the words and the stories for different reasons. The golden ring silences of Kundera, the flabbergasted British countryside castle comedy of Cannell and the cherishing of memories and love in Pilcher’s Porthkerris.
4. Did you and your father share a favorite activity? From an early age, my dad would challenge me with logic problems. We’d solve them together. I amused him by solving word searches faster than he thought possible, and we would spend silent hours together solving 5000-piece jigsaw puzzles.
5. What would you do if you had an entire day to yourself to spend as you wish? Let’s give you 500 dollars in your pocket as mad money. What would you do? I’d have breakfast at the Mint, spend a couple hours in a lounge chair in the library with the latest fiction release, paint pottery at the Clay Corner, and have lunch at 2510 with Death by Chocolate for dessert. After lunch, I’d snuggle down with an old movie (probably Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House) and take a nap under a sumptuous quilt. After the nap, I’d get a massage at Natural-Care Massage in Schofield followed by a mini shopping spree at JoAnn Fabrics. Dinner would probably be at Wright’s Place with a lighthearted movie afterwards: just me, a large Coke and a bucket of buttery popcorn that would inevitably give me a tummy ache.
We found this on Facebook. Looks like the line-up is done. Thoughts?
“Wausau Area Events Presents the 18th Annual Big Bull Falls Blues Festival!
Appearing Live…
Hounds Tooth
Otis & The Alligators
Shannon Curfman
RJ Mischo
Albert Cummings
Liz Manderville & The Blue Points
Smokin Joe Kubek
Tab Benoit”
I love books. If there is one thing that is a constant in my life, it is books. They have been in my life as long as I can remember, and I can turn to them during any condition or mood. I began reading words at the age of three (thank you Sesame Street!) and have not stopped. I love the smell of books, the feel of their cool covers and soft pages and the look of their comfortable, worn bindings. I am Katie, a lover of literature, a student of books and a citizen of Wausau.
I am somewhat of a book snob, usually opting for things on top 10 lists or books that have received stellar reviews, or simply choosing a classic. Having studied English for years, I find I usually can’t go wrong with a classic, with my favorite authors being F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Hardy. But such high standards require a break from time to time, right? I will try to read something relevant to Wausau each week: a selection from a library book club, Janke’s pick of the week, a book from a local author or any suggestions from Wausau locals.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
I picked this out after hearing much about it. In magazines, from friends, at bookstores, on Oprah. Because if you’re going to read a book, Oprah should dictate which one. Plus, I’ve been to Italy, and I like to eat and love. And sometime pray.
The story chronicles the author’s travels, beginning at age 34. After a difficult divorce, she decides to travel for a year, spending four months each in Italy, India and Indonesia. The purpose of the visit to Italy is simple pleasure by savoring all of the country’s delights: food, wine, relaxation and good conversation. This is a fun segment of the book, reading of her struggles to learn the language and her affinity and overuse/misuse of the beautiful word attraversiamo, meaning “let’s cross over,” her connections with the locals, her touring of historic and well-loved areas.
Then it’s on to India to achieve communion with the divine at a sacred ashram. This section lagged for me. The beauty and warmth of Italy is a tough act to follow, and I found this section to be less interesting. Finally, she travels to Indonesia to achieve balance. She studies with a jolly medicine man and is charmed by a local and finally achieves some serenity with herself.
I enjoyed the book for the most part, but at times, the author struck me as the typical spoiled American. Though she doesn’t do anything too inconsiderate, she does devote many chapters to complaining about her marriage and her subsequent depression, and the book is littered with “I.” Almost all situations, comments and anecdotes point to herself or her personal problems, and I would have liked to see her view widen more as she visited these exotic locales.
Through all of these travels, the most interesting concept to me was a conversation she had with an Italian, where he suggested that “Maybe you and Rome just have different words. Don’t you know that the secret to understanding a city and its people is to learn- what is the word on the street? Every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people’s thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever the majority thought might be- that is the word of the city, and if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don’t really belong there.” He went on to claim that Rome’s word is SEX, that Vatican City’s is POWER, and the author chimed in that New York City’s is ACHIEVE, while her Swedish friend said that Stockholm’s word would be CONFORM.
Which got me to thinking, what is Wausau’s word? I think of something like GROWTH or CREATIVITY, and I feel I fit in here. What do you think Wausau’s word is? Is yours different than Wausau’s?
1. The subject of this question is Valentine’s Day and chocolate. You know those heart shaped boxes that, if you’re in a relationship this time of year, you’re almost required by law to buy for your sweetheart? Some of them have the little cheat- sheet guide telling you what each piece of chocolate is, but some don’t. Personally, I like the surprise – the guide takes the fun out of it. So, if life is like a box of chocolates, like Forrest Gump’s mom says, do you want the cheat sheet, or do you want to take your chances and be surprised by what filling you get?
2. And speaking of psychics, have you ever gone to one? Or had your aura read? Or had your astrological chart done? Do you believe in that stuff? Can anybody see the future for you?
3. I have a navy blue work smock that has an embroidered picture of a tow motor and the name “Woody.” I bought it at an estate sale because it spoke to me for some unknown reason. I’ve never worn it but I find contentment in owning it. What is the strangest article of clothing that you own? Do you wear it?
4. How much would someone have to pay you to eat a spider — let’s say a Daddy Longlegs — I mean your absolute minimum price? Would your price go down if you could put ketchup or mayo on it?
5. Serious question. We have a new president of our country, and our country is struggling. I’m a little concerned about us, and I hope he knows what he’s doing. If you, an average citizen, had five minutes with him, would you have some advice or direction for him? What would that be?
Dino and I appear to be on some kind of odd similar wavelength. Such similarity is not unusual for life long friends, but we only really casually know each other and although there is mutual respect, we really have nothing in common. Nothing except our thoughts on what we wanted to write about this week.
We weren’t in perfect sync: the 400 block was not my chosen topic. Instead, I wanted to give an outsider’s thoughts on the discussion as to the work needed on Third Street downtown.
Most of you would not consider me an outsider. However, I do not own or manage property in that area that most define as downtown. I also do not spend much of my time there. The closest I come to spending quality time downtown is the occasional weekend brunch at The Mint, catching a show at the Grand, or spending way too much time at the Courthouse (they seriously need to give me an office there). However downtown matters to me. It is a piece of the pie that is the Greater Wausau Metro Area. And all of those pieces need to work together and need to succeed together. So if one piece of this pie is missing or is in need of attention, it has a pull not only on the entire city, but the entire Metro. (For me, the City of Wausau is not the whole, it is only a part of the whole.)
In a nutshell, here is the current debate. The City has determined that Third Street from Jefferson to Grant needs work. The businesses along that three block stretch of street fear that closing that street for construction will negatively impact their ability to be profitable. Hence the discussion.
The businesses of downtown have already faced difficulty. My wife, the infamous “Mrs. Rent” who works downtown, jokes with her family back in Oklahoma that when they come to visit, it is okay if they don’t learn the streets of downtown because there are always one or two important ones closed for something, and every few months, the streets that are closed change places. Those from here just find a way. But for those new to the Wausau area or not used to urbanized downtowns, it can be a quite frustrating experience. Many of these businesses have had to do the best they could dealing with the construction when the pedestrian mall was re-opened to traffic, and most recently, when the construction of the Palladian made downtown navigation challenging for many. Many of these are niche businesses that will be the first to suffer from an economic downturn. They have somehow survived a couple of years of construction, and now when they can least afford it, one more season of closed streets in front of their storefronts is on the schedule.
On the Wausau Daily Herald forum boards and article comments, people have questioned if the work is needed at all. They have questioned why the sidewalks and planters are included in the project. (This ties with Dino’s 400 block article because the south block of this project is one stretch of the 400 block, and the “final design” for that block could impact that part of this street construction project.) Someone commented about Third Street being so bad that you can use it to knock the frozen slush blocks off your car.
Being someone who doesn’t find myself downtown often, I didn’t remember what the problems with the sidewalks were, or what the planters even looked like. I drive a truck with a pretty stiff suspension. I get thrown around on 17th Avenue, but never Third Street. So, I took a walk downtown on Friday and took some pictures.
Third Street is in bad shape. Some of the worst areas are near intersections where manhole covers and storm water drains are. The sidewalks are in excellent shape, much better, in fact, than some of sidewalks I plow where if I am not paying attention, the blade on the tractor will hit the uneven surface and nearly throw me off. The planters are snow covered but are out of place with the great sidewalks. They are basically wood, made with 6×6 landscaping lumber, and are the things you would find used around a country home, not a city’s downtown with mostly stone construction.
While taking my walk, I stopped in the Main Street office and had a very brief discussion with Leah. I learned that the question isn’t if Third Street needs to be done, just does it have to be done in 2009, or can it be delayed one year, to 2010?
My thoughts: Yes it can. Although the street is in bad shape, for one more year, temporary patches can hold things together. Let us not forget the speeds that are driven on this street. The speed limit is 25, but I seldom do much more than 15, constantly stopping as people are pulling into and out of parking stalls. (As a matter of fact, a 15 mph speed limit on Third may not be a bad idea.) The sidewalks are just fine. No matter which year the street project is done, the sidewalks don’t need to be a part of it. However the planters have to go. With cosmetic fixes, they could make it one more year, but they do really look like crap.
Now as far as the improvements to the 400 Block, that is a whole other discussion, one that is far from being resolved. Maybe delaying the Third Street project one year will allow us to finally reach a consensus that, if we can’t all be happy with, we at least all can live with.
1. This week, 21 teachers from the Merrill School District were laid off. Until now, education, while hurting, has not yet seen some of the troubles experienced in the private sector. What are your thoughts about this? Should teachers be the last to go, or should they be subject to the same ups and downs the rest of the economy faces?
2. Speaking of education, Rasmussen College presented their plan to expand into Wausau. With them, they will bring jobs and the opportunity to earn a Bachelors Degree in Wausau. We currently support two other colleges in our community. Do we have room for more? What are your thoughts?
3. For as long as I can remember, the Badger State Games have taken place here in Wausau, yet I’ve never seen them. Have you? What keeps you away, or draws you in?
4. Next weekend is Valentine’s Day. Based on your experiences here in Wausau, what is the most ideally romantic night you can put together, using Wausau locations?
5. Finally, just because it’s been bothering me…I’ve been thinking about whether it’s possible for a band to get better when it loses key members. The only ones I can think of that I can make an argument for are: Van Halen (Roth to Hagar, and it’s arguable) & Sabbath (Dio to Ozzy). I’m sure there are more, but most likely, the band ambles towards obscurity (see: Styx and Journey).
6. And now, an encore question. What is the best encore you have ever seen at a music show? I think mine was the encore from the Elton John/ Billy Joel show I saw in Milwaukee County Stadium in August of 1994.
I want to be up front about this. I have very little knowledge about the budget processes of government agencies. We are in the midst of some hand wringing at the federal level, and being a fan of the local budget, I was looking through the local meeting minutes regarding the 400 Block.
So, I started asking some questions. I really was unsure of the nature of the 400 Block anymore, and as such, I needed to revisit it. I first had to remember how long ago this all started. Did you know the first submission of a plan was three years ago? This plan was put together for the city, by the city, and THEN sent out to consultants. A Common Council subcommittee that worked with the Parks Department put together a plan for the block. A proof of working concept.
I want to state that again. The subcommittee worked with employees of the City of Wausau, people who are professionals in the park and recreation area, who work here, who are already on the city payroll, and they all put together a plan. In that, they had a plan, a vision, a goal, an idea, a concept of what people who live in the city would want, drafted by people who live and work in the City of Wausau. According to a source within the Park and Rec department, the rough cost of said design was between 600 and 800 grand. For sake of discussion here, let us put a thumbtack in 800 thousand dollars, simply for discussion sake.
After that, the City sent the design that our in-house parks professional did out to consultants. It is fair to say that this consultant or firm got paid for their work. To reiterate, it appears that someone, an employee of the city, worked with the City Council to come up with a plan for the 400 Block. The Council Subcommittee was involved, and they approved it. Then, the Council approved it. So there was a lot of approval by this point. Then, after this wave of approval, it went to a consultant. Sure, we can use the word CONCEPTUAL DESIGN all we want, like they do in the minutes, but it appears that everyone liked the idea. The plan seemed to go to a consultant to get polished, maybe transferred into a technical rendering. I trust that there must be concrete reasons like liability or something for a design to be sent to others, a design agreed on by the council and developed by the people who would be building it.
So, it is my reading of this story that now the plan has once again returned. This time the price tag is $907,500. This comes from a man named Terry Kittson from Becher-Hoppe. According to minutes from a committee meeting, Mr. Kittson says that the cost could go to $1,357,500 with improvements.
I asked the source at the Parks department what these additional costs were. They made mention of a cover for the stage, a sound system and other items. So, it is my understanding that when the media talks about pork in appropriations bill, it comes down to adding items into a useful and needed appropriation bill that might be seen by some as extra spending. Bridges to nowhere towers to celebrate obscure historical figures.
I am sure that someone needs all these items that have been added. But without a proper accounting of them, as they do not appear in the minutes of the committee meeting, how are we to know what they are? Are we to take it on faith that the committee is not buying a Corvette or espresso makers for their whole family? One of the ideas brought forth in the video played at City Council meetings is transparency, and this seems to be a little bit foggy.
I also have a question about the representation on the Ad Hoc committee. It is my understanding the largest use of the 400 Block is the Concerts on the Square that are put on by the City Pages. Yet, no one from the City Pages is represented at these meetings. In full disclosure, I do freelance for the City Pages, but am not a staff member. Would it not make sense to include the largest user of the square?
In a personal note, it appears that Sherry Abitz has reversed her “supporter of the teens” role. In this meeting she highlights a need to have anti-skateboard measures on the railings. In fairness, most skateboarders are teens. I question if this is another way for the committee created by Janet Herring to ban downtown skateboarding to revitalize itself. I surely hope not. There is no need to single out a group, skateboarders, in advance and design something with anti-skateboard measures. It is less than inviting to read a city councilperson make such a point. What shall be done to ban fast moving bicycles? Or skydivers from landing here?
The 400 Block is a community gem. The Concerts on the Square are the shining beacon showing the true nature, and openness of our community. Nice people and families getting together, sitting around talking and laughing with kids playing, and some folks playing music. This is the utopian idea that we need to keep going. This is the best of Wausau.
This long, drawn out process is painful to read about, painful to listen to, and even more painful to think about. No one will ever make everyone happy, no governing body could ever achieve that, but what they can achieve is inclusion and transparency. In this case, a little explanation and frugality would not hurt. We have gone from $800,000 to over $1.3 million. In today’s world, we need to pursue the answer as to why. Are we spending ourselves into a hole? Should we not put money into the bank, instead of taking it out?
I don’t ask for much when I go to a restaurant. Clean surroundings, atmosphere, service and quality (and quantity) of the food are what we all look for when frequenting a new place to spend a night out. Many times these adventures turn into nightmares, some into an enjoyment. Keeping an open mind was essential when I went to my first place to review, a very difficult task for me because I do it for a living. It would be easy to pick on every little detail, to only want what I prefer. I may not like the way a chef puts roasted garlic in his mashed potatoes; someone else may think that those taters are manna from Heaven. I just have to be honest and can pass along as much information as possible but in the long run, you’ll have to find out for yourselves.
I balked at first. Going to a place that is out in the middle of the boonies just didn’t sound like a good time to me but I reluctantly threw on some nice clothes, hopped in the car with a friend and left for R Place Supper Club in Wittenberg or should I say Eland. The conversation was pleasant and getting out of the house was a definite plus, although I found that five minutes into the white knuckled road trip, we pretty much had nothing in common. I think we both made the best of the situation and had a few laughs along the way.
After a 40 minute drive, or as she proclaimed “30 minutes plus 10,” we pulled into the relatively full parking lot. I found this a bit odd because of the low temperatures that night but if the restaurant is busy on a cold night, they must be a offering something very special. From the outside, R Place Supper Club doesn’t look any different than any other supper club I’ve seen, and the inside was decorated in what you’d expect of a nice, off the beaten path family supper club. When I went through that door, I was actually a bit nervous. This may just be an article that will only be seen by a relatively small amount of people, but this is these people’s livelihood. Can I trash them for something and be a reason they lose customers or not get new ones? I’ll just have to force myself to be as honest as I can, I suppose.
Seating ourselves at the bar, I figured a couple of drinks might loosen me up a little and get rid of those jitters. Mission accomplished, not in the George Bush II sense though. I noticed that all the customers were seated at the bar area before given a table, fine with me however not everyone would agree. While at the comfortable bar (where smoking is allowed) which was festooned with many neon lights, mirrors and rustic art … pretty much a given for a supper club setting … we were given our menus and told the featured dishes of the evening were Sicilian Meatballs with Pasta or Pecan Encrusted Flounder with a Red Pepper Sauce, both worthy of selection just by the description alone.
The rest of the menu was basic fare with a couple of exceptions such as frog legs and King Crab and the prices were very reasonable. Steaks in the $16-$20 range and an extensive offering of seafood items such as lobster, salmon, scallops, perch, bluegill and shrimp were in the forefront. The Surf and Turf option in the $20 range is probably the best price that I’ve seen for a long time. For the not so hungry, the appetizers and sandwich offerings were mostly a basic variety of deep fat fried and grilled fare… also very reasonable in price. I saw no vegetarian selections.
There were a few people still waiting for a table when we arrived but the wait was no longer than 15 minutes or so. Part of that may stem from the fact that there was a rather large party that got there before us. That gave me a bit of time to check out the place a bit more, so I concentrated on the cleanliness of the establishment (saw absolutely nothing wrong in that area whatsoever) as well as the friendliness and helpfulness of the serving staff. I was treated as though I was a regular patron and they had known me for years. Many restaurants could learn a lesson from this staff. Helpful, smiling, attentive and courteous. All you could ask for in service. Our waitress went out of her way to tell us that the larger party would be served first and there could be a short delay in our food. At some places I have been to, this is not done on a regular basis. Kudos to her for that bit of courtesy. I’d love to mention her but I am just terrible when it comes to remembering names. Hell, half of the time I can’t remember my own.
There was a salad bar that my dinner companion visited but I chose not to get anything from it. I wanted to fill up on the entree itself so I passed. Again pretty much basic fare, well presented and clean. There was a kettle of chili to warm the bones while our food was being prepared, however the large group must have gotten to it before we did, seeing that it was mostly gone. Obviously, it must have been very good so next time I’ll have to check it out.
The focal point of the table area was a beautiful fireplace unfortunately decorated with a Christmas wreath with lights. This would have been fine a few weeks earlier, but I am a bit of a dork for these kinds of things, and the decorations should have been taken down to show off that nice brick fireplace. Didn’t care much for the plastic poinsettias on the table either but they were small and unobtrusive so it didn’t bother me as much I guess. There was ample seating that easily could seat a group of 25-30 people comfortably for which I imagine reservations should be made for accommodations.
Now, down to the nitty gritty… the food. I had the Pecan Encrusted Flounder with the Red Pepper Sauce and my dinner companion ordered a rib eye steak medium rare. There were a couple of problems that could easily be corrected but overall it was what I expected. My entree consisted of two fillets of flounder that were tasty but lacked a bit of citrus that would have really set this fish off, and had they placed a bit of lemon on my plate, it would have sufficed. The red pepper sauce was more of a coulis than a sauce and I have to admit, I felt that it was the best part of the meal and would have taken a quart home with me. Beef based with three different peppers, a bit of garlic and spiced to perfection, it pulled the dish together quite nicely. When I got my plate, I was amazed that it consisted of the fillets, sauce and California Blend vegetables (that had a bit too much white wine for my taste, others may disagree) but no starch. Pasta, potatoes or rice would have made this dish noteworthy; it fell a bit short without it. Presentation was nice but not overly artistic, but this is a supper club, not the Ritz. Like a popular saying on Top Chef, “It is what it is.”
Looking across the table at the medium rare steak, it seemed like she was having a problem with her choice. I saw right away that the middle was very rare, a common mistake with grilling nowadays. Cooks are seemingly afraid to overcook a steak so they under cook it by mistake. I’ve done it myself. She could have sent it back but declined to because she knew why I was there in the first place, and she probably didn’t want that to be a black mark against them. It really wasn’t a big deal to either of us, so she ate what she wanted and took the rest home to grease on later. Same thing I would have done years ago but now I carry a pocket digital thermometer with me when I get a steak while dining out. You can test your steak before you cut into it and it can be done without making a big scene. Please, if you are going to do this yourself, do it when there is nobody looking or else you appear to be the Village Idiot.
Steak temperatures are:
120-125 degrees for rare, 130-135 for medium rare, 140- 145 for medium well and 155-160 for well done. Insert the thermometer into the middle of the steak through the side and wait until the gauge stops. A dial thermometer will suffice but a digital one is more reliable. Remember that your steak will decrease in size the longer it is on the heat, so try not to complain that your well done 6oz. Filet Mignon is smaller than a 6oz. Filet that is medium rare.
The kitchen was manned by Chef Jeremy Looker, who has worked with Emeril Legasse, Wolfgang Puck and was previously employed at The Four Seasons, and Mike Pellagrino whom I have worked with in the past. Both are talented in their own right and bring their ideas to fruition in their cooking using no pre-packaged meals or ingredients as much as possible. Would I go back if I was in that neck of the woods again… absolutely.
R Place Supper Club is located on Highway 45, just a mile or two from the Ho Chunk Casino and is wheelchair accessible.
Recent Posts
-
What Price Van De Yacht
2
-
N2N Creates East Side Neighborhood
5
-
Big Bull Falls Blues Fest Lineup Announced
1
-
Trolley Apartments
43
-
Primary Election Results
3
Recent Discussion
-
Jim Rosenberg 6:09 am, March 19 on What Price Van De Yacht -
Saltpeter 9:44 am, March 18 on What Price Van De Yacht -
John H. Fischer 11:00 am, March 16 on N2N Creates East Side Neighborhood
-
thedbc 9:16 am, March 10 on N2N Creates East Side Neighborhood -
John H. Fischer 8:28 am, March 10 on N2N Creates East Side Neighborhood