Breakfast: Loveless Cafe Granola, Appleton, WI
Review – I just wanted to take this opportunity to mention the Loveless Cafe again. While I was in the aforementioned gift shop (hi Lele and Joanie! Thanks for the nice e-mail! We did our own little happy dance when we got it!), I picked up a package of the Loveless’ homemade granola. I am VERY particular about my granola, as Patrick can attest to. I don’t like it flavored with a lot of cinnamon and I staunchly oppose the addition of raisins. With no raisins visible, I picked up a bag and decided to try it. I had my first bowl this morning and it was delicious! Very sweet and full of nuts (the way I like it). I was very excited to be able to bring the Loveless home with me!
Lunch: Fox River Brewing Company, Appleton, WI
Review – Patrick’s Mom and I stopped her for some sustenance while out shopping today at the mall. I had been there once before and enjoyed it, so I was excited to try it again. Before lunch, we were brought a small loaf of hot bread and a plate of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. We quickly polished off nearly the whole loaf before our meals arrived! The bread was delicious and the oil and cheese were a perfect complement.
Our lunches arrived quickly and looked very appetizing. Jean had the strawberry spinach salad, which was on a neat triangle shaped plate and very colorful. My portabella mushroom sandwich was on a squishy seasoned focaccia bun and was hot through the middle. There were roasted peppers and cheese on the sandwich, making for quite a flavorful bite. The fries were also very tasty, as you would expect in a brew pub. Jean said her salad was very tasty as well.
We left the brewery with happy tummies, fueled for an afternoon of shopping.
Dinner: Fusion, Downtown Appleton, WI
Review – Heeding the many rave reviews we had heard about this new spot in downtown Appleton, we arrived at Fusion with high hopes. The concept of the restaurant is very cool – Asian fusion cuisine and decor with an entire storefront that opens like a giant garage door onto bustling College Avenue. Okay, maybe bustling is a bit of an exaggeration, being that this is Appleton, but every now and again someone does stroll by. In any case, in a place where the high temperature in summer tends to hover between 75 and 80, this restaurant seemed like a necessary addition to the Ave.
We apparently weren’t the only ones who thought so. The entire fly and bee population of the American Midwest was hoping to get in on the action at this new hot spot the night we were there. As we sat waiting (and waiting, but we’ll get to that in a moment), at our table near the door/window, we felt almost constant stinging sensations on all our exposed parts. It was unfortunate, really, because the idea was a good one, but a super-industrial strength bug zapper might be a good investment if this spot wants to stay open.
Trying to ignore the bugs, we ordered our meals. The menu looked promising, and everybody had a bit of difficulty deciding between all the appealing options. Before any of the food arrived, we were served bread with dipping oil. Setting down the basket, our waiter lethargically apologized for the small amount of bread in the basket, saying he was waiting on more and would bring it out as soon as possible. I didn’t realize this meant he needed to visit the Wonderbread headquarters in Kansas City to get this other loaf, but that is about how long it took for the next bit of bread to arrive at our table. Meanwhile, we made do with the four slivers of bread and dab of olive oil he left us (literally one squirt of oil and one of vinegar was left for the entire table).
Soups and bruschetta arrived and got our minds off the bread. Jean, Patrick, and I all had the lobster bisque, while Don opted for the appetizer double header combo of bruschetta followed by crab cakes. The lobster bisque had a great flavor and big chunks of lobster; however, the luke warm temperature distracted us from fully enjoying it. I may mention at this point that we were among maybe four other tables dining in the restaurant at that time. There was no apparent reason for the food to be delivered anything less than piping hot, or for there to be a shortage of bread at half past five. This would remain a puzzlement throughout the meal.
After what seemed like an eternity, our entrees arrived (along with Don’s crabcakes). There was again a temperature issue. The only thing hot on my plate was the “stuffing” of the haddock, but I think that was just luck, as it was the only thing not exposed on the plate. The rest had clearly been left to chill while our waiter waited on all his… oh wait, he didn’t have any other tables. The flavor of the fish and the stuffing was okay, but nothing to rave about. I felt like they were trying to do a few too many things with the food instead of concentrating on one way to make it taste good. The mashed potatoes accompanying the entrees were high on presentation and low on everything else. Although piped onto the plate in a fancy, swirly mountain, they tasted like instant and were, like everything else, barely this side of warm. Bleh.
As quickly as we could, we swatted our ankles one final time and bid adieu to Fusion and headed to one spot that never lets us down… Dairy Queen.