Pancake Smackdown 2010: The Real Deal

All warm and fluffy, they're the ultimate winter comfort food. Drizzled in entirely synthetic Mrs. Butterworth's syrup, a pad of butter sliding lazily across the top of the stack, the common flapjack is one of the most innocuous things I can think of. Until SIX POUNDS of them are set in front of you...

Such was the scene at the Eatery on Farwell's Pancake Smackdown for Charity, where our own Andy competed against seven other valiant eaters for the coveted Butterworth Belt.

The full roster of competitive eaters is as follows:

• Pat Nettesheim - Guitars for Vets
• Andy *****  - BESTD Clinic
• Tim Cigelske - Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
• Dan Augustine - Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center
• Mike Beyers - Independence First
• Tim Panicucci - Celebrating Brad: A Tribute to Art and Life
• Phil Gerb - Brew City HDI
• Paul Fredrich - Transition Milwaukee

Andy and I had an awesome time, and got to hang out with a ton of our friends in the Food Blogosphere... something we don't get to do half as often as we like. A big shout out to our friends Paul and Lori from Burp! blog... it's always a blast, and we can't wait for the next Milwaukee Foodie Tweetup!

The full gallery of pictures from the even is available after the jump:

Pancake Smackdown

Also, a big shout-out to the Eatery's owner, Ryan and Social Media Guru David for putting this whole flapjack-stuffing fiasco together!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering... Eating Milwaukee came in Second Place which, as luck would have it, only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and eating competitions!

The Eatery on Farwell

It's really breathtaking how time gets away from us these days. It feels like only yesterday that summer was beginning to bloom, and we had all the time in the world. Now it's cold, it's been two weeks since we ate at The Eatery, and I'm sitting on a sunny Saturday afternoon looking out the window at bare trees and watching my very angry cat pace back and forth in front of his empty food dish. I'm hungry too, jerkface. We'll both eat when the blog gets done.

We were introduced to The Eatery, at least formally, at Burp!'s Gumbo Gitdown at the onset of October. We were a little surprised, but in a pleasant way, that the folks at The Eatery brought their andouille chicken chili, as opposed to gumbo, to the event, but I was happy to find out it was, at least, a regular menu item.

At GGD, we really enjoyed the chili, with one little gripe... the beans were crunchy. We weren't the only ones who observed this, so I'm fairly confident in saying it wasn't just my imagination. The flavors were great, the chive cream topping, despite its frightening institution-green color, was delightful, and they certainly brought enough -- ten full trays! -- but the beans were undercooked. I chalked it up to cooking a massive batch of something they probably normally did pot-by-pot. But more on that later.

The Eatery is located in a funky old brick building on Farwell which has housed a number of businesses over the past few years. Rumor has it that the location is cursed -- restrictions from the neighboring condo developments limit hours on the patio during the summer, thus stunting the potential of the location from becoming a high-class hangout. I'm not completely sold on this -- there's plenty of successful businesses on the East Side (and elsewhere) that don't have any patios at all and still are able to maintain a vibrant following... but a late-night patio certainly doesn't hurt, either...

Inside, the décor is spartan and a little disjointed. Walls of pumpkin and sage are dotted with black and white prints of vintage photos, and faux oiled-brass caged workshop lights hang next to dainty chandeliers. 

It's not that the design is bad... far from it. I guess I just couldn't help feeling a bit at sea about the whole thing. Is it supposed to feel a bit post-industrial loft-ish? That would explain the old work lights and the dark wood and ceiling. But what about the chandeliers and the conflicting color palette? (oh, I know. I'm getting a little detailed here. But really... I pulled out my color wheel! Sage and pumpkin are incompatible hues!). The bathrooms are lush, with floating glass-basin sinks with overflow fixtures, but the grout work is a little rough. So, what message do we take away?

The bar area makes up the vast majority of the floor space of the restaurant,

and well stocked it is, including The Eatery's own Frankenstein monster, an in-house infused vodka used for their generously garnished Bloody Marys:

and, of course, a smiling face serving it all up: (sorry, couldn't resist!) 

We started our meal off with the "Tootsie Rolls" (please, Tootsie Roll Industries, don't sue us!), wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese, red peppers, shrimp, and spring onions:

My God, these were amazing. Perfectly creamy, cheesy, and with the distinct flavor of shrimp that I don't mind one bit. The wonton wrappers weren't fried to a crunchy crisp, but were left a little flaccid, which I actually liked here... sometimes, we get overzealous with these things, and when you bite into them, shards of hard-fried wonton wrapper rip into your soft tissue like shrapnel. Nope, no mouth-ripping here. Only creamy, rich shrimpy goodness. Oh, and the honey dijon dipping sauce? The sweet was a fun contrast with the fatty cheese, but we all agreed they were splendid on their own. I understand the unwashed masses clamor for a dipping sauce. That's fine. But don't feel obligated to have to dip... these gigantic shrimp rangoons stood on their own.

We also ordered the Andouille Pepper Jack Dip:

Which left us all incredible confused. Were the deep fried bread chunks garnish? Was that what we dipped? The GBD bread was oily, what being little sponges dunked in the Frialator for a few minutes. Remember our discussion about Mouth Shrapnel? There ya go. 

There was too much dip in the sourdough bread bowl to start by tearing off pieces, it would have been like the Boston Molasses Disaster except with searing culinary-napalm molten cheese. So, we used the cubes until things cooled down a bit.

The dip was nice, but lacked a "killer app" for me. It was a bit gritty, and while spicy with the pepper jack and andouille, didn't have any bright or truly salty notes for me. A good outing, but needs a bit of tweaking.

Andy ordered the "Turn Up the Heat" burger:

While Lauren ordered the Mac and Cheese:

Adam ordered the Pecan Chicken:

and I, the "Pig in a Pot":

Andy's burger had amazing flavor, and despite the name, wasn't painfully hot. The combination of mozzarella, jalapeño, cilantro, and onion in the patty, along with chipotle mayo, pico, and pepper jack was tasty hot harmony. Certainly not as spicy as it sounds.

Lauren's Mac and Cheese was mild and well executed. The noodles were plentiful and well cooked, and the cheese sauce was demure and present in a quantity perfectly proportioned to pasta. Lauren also ordered a small crock of French Onion Soup:

The thick, rich soup was topped by the usual croutons and mozzarella and swiss cheese... sorry, purists, no Gruyère or even Provolone here. Lauren noted that the soup had an off note: I tasted it, and knew exactly what she was talking about: wine.

Okay, villagers, put down your pitchforks and douse those torches, I'm not going to get into an argument here. I know wine is an essential part of French onion soup. Every recipe I've ever seen calls for it -- either red, white, vermouth, or cooking sherry -- it's always there. Alton Brown, whom I'm apt to follow, uses white in his version. So what's with the "off note" comment, you ask?

It was too forward. The onions were singing back-up to the wine's James "Thunder" Early. And as you already know, Effie does not sing back-up. Neither should onions. 

Adam's chicken was delightful, with a sweet champagne sauce and creamy risotto. The chicken was cooked perfectly, tender and juicy and not the least bit dry.

My Pig in a Pot was an interesting animal indeed... and I immediately got the punch line: it's much less about the pork in a terra cotta flower pot, and much more about the flavors all being "earthy": baked potato, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and pork loin. I get it.

The potato, while cooked through, was dry without toppings. I have a deep-seeded aversion to baked potatoes stemming from them being on nearly every dinner menu served at our kitchen table as a child, so there is some bias there. But even with my dislike of roasted spuds, don't baked potatoes need something on them? I asked for a side of butter, which helped. But it was still, er, kinda blah.

The 'sprouts were delightful and hearty, but when they cooled down (and they did...), that stinky jock-strap smell of cabbage starts to creep up on you. This isn't the Eatery's fault: this is the veggie being true to what it is: tiny little jock-strap smelling cabbages. I still liked 'em, and the fragrance only became noticeable late in the meal, once they had cooled to room temp.

My pork loin was planted in the midst of sautéed mushrooms in a rich, wine (or was it cognac? I can never tell...) based pan sauce. Topped with muenster cheese, then with the Eatery's version of a duxelles, and then adorned with an edible flower. Awww...

The pork loin was like butter. The pan sauce was Holy. My conflict arose with the duxelles, which was drier and coarser than I've ever encountered. For those of you unfamiliar with a duxelles, please be sure to study before coming to class. Run along to the Principal's office. 

It just was a bit too much. A little dry, but well flavored, the duxelles became the star of the dish. The whole point of duxelles in French cuisine is that it serves as a foundation to flavor. As AB says, "I'm pretty sure there are whole buildings in France that are mortared together with this stuff." Eatery Guys: I really liked it. I really really did. But consider making the duxelles a bit finer, a bit more most, and a bit less... I felt like Zahi Hawass trying to unearth the long-lost remains of Pharaoh Tut Ahnk-Porkman. 

So, where does that leave us?

The Eatery is new, and still growing into their britches. If a restaurant makes it through their first year of trial-and-error (and sadly, 75% don't), they're usually in good shape. The Eatery has some really brilliant flashes, some genuinely good ideas and a really solid foundation to build upon: I think there's just a bit of fine tuning to be done. This is fine, as long as The Eatery stays an organic, malleable restaurant. 

And as for the case of the chili with crunchy beans? Well, we wanted to see if it was a fluke, so we all had a little taste of the day's batch. And the beans? Crunchy. Crunchy? Is this a new food trend? I always hate to critique something I don't understand, which is why I don't watch golf. Maybe undercooked legumes are the new hip thing, like skinny jeans and fixed-gear bicycles? 

On the whole, we liked The Eatery, and it's the sort of place we look forward to revisiting, and watching grow. After all, a truly successful restaurant isn't one created with fancy marketing campaigns and focus groups -- it grows out of experience and change, adjusting to the time and preferences of its customers. I'll be interested to see exactly where The Eatery is one year from now -- I certainly hope that by then it has become an East Side fixture.

Report Card:

Atmosphere: B-

An odd mix of industrial and Home Depot chíc. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Maybe the vibe would be different on any other night than Sunday.

Prices: A-

Very, very fair. Portion sizes were comfortable without being overwhelming, but the food by and large is rich and heavy, so you end up feeling like you ate a lot more than you actually did. Which I guess is a mixed blessing. Either way, the quality of the food belies the price. 

Service: A-

We were among two other tables occupied the night we visited, so wait staff didn't really have a huge challenge on their hands. Nonetheless, everything went smoothly and our food arrived quickly. 

The Food: B

I see great things on the horizon. As it stands now, The Eatery provides an above-average dining experience at prices I'm still a little surprised at, but is a bit hit-and-miss with the details. We all enjoyed our meals, and that's the important thing. I look forward to seeing how the menu evolves, and watching The Eatery shocks the pants off of everyone.

The Details:

The Eatery on Farwell

2014 N. Farwell Ave. 

Milwaukee, WI 53202

(414) 220-1110

Website with menu available here (Danger! The website is Flash-based, thusly is not iPhone friendly)

Casablanca: Middle Eastern Meets East Side

It has been a long time coming, this review. We've been saying we wanted to get to Casablanca since before the new year, but as life often does (particularly to the Eating Milwaukee Staff), things took turns we just didn't expect.

And, in the interest of full disclosure, I had met owner Alaa Musa a few months ago, during the course of working one of my Clark-Kent-esque day jobs. I promise, that relationship will not inform the review. At all. Mostly.

We descended on Casablanca for lunch on a Saturday, to sample the mythical "lunch buffet" we had heard so much about. After a few near-misses in East Side traffic, and a few trips around the block thanks to my GPS, I finally got parked in the smallish, but nonetheless convenient parking lot next to the restaurant. This put me in a good mood immediately. An East Side business with a parking lot. It's almost like saying "touching an electric eel with insulating gloves" or "an Illinois driver with good manners." You'd really like it to be the case all the time, but in reality it almost never happens. Ever.

Casablanca's interior is gorgeous, with rich oxblood walls undulating with iridescent red tiles. The lighting is comfortably low,  with big, mullion windows adorned with tasteful treatments. The feel is cozy, chíc, upscale, but never off-putting. Furniture is spartan and clean.

As we sat down, a memory came flooding back to me, something that Lauren had said a few weeks ago when we were preparing for this trip, "...the lunch buffet is vegetarian..." Oh, no, I thought. No meat. No meat! This was going to be ho-hum. I'm going to have to choke everything down with a half-smile, act like I loved every bite, and then promptly stop at Kopps on the way home for a burger. Yes, this was going to be a painful luncheon. I abhor vegetarian cuisine.

It's not that I hate the concept of vegetarianism. I suppose it's noble, if you think giving up steak is noble. I just don't like how most vegetarian food somehow tries to ape its meaty counterparts. Veggie burgers? Whatever. Just call them bean patties. I can respect that. Chicken-less nuggets? Whatever. Call them TVP delights, for all I care. Just call it like it is.

As I got settled and got the Nikon ready for shooting, our bubbly and fun waitress asked us if we wanted a side of meat. I immediately got a pit in my stomach, recalling an incident involving a friend from college trying to order a burrito at Chipotle:

Friend, (We'll call her Carrie to protect her identity): Hi, I'd like a meat burrito.
Chipotle clerk: Okay, what kind of meat?
Carrie: Um, you know... meat?
CC: Um, no, I don't know... meat.
Carrie: Meat. Burrito.
CC: We have pork, beef, chicken, steak, ground beef...
Carrie: That's it! Ground beef! See, I said a meat burrito!
CC: right.

However, if this worked out okay, we wouldn't have to endure a meatless meal. Huzzah! We all decided to order a different "meat," and share our meaty payload when it arrived.

Lauren ordered Chicken Kabob:

Andy had the Lamb Kifta kabob:

And I had the Lamb and Beef Shawarma:

Meanwhile, we ravenously scrambled to the buffet line:

Where we found a small battalion of cold salads:

A variety of hot dishes:

and an array of desserts:

Coming back, my plate looked like a hot mess:

Now, rather than go in to lurid detail about every item on the buffet (which I did try, and caused me great pain as my stomach stretched to inhuman size to accommodate), I think it's best to try to give a sweeping, generalized overview. 'Cause that's what we Americans do best.

Everything we tried was astounding in its own right. Each salad, each hot dish had a flavor all its own, different spicing, different flavor profiles. It was an amazing array: different textures, different colors. Nothing bland, nothing watered down. All the while, I kept sighing in amazement that I was enjoying salads so much.

Some of the standout salads are as follows:

Tahini Salad: Oh, remember, dear reader, when I ranted about the virtues of Tahini during the review for Shahrazad? Well, apparently the Fates heard my cry, because the Tahini Salad at Casablanca is basically everything I love about food, all in one fresh, brilliant dish. Crispy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and a bright and creamy tahini dressing that made my eyes roll back in their sockets and my mouth water at the very thought. The dressing was rich, complex, and intriguing, with a depth of flavor that you might not expect from sesame seeds. Awesome.

Cucumber Yogurt Salad: Rich, rich, rich. I immediately thought back to summers, helping my Grandma make her creamed cucumbers. Salting the cucumber and onion slices. Straining the sour cream. Oh, but these cukes weren't anything like Grandma's (who is shaking her fist at me from the great Kitchen In The Sky right now). Insanely creamy and rich, flavorful, but never overpowering. And the cucumbers retained enough crunch so that you didn't forget what they were.

Potato Salad: cold, mashed potatoes, with the flavor of classic American potato salad, except much, much brighter (thank the addition of lemon juice). We couldn't get enough of these!

Tuboleh: a classic, and relatively simple, this bulgar salad is light and refreshing, with its strong notes of mint.

It should be noted as well, that there were large dishes of both Hummus and Babaghannoj with the salads, along with a bottomless basket of fresh pita bread. Both the hummus and babaghannoj were exceptional, with the hummus delicate and nutty, and the babaghannoj strong with the distinct taste of roasted, almost charred eggplant. I ate way more than my fair share.

The hot line was equally impressive, with multiple rice dishes, as well as roasted and stewed veggies. While they were all tasty (and that's not a cop-out statement!), I would have to say I enjoyed the eggplant with potatoes, and carrots with garlic the best. Both incorporated such surprising flavors, the eggplant being succulent and tender, the carrots both sweet and intensely garlicky at the same time. And that's when it occurred to me:

When vegetables are cooked properly, they can (and should) hold their own in a dish. Vegetables can stand up as the star ingredient when treated right.

Which is not to say that our meats weren't delicious, because they certainly were. Lauren's chicken was nearly perfectly cooked, if not a little towards over-done. But delicately spiced, and very much a good match for the veggies on the buffet.

Andy's lamb kabobs were tender and flavorful, while my shawarma was to die for. But no meat held a candle to what was quite possibly my favorite item on the line: the falafel.

Crispy, nutty, hot, fluffy on the inside, perfectly seasoned, and never, ever greasy... I had found a new favorite falafel. I could eat the falafel on its own, as a meal. I could buy them in bulk and bathe in them. I'm considering dumping my old feather pillow and filling one with falafel, just so I can rest my head on it. To hell with my cat, I want a 17-pound ball of falafel instead, put a collar on it and let it sleep on my couch. Yes, the falafel is that good.

Rounding out our meal was a frosty glass of rosewater lemonade, and a few desserts. The obligatory baklava:

A crispy, tender butter cookie:

And a Kanafeh-style dessert:

The baklava was exceptional: buttery without being sickly sweet like most people are used to. All in all, the light pastries were the perfect end to a filling (and surprisingly enchanting) meal.

Report Card:
Atmosphere: A
Probably the first restaurant to earn this grade (can someone out there fact check for me?). Alaa and his family have done a wonderful job creating a welcoming, intimate space that perfectly complements their homey, comforting food.

Prices: A
The lunch buffet is extremely affordable considering the amount of items available to you, and for an extra $4, you can add your choice of meat! Dining off the menu is downright cheap, with the highest price you'll pay for an entrée being a mere $15.

Service: A
The entire staff was enthusiastic and welcoming, conversational and genuinely warm.

The Food: A
Do we see a trend in the grades? Everything we tried was delicious, with a few truly outstanding items. I can honestly say I didn't have a gripe about a single thing I consumed, and wow, was that a lot of food.

The Details:

Casablanca Middle Eastern Restaurant
(414) 271-6000
728 E. Brady St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202

A gorgeous and informative website is available here, along with a menu, hours of operation, etc., etc..