I’d like to know, what’s your favorite U.S city and why? The favorite place you have either lived in or spent a bunch of time in. Please post a comment here if you have a few minutes.
Thanks for any feedback!
*Thanks to Al for Windy City fun as usual. Feasting and catching up continues to be fun year after year. Who would think two girls could clear a table at Osteria like this at lunch time?
*Thanks to JW and Nelsy. I’d expect nothing less than a tour of another house renovation, a 4-wheeler show and a beer with some pizza. Good old Kaiser’s Pizza & Pub in Gurnee, Illinois. Here’s a photo from the walls for your archives:
*The final midwest thanks goes to Bill and Julie for my Wisconsin Capital area burb stay. Holy cheese-fest and gorgeousness!
Love you guys. It’s was great spending time and feasting with you all!
I just finished up an 11 mile bike ride with a couple of friends on the Capital City Bike Trail. This is after going for a run around lunch time. (I’ve got to do something to burn off all this great food I’m eating on the road!) The city of Madison and surrounding towns have more parks than I’ve ever seen in my life and so many bike trails it’d take months to hit them all. It’s so green, lush and corn-field covered here it’s like being in the movies. The exact replica of my summers growing up in Vermont, just a few less mountains. This is the haven for Locavores, the fit and the want to be outside adventurers. If you can hack some cold winter temps and a bit of snow, like a mid-sized city and are an active person- I’m not sure you’d be able to find a better place than Madison to live in the states. I’m super excited I have good pals here so now I have an excuse to come back again to visit soon!
Here’s another ditty! My second road person named Jack!
Jack works at a place called Ian’s Pizza. I wandered into Ian’s randomly during a late afternoon last week. I was greeted by the friendliest chatty young guys you could hope for as a first time customer walking into a place. This isn’t the typical pizza joint that the staff half mumbles hello and chucks your pepperoni slice at you. These guys were great sales people, knowledgeable about all the ingredients and aware of everything/everyone that was there. I chose a slice covered with pesto and fresh tomatoes and they informed me that the pesto was made from fresh basil that came from a farm in northern Wisconsin. They offered to make any kind of slice I wanted or add any additional toppings on my slice but I stuck with my initial choice and it was fabulous. On my way out the door I spotted this guys t-shirt that said “Get your mac on” and then realized one of their pizzas was actually mac n’ cheese pizza. Whoa. I introduced myself and asked what his name was and if I could take his picture to post here and he happily agreed. He then grabbed a slice of the mac n’ cheese to pose with:
I paid another visit to Ian’s (different location) late night a day later with some friends. Even though my second time round the place was swamped with stumbling wasted college kids and the line was 20 deep, the staff showed no signs of annoyance or frustration. They were again smiley, helpful, efficient and cranked out the hot slices accommodating every customer perfectly with exactly what they wanted. I grabbed a few slices so we could try the bbq chicken, the mac n’ cheese, and another pesto tomato. All delicious.
I’m a huge fan of Ian’s. Not just because of the yummy pie, but because of the fantastic, friendly service and overall vibe of it. The staff all clearly love their jobs and they sell a quality, fresh product. It’s a pleasure for a foodie like me who’s on the road, eating food in all kinds of places, to watch a well-oiled machine of kick-ass food and service. I’ve found you usually only get one or the other, not often both. Ian’s covers it.
Go Ian’s and thanks to Jack and Tyler at the State Street location. Keep smiling and doing what you’re doing!