I had to prep for a presentation that I will give up at Madison Area Technical School (MATC) next week. I will be speaking about my traveling to Iraq. I remember when I was a student at MATC not so long ago Heide and I ate at a bar down the street from the Truax campus called Brothers Three Bar & Grill. Now I wish I had stopped in more often in the years I commuted past it. But this week I killed a couple of birds with one stone and prepped at the campus and then had fish fry down the street at Brothers Three.
In typical bar fashion the fish fry starts at 11:00 a.m. The place is an old gas station - now bar, under the viaduct of Highway 30. Get there early and park under the gas pump awning. They have a small kitchen area behind the bar that keeps the cook busy. But even so, the cook came out to chat with us. The folks are very friendly here.
Heide tried the Walleye. It was a large breaded piece and in the spirit of "dem fish frys up nord dare." She chose the garlic mashed potatoes as a side. I tried the deep fried Cod. For my potato choice I ordered boiled with parsley butter. As usual we tried each others' fish and potatoes. Brothers Three does a good job. We both got a cup of pepper jack cream of broccoli soup. There is something about the pepper jack nuance that makes their soup a bit more memorable than the usual cream of broccoli. The cole slaw was very tangy. There was plenty of tarter, rolls and butter.
Brothers Three Bar & Grill is cool with Cool Dadio. The two of us got out of there for just over 30 Bucks with tip. They can be found at 614 N Fair Oaks Avenue, Madison, on the left after you cross under the Highway 30 viaduct if you are heading north toward MATC. Phone (608) 244-6818 for more information on times and menu items.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Private First Class Brent T. Vroman, 21, of Oshkosh. He was a riflemen on a foot patrol when attacked by an improvised explosive device fired from a vehicle in Babil Province, Iraq. Brent was in 1st Platoon, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment Expeditionary Unit, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. His company consists of about 185 Marines and was based in Yusufiya, Iraq. The unit includes Golf Company from Madison. The 2nd battalion was activated in May of 2004 and then deployed to Camp Pendleton, California. They arrived in Iraq in September for a tentative seven month tour of duty. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Vroman was a 2001 graduate of Omro High School and has a twin brother, Brian. Brent was an accomplished wrestler and he was a four-year letter winner and conference champion in his senior year. Private First Class Vroman was Wisconsin's 31 soldier killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
3,863 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
461 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
28,451 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1,754 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
82 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
6 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
123 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
