Back when I was in high school, then the Army, and the first few years of marriage, I used to stop in to various eateries and adutl beverage establishments on the fly. No planning, no itinerary...just shooting from the hip. A week ago we got to revisit that travel style on a trip to Green Bay. Our only concern was to just stop somewhere between Janesville and Green Bay and have Friday fish fry.
Mother-in-law Chris noticed a sign for
Walker's in Beaver Dam. Ok, they got the nod. Turns out it was an excellent random choice.
For readers who might remember a different restaurant era, the building
Walker's is in could have been a
Bob's Big Boy at one time. Same architecture - same genre - its a bit of a an architectural step back into the 1970s. They are connected to a Best Western and adjacent to a Shell station just off Highway 151.
You will find a glass bakery display cabinet when you get to the hostess area. After our meal, we eventually got a giant cream puff to go. Our waitress explained the place has been around in one form or another for around 40 years.
There is a general table and booth seating area. Of course there are large picture windows to look out. There is still a small horseshoe counter with 10 chairs.
We all got the hand-battered Cod. They offer 2-piece, 3-piece, 4-piece, and all-you-can-eat meal options. We all chose the 2-piece dinner. Heide and Chris each got a bowl of cheesy seafood chowder. I went for the hamburger vegetable soup Both offerings were outstanding. The cole slaw had a bit of a unique taste - perhaps a bit of horse radish added in. The rye rolls were steaming when they came to our table. I errored on the "hot" German potato salad. It too was above average. We all also got the hot-bake-beans side. They were not your usual beans on a paper plate style. Is there such a thing as gourmet baked beans?
The Cod was crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. This fits into the category I often talk about as being like a church fish fry genre. The Cod always has a homemade battery timbre. Also, I am thinking this style of fish comes mostly from old well-used friers.
Be all that fish lore as it may,
Walker's Restaurant Bakery and Coffee Shop is cool with Cool Dadio. Find them at 813 Park Avenue, off Highway 151 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Call (920) 885 - 9041. Also, visit their thoughtfully crafted Website at
www.walkersatbeaverdam.com .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, 20, of Merrill, Wisconsin, died Wednesday, August 2, 2006 in Tikrit, Iraq of injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. In Iraq, Sergeant Jopek was assigned to the Army National Guard's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment 32nd Infantry Brigade based out of Waupun and Appleton, Wisconsin. Jopek's unit was activated in 2005, and began training in June of that year at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Their mission was to serve as an armed escorts for civilian and military convoys traveling from Kuwait north through all of Iraq, protecting supplies that allow security operations. According to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ryan had planned to return to college after returning home. Jopek was remembered for his dedication to his high school basketball team. He was called "Kansas" by his teammates on the Merrill High School Blue Jays basketball team because that's where he lived before his family came to Merrill in 2002; his former coach is quoted as noting, "One of the neat things about [Ryan] was even though he wasn't a starter, he came to practice every night and worked hard." The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Jopek's father had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq in January 2005; and, Ryan was his oldest son. In a subsequent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article it was noted that while campaigning for President, Barak Obama mentioned he was wearing a bracelet honoring Sergeant Jopek that was given to then candidate Obama by Ryan's mother. The Website iraq.pigstye.net mentioned Jopek was only weeks from finishing his tour of duty when he was killed. Ryan was also planning to continue his education at UW-Marathon County in the fall of his return. He had indicated interest in being a park ranger. Wisconsin 2007 Assembly Joint Resolution 46 noted Ryan was was born on June 1, 1986, in Alliance, Nebraska. Sergeant Jopek was serving as a gunner in convoy security when he was killed. In his home unit in Merrill, Sergeant Jopek was a member of Troop E, 105th Cavalry. The Resolution noted Ryan was a 2004 graduate of Merrill High School. He enjoyed playing basketball, soccer, golf; he also enjoyed music, monster trucks, airplanes, and his 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck. Ryan was an avid Chicago Bears fan and modeled his life after his childhood hero, Walter Payton. Resolution 46 noted Sergeant Jopek's many awards and decorations as the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization Device, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge. At the time of his death Ryan Jopek was survived by his mother, Tracy Jopek of Merrill; his father, Staff Sergeant Brian Jopek, Wisconsin Army National Guard, of Antigo; his sister and his brother, Jessica and Steven Jopek of Merrill; his maternal grandparents, Carrie and Donald Smith of Bayard, Nebraska; his paternal grandparents, Peg and Joseph Jopek of Antigo. Sergeant Ryan Jopek was the 59th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,196 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,643 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,419 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1229 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
775 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,911 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,529 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
