It all started when I tuned into a showing on Wisconsin Public Television of Ron Faiola's documentary,
Wisconsin Supper Clubs . One of the eateries in the lineup was
Tornado Steak House in Madison.
Now this fish fry posting does have a happy ending, but there was a brief moment of culinary drama, at least from my point of view. Heide took it all in stride.
Ok, one gets away from me once in a while. There must be a use for the cliche, "The best made plans laid to waste." Although we deferred to plan "B" the evening actually turned out quite well. I usually call the place, check Websites, and even solicit some word-of-mouth when I target a Friday fish fry to try.
My query however, usually does not include, "Hey man, do you plan on running out of fish two hours after the fish fry starts?"
After we got sat down at our table around 7:15 p.m. per our reservations, in the venerable Madison supper club
Tornado Steak House, our waitress proclaimed, "We ran out of fish a while ago." Apparently they offer different types of fish each week, this particular week the offering "had been" perch and halibut.
Wow....buzz kill.
The thought, "Bait (no pun intended) and switch," came to mind. I was reminded of more than one corn fest and county fair corn tent over the years that have run out of corn on noon of opening day.
But, she directed us to the regular menu which had some fish fry type meals. They had an inviting Walleye preparation listed. Heide, who sometimes gets fatigued by fish out once a week, eyed the pork tenderloin. As soon as I got my breath back after said waitress's proclamation, it looked like the evening might be on the road to salvage.
In the interim while we waited for our meals I sized the joint up. This is one of those places that either intentionally, serendipitously, or simply through neglect, has been left to a nostalgic decorum. There is dark and yellow lighting. This establishment is replete with romantic enclaves and rooms. There is the good heavy reddish darkwood ceilings, paneling, and trim. The tables have cloth table cloths and cloth napkins. The drink list comes in a book; quite a contrast to the consummate tavern brochure from a home computer printer. The floor in our room was a spackled mosaic tile of some sort (Heide went to design school once upon a time). There was as lit candle in a glass dish on our table. And, there is an intamate garden patio seating area out the back door. People were using it on that perfect temperate evening as it was pre-mosquito season.
The bread dish arrived with a large soft loaf, a long sesame stick, and some biscuits. A large patty of real butter came too. The waitress brought a relish glass with ice and in it was wild onion, radish, baby tomato, celery, cucumber, and pickle. Everything was as fresh as if it had just come out of the garden.
At about this point, I realized I was giving them a pass on the "out of fish fry" situation. "Of course," I thought. "I do not come to really nice places that often."
Here I was sitting in my tavern threads and shtick - combat fatigue pants, dessert canvas shoes, old law enforcement t-shirt, ponytail, and beard. The poor waitress probably thought my wife was feeding a homeless vet.
This here weren't no tavern. They would then, I surmise, have a limited supply of their special weekly fish offering, I suppose, wouldn't they? So, I guess, if you want their fish fry, be there at 5:00 p.m. chomping at the bit.
How's that for rationalizing oneself out of a dining miscue?
I had to let the thoughts of culinary
strateegery drop as the food started to arrive. It was clear this was going to be a nice meal. Not one crouton was out of place. The coffee was even premium. The cream came cold and in a shiny metal saucer. The sugar came in cubes in a matching shiny dish with metal tongs.
Heide ordered a spinach salad prepared in warm bacon vinaigrette. I went for the clam chowder. This, was not tavern clam chowder. No rubbery chunks of clam meat, or thick gravy texture. No, this chowder was smooth and tasty. The veggies and seafood ingredients were blended in perfect equilibrium.
Heide's pork tenderloin came in a cranberry sauce. My Walleye was prepared breaded and pan fried. It came in a lemon and white wine reduction sauce, which included shallots and thyme. We both jumped at the garlic mashed potatoes. Both of us being real butter freaks, we kept our waitress running for more cold butter patties. Heide laughed the next day when she opened her to-go box and the waitress had added a couple more butter patties.
Tornado Steak House did a memorable job and is cool with Cool Dadio. Find them on 116 South Hamilton Street just off of Capital Square. Call (608) 256 - 3570 for more information; or, visit their Website at
tornadosteakhouse.com .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Sergeant Nickolas Anthony Mueller, 26, of Little Chute, Wisconsin, died in Darreh-ye Bum, Badghis province, Afghanistan on October 26, 2009. He was killed due to the crash of the MH-47 Chinook helicopter he was aboard. Sergeant Mueller was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), out of Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Georgia. Mueller was one of seven soldiers killed in the incident. Two choppers were involved in the crash.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes the village of Little Chute is in Outagamie County, Wisconsin. Nickolas was a 2002 graduate of Little Chute High School. He was a member of the school's wrestling and football teams for the majority his high school years. He was in the pep band and sang in the school's choir. Nickolas also was homecoming king in his senior year. He is remembered as a well liked young man. Mueller was a crew chief on one of the helicopters. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Family members are quoted as saying Nickolas always wanted to be a fighter pilot. He had a long interest in the military and aircraft.
Information via Arlington National Cemetery mentioned the Pentagon said the helicopter crashed while returning from the scene of a battle with suspected Taliban drug traffickers. It is not believed the crash was a result of hostile fire. Mueller was remembered in school as outgoing and gregarious and he enjoyed debating with his teachers. Aside from wrestling and football, he ran track, and played the saxophone. Mueller joined the Army in June 2004. After basic training, he served for two years with the 252nd Aviation Battalion at Camp Humphries, South Korea, repairing helicopters. Mueller then joined Special Operations as a flight engineer in 2007. He had reenlisted in the Army twice and was on his third deployment to Afghanistan at the time of his death. The Arlington obituary went on to mention Nickolas' dream was to someday be a pilot. He also enjoyed his motorcycle. Nickolas met his girl friend in September of 2008.
Wisconsin 2009 Joint Assembly Resolution 104 notes Sergeant Mueller's military awards as including Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; Combat Action Badge; Basic Aviation Badge; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; two Meritorious Service Medals; five Air Medals; and, three Bronze Star Medals.
At the time of his death Nickolas Mueller was survived by his parents, Sharon and Larry Mueller; older brother John (Stefani) Mueller; and his girlfriend Heather Huckett. Sergeant Mueller was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Nickolas Mueller was the 16th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Afghanistan since October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011
100,949 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,950 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,455 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1582 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
881 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,090 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
11,411 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
31 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
5 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
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; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
