Alfresco Cafe & Lounge in Janesville, Wisconsin, is one of those places down the way from my neck of the woods I have not been to in quite some time. Now to qualify that, I have been to the adjacent bar a couple times in the last couple years. But, the last time I was in the restaurant, my mom was still alive. She used to like to go there once in a while. Perhaps she met friends there, perhaps it was just close by, perhaps she thought it was good. None-the-less, 12 years is a long time since my last visit, so the other night with a time and work fatigue variable in mind, Alfresco Cafe & Lounge got the nod.
An adjacent hotel of some sort or another has been there for decades, so don't judge a book by its cover. You will find the consummate Interstate Highway hotel complex. Alfresco Cafe & Lounge will be tucked down a side hallway. The bar has been tuned up over the years. Although small, said tavern is inviting. I know they always seem to have a big crowd for Packer games and they have all the Packer tavern shtick to accompany said game - football aficionados know what I mean. They are worthy of an adult beverage now and then if you are in the neighborhood. The staff is friendly.
The restaurant has likewise gone through some tune-ups as well. One thing to keep in mind is the last time I was there, you could still smoke in places like this. I am not an anti-smoking vigilante but the absence of the cigarette culture is noticeable after all that time since my last visit.
Our waitress was pleasant and chatty. Some nice hot French rolls with real pads of butter arrived at our table. Mother-in-law and I tried the beer-battered Cod. Heide went for the breaded Cod. Nice tender fish chunks all around. I chose French fries as my side. Baked beans also came with the deal. My fries were thin cut, a style I think that has a different taste and a welcome change of pace. The ladies ordered homemade potato pancakes. They were indeed homemade, just crispy enough on the outside, while tender on the inside, and slightly oily as I like them.
The whole affair was all-you-can-eat. An offering us fish fry junkies are seeing less and less of these tough economic days. I was not paying attention to what the ladies had for adult beverages this night, but I can tell you the Dadio had a couple of Miller Lites in a cold 16 ounce glass.
Alfresco Cafe & Lounge is cool with Cool Dadio. Find them at 3900 Milton Avenue, on the north side of Janesville. They are adjacent to the Americas Best Value Inn just north of Highway I-90. Call (608) 757-4444 for more information.
Note: You can find a chronological list at the Cool Dadio Media Fish Fry Page of these fish frys as we have visited them. The list presents the most recently visited fish fry at the top, in lieu of alphabetical order.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Sergeant Garrick Louis Eppinger Jr., 25, Appleton, Wisconsin, died on Saturday, September 17, 2011 in Parwan Province, Afghanistan. He was killed as a result of a non-combat weapon injury. Sergeant Eppinger was assigned to the the 395th Ordnance Company, 687th Combat Sustainment Support Brigade, 646th Regional Support Group, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Army Reserve, out of Wausau, Wisconsin. Sergeant Eppinger also did work out of the Appleton, Wisconsin reserve center.
The Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter noted both Eppinger's parents are Navy veterans. Sergeant Eppinger was on his third overseas deployment. He had previously served in Iraq in 2005 and 2009. In his current assignment he was among more than 100 Army Reservists from the Appleton-based 395th Ordnance Company that first went to Fort Hood, Texas, in July of 2011 for training before deploying to Afghanistan. The Herald Times went on to mention Eppinger was a 2004 graduate of Appleton North High School in Appleton, Wisconsin; he was the youngest of five children; and, he had four sisters. He joined the Army after graduating from high school.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Sergeant Eppinger was stationed near Bagram Air Field, a large military base near Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul. He had arrived in-country in early August 2011. The Journal Sentinel went on to say Garrick had been a member of the debate team In high school; he also had worked at Mark's East Side restaurant in Appleton. After his active military tours of duty he returned to his home in the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin and joined the reserves. He was studying political science and business at Fox Valley Technical College and worked at a convenience store when his unit was called up for deployment to Afghanistan.
The Web site legacy.com posted an obituary from the Post Crescent about Garrick Eppinger which stated he was born on August 9, 1986 in Portsmouth, Virginia. His family later moved to Appleton, Wisconsin. He had been a student at the University of Wisconsin - Fox Valley. The Green Bay Press Gazette noted Eppinger was a Staff Sergeant. He liked cheesecake and collecting 50-cent pieces. At the time of his death he was working as a supply specialist for a munitions post. Some of Sergeant Eppinger's military medals include the Army Commendation Medal; NATO Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; and, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
At the time of his death Sergeant Garrick Eppinger was survived by his daughter Lenorea Rose Eppinger; his parents Garrick Sr. and Linda Eppinger; his grandparents Richard and Burma Castle; his grandmother Arvonne Jakobsen; his sisters Shandra L. Smith, Cori Reichwaldt, Robbyn (Chad) Stanley, and, Amy (Jeff) Strong; his nieces and nephews, Bryan, Melissa, and Joshua Smith, Evelynn Strong, and Christopher Stanley; and, great-nephew Kaden Smith.
Army Sergeant Garrick Eppinger Jr. was the 35th Wisconsin military service person killed in the war in Afghanistan since October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
103,260 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003 (actually documented).
10,125 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,485 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1824 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
962 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011.
32,224 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
592 Wisconsin military service persons have been wounded in Iraq since Spring 2003.
14,733 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
192 Wisconsin military service persons have been wounded in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
36 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
3 Wisconsin military service persons have been killed in the U.S. related to "The War on Terror" since September, 2001.
150 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since September, 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 .
