This rambly old building has been on the market since I first came up here in 2004, which tells you something about the pace of island real estate. Frank Hartmann, the winter manager of the Washington Hotel, moved to Canada before he could realize his (pipe) dream of turning it into a cross-country ski lodge. … Continued
Acres of hay have been zipped up across the island into row upon row of scattered, silent bales. They look like big scratchy aspirin waiting to be plucked up by a giant with one mother of a headache.
“What islander went to Ellison Bay in his boat and, on the way back, rammed it full throttle into Detroit Island, throwing out every passenger but one–which would have been me?”–X.X. OK, that wasn’t really one of the Trivia Night questions at Fiddler’s Green last night. But it was the best of some late-night improvisations … Continued
I heard a perhaps (probably) apocryphal story the other day, concerning a National Geographic crew’s trip to the island in the late 1960s. Their mission: a story on Schoolhouse Beach, a natural wonder of pale, burnished limestone rocks and the island’s sole swimming beach. As the story goes, though, the islanders weren’t too keen on … Continued
So . . . I started hearing about the big Slow Food Nation shindig last year, when Carlo Petrini was in Chicago promoting his book, and I was keeping tabs on it and sorta, kinda thinking about going. But while big blowout events like this–which optimists are predicting to be the Woodstock of the Age … Continued
Speaking of endeavors shaking off the tar from the “elitist” brush, Whole Foods is now trying to rebrand itself as an affordable grocery option. Good luck with that–I think they have an even rougher road ahead than Slow Food.
I read a good book. I’ve been trying to write something about it for a couple days now, but can’t shake the straitjacket of book-reviewerese. So, eh. You should read it! It may not be a page turner, but if you care about poverty and hunger, and if you are among the many starting to … Continued
First course, Karly’s Mixed Basket (fried mushrooms, onion rings, fried cauliflower, fried cheese curds) Second course, Fiddler’s Green Tomato-basil soup; pint of Guinness Third course, Nelsen’s Chicken Marsala and lasagna (one entree each). Also, salad bar. Dessert, Sailor’s Pub Fried ice cream This actually happened. But not to me.
So long, Wisconsin — I’m headed to the Costa Brava. Pascal Henry, 46, a Swiss motorbike courier, set out in May to eat in every Michelin three-starred restaurant in the world – 68 restaurants in nine countries in 68 days. He had reached restaurant number 40: El Bulli on the Costa Brava, acclaimed as the … Continued
Anyone who’s ever been in the news knows the peculiar wash of resigned exasperation when a writer gets something wrong. Because, really, there’s nothing better than opening up the paper to the piece about your business, for which you were interviewed over an hour, and finding your name misspelled. A conscientious publication may run a … Continued