Wisconsin Supper Clubs, Racine, April 8-9

Greater Midwest Foodways presents



Wisconsin Supper Clubs
The Food. The Drinks. The Culture.
Eat. Drink. Listen. Learn. Eat. Drink.



April 8 and 9, 2016
Racine, Wisconsin

Every Thanksgiving, a substantial population in the United States sites down to a turkey dinner. Yet every week, communal meals of Friday night fish fry and Saturday night prime rib dinner are shared on a large scale in Wisconsin. It is a habitual ritual practiced only in Wisconsin.

We will endeavor to learn how the Supper Club Culture has been so embraced in Wisconsin.




Friday Fish Fry
April 8, 2016 at 5:00 pm

Colony House
25811 119th Street
Trevor, Wisconsin 53179
(Just north of Antioch, Wisconsin)
Menu, pricing and reservations

Our exploration of Wisconsin's Supper Club culture begins with a classic Friday Night Fish Fry.




Wisconsin Supper Clubs Roundtable
April 9, 2016 at 1:00 pm

SC Johnson Golden Rondelle
1525 Howe Street
Racine, Wisconsin 53403

Funded by SC Johnson

FREE, though reservations are required (scroll down to April's programs)
Book and DVD sales with pickup at the Rondelle

Celebrate with the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance the history and culture of Wisconsin’s Supper Clubs.

Presentations by:

Terese Allen, author
Flavor of Wisconsin, Cafe Wisconsin and other titles related to the Badger state

Mary Bergin, author and travel writer
Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook

Jim Draeger, author
Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin's Historic Bars and Breweries

Dave Hoekstra. author
The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition

Holly L. De Ruyter, documentarian
Old Fashioned, The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club
(We will view this documentary at 3:15 pm)

Exhibit of Wisconsin Supper Club Menus
Peter Engler Collection


Wisconsin Supper Club Dinner
April 9, 2015 at 5:00 pm



HobNob Supper Club
277 Sheridan Road
Racine, Wisconsin 53403
Classic Supper Club Dinner, Book and DVD signings
Menu, pricing and reservations

Settle into a classic Saturday night supper club dinner with all the trimmings. We have a special menu with several dishes offered specially for this dinner and not available from the menu . There will be a specially priced Brandy Old Fashioned cocktail as a featured cocktail for our guests who attend the dinner.

Jim Draeger will speak on Wisconsin's cocktails. All presenters from the Rondelle will be available to answer questions, sell and sign books and dvds.

http://www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com

Looking forward to this.

Wisconsin Supper Clubs
The Food. The Drinks. The Culture.
Eat. Drink. Listen. Learn. Eat. Drink.



Friday Fish Fry
April 8, 2016
5:00 pm

Colony House
25811 119th Street
Trevor, Wisconsin 53179
(Just north of Antioch, Wisconsin)
Directions


Our exploration of Wisconsin's Supper Club culture begins with a classic Friday Night Fish Fry. Mary Bergin will talk about Midwestern supper clubs.

Select from your choice of fish, which will be served plated. All prices include gratuity and a $10 tax deductible donation to Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance. Beverages may be purchased from the cash bar.

Beer-Battered Baby Walleyed Pike - $26
Beer-Battered Bluegill - $26
Beer-Battered Yellow Lake Perch - $28
French Fried Smelt - $25
Icelandic Cod, beer-battered - $25
Icelandic Cod, Baked with Drawn Butter - $25

Served family style are:

Fresh-Baked Rye Bread
Cheese and Crackers

Potato Pancakes
French Fries
Apple Sauce
Homemade Coleslaw
Tartar Sauce


Vegetarian selections include choice of soup, salad and honey-glazed carrots upon request.
Eggplant Parmigiana - $30
Pasta Primavera - $30


Reservations required: 312/380-1665 or EventBrite.com
Seating is limited. Tickets are non-refundable though they are transferable.
Your payment confirms your reservation, please mail payment to:
Greater Midwest Foodways, 280 Laurel Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035

Purchase tickets by credit card via EventBrite.com.

Exploring Wisconsin Supper Clubs
The Food. The Drink. The Culture.

Every Thanksgiving, a substantial population in the United States sites down to a turkey dinner. Yet every week, communal meals of Friday night fish fry and Saturday night prime rib dinner are shared on a large scale in Wisconsin. It is a habitual ritual practiced only in Wisconsin.

We will endeavor to learn how the Supper Club Culture has been so embraced in Wisconsin. There will be Meals, presentations and the showing of an award-winning film documentary celebrate Wisconsin’s supper club culture April 8-9 in Racine and Kenosha counties.

The immersion, organized by the nonprofit Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance in Chicago, coincides with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s announcement to make supper clubs a major marketing campaign this year.

“Wisconsin Supper Clubs: The Food. The Drinks. The Culture.” begins with a family-style Friday Night Fish Fry at 5 p.m. April 8 at Colony House, 25811 119th St., Trevor, and a welcome with brief remarks by Mary Bergin, author of Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook. Prepaid reservations are required: the cost is $25-$28, which includes the meal and a $10 donation to the GMFA.

Free to the public from 1-4:30 p.m. April 9 at the SC Johnson Golden Rondelle Theater, 1525 Howe St., Racine, is a panel of presentations and viewing of “Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club” by filmmaker Holly De Ruyter. Reservations are advised. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.

Speakers are Bergin; Terese Allen, author of Café Wisconsin Cookbook; Jim Draeger, author of Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars and Breweries and Dave Hoekstra, author of The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of Midwest Tradition.

SC Johnson is funding the event as a part of its Community Interest Program series.

Dinner at HobNob Supper Club, 277 Sheridan Rd., Racine, begins at 5 p.m.April and features a talk by Draeger about Wisconsin’s cocktails and book/DVD signings. The cost for the five-course dinner (featuring a 13-ounce prime rib cut or flounder stuffed with crab and shrimp) is $60 and includes a $20 tax-deductible donation to the GMFA.

The cash bar will include specially priced Brandy Old Fashioned cocktails, due to a generous donation by Christian Brothers. For additional details about the events, menus and to make reservations, go to www.greatermidwestfoodways.com or call 312-380-1665.

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance is dedicated to celebrating, exploring and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest, from the Appalachians to the Ohio River Valley, the Great Lakes to the Great Plains and Prairies.

“Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club” was the winner of Best Documentary at the Lake Superior Big Water Film Festival and the audience choice for Best Wisconsin Documentary at the Central Wisconsin Film Festival.

“Travelers love to experience the local culture and sample the local fare,” says Ed Lump, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. “They want to experience traditions of the places they visit. There is nothing that captures all of this better than the local supper club.”

I'm looking forward to this, I've had variable food at supper clubs but the atmosphere has always been fun.

I saw you bought your tickets for fille and you, thanks!

Wisconsin Supper Clubs
The Food. The Drinks. The Culture.
Eat. Drink. Listen. Learn. Eat. Drink.


Classic Supper Club Dinner, Book and DVD signings
April 9, 2016
5:00 PM

HobNob Supper Club
277 Sheridan Road
Racine, Wisconsin 53403


Settle into a classic Saturday night supper club dinner with all the trimmings. We have a special menu with several dishes offered specially for this dinner and not available from the menu (see asterisks). There will be a specially priced Brandy Old Fashioned cocktail as a featured cocktail for our guests who attend the dinner.

Jim Draeger will speak on Wisconsin's cocktails. All presenters from the Rondelle will be available to answer questions, sell and sign books and dvds.

Dinner costs $60, including gratuity and a $20 tax deductible donation to Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance. Beverages from the cash bar:

First course:
*Assorted relish trays (variety of pickles, peppers, and vegetables)
*Trio of kidney bean salad, seasoned cottage cheese, and cole slaw
(Served family style at your table)

Second course:
Baked French onion soup

Third course:
*Iceberg lettuce wedge topped with bits of tomato, bacon, and crumbled bleu cheese
(Your choice of salad dressing at the table)

Main course:
Please select either
Slow-roasted prime rib of beef (13 ounce cut), or
*Fillet of flounder stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp filling,
topped with hollandaise sauce

Served with cheesy au gratin potatoes

Dessert
Crème brûlée sprinkled lightly with fresh blueberries

Hot coffee or hot tea

All other beverages will be available for purchase.

Reservations required: 312/380-1665 or EventBrite.com
Seating is limited. Tickets are non-refundable though they are transferrable.
Mail payment to:
Greater Midwest Foodways, 280 Laurel Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035


Purchase tickets by credit card via EventBrite.com

I was pretty thrilled to see this:

A Life Remembered: Supper club owner was world traveler

Bill Higgins Jr. believed in the supper club experience and the two-hour meal.

Owner of the renowned Sheridan Road supper club originally known as Higgins Hob Nob, Bill enjoyed mentoring people in the experience, said former bartender and longtime friend Scott Krezinski.

In addition to being a successful restaurateur, to friends and family, Bill was a teacher, historian and tour guide to the world.

HI,

Saturday's program at the Rondelle is sold-out, though I encourage you to waitlist by calling 262-260-2154. If anyone needs to cancel their seat, they should also call this number.

There is seating left for the Hob Nob dinner and Friday Fish Fry.

Regards,

I just noticed this last night when the Hubster read the Film Center highlights to me. Playing 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/2, and 5/4. And "'Director Holly De Ruyter will be present for audience discussion at all screenings. Moderating the discussions with De Ruyter on April 29 and May 2 will be Dave Hoekstra, former Chicago Sun-Times columnist-critic, current host of Nocturnal Journal on WGN-720AM and author of The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition.'"
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/oldfashioned

Pie Lady wrote:I just noticed this last night when the Hubster read the Film Center highlights to me. Playing 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/2, and 5/4. And "'Director Holly De Ruyter will be present for audience discussion at all screenings. Moderating the discussions with De Ruyter on April 29 and May 2 will be Dave Hoekstra, former Chicago Sun-Times columnist-critic, current host of Nocturnal Journal on WGN-720AM and author of The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition.'"
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/oldfashioned

Both Dave and Holly were present at the Wisconsin Supper Club program in Racine.

Splendid event. Thank you again. And next time I'm in Wisconsin (this weekend), I'm definitely going to go looking for a brandy old fashioned.

Cynthia wrote:Splendid event. Thank you again. And next time I'm in Wisconsin (this weekend), I'm definitely going to go looking for a brandy old fashioned.

We were fortunate to have a donation from Christian Brothers for the brandy. Special cost of this cocktail was $3 each. Apparently people were converted to the idea of a brandy old fashioned. One woman advised it was her new favorite drink.

I never got around to trying one.

Regards,

“Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club” by filmmaker Holly De Ruyter, which was featured at this event last year, is on WTTW - Chicago PBS tonight at 9pm, 12pm and 2am on WTTW Prime. Tune in!!

Thanks for this heads up, Cathy. I saw it a day or two ago during the day and am glad to have a chance to see it again.

Settling in to watch "Old Fashioned," is it any wonder I got a craving for beets? Cathy, I finally cracked into a jar of beets from that canning class you taught years ago! And I do mean "cracked into": the seal was so tight I had to use a knife to pop the lid off, and beet juice went all over the sink! It wasn't that I didn't feel like eating them earlier; it was more like I was glad knowing they were always there for me in the fridge, and tonight was the occasion. I came to love beets rather late in life, when I lived in Chile, and I have to salt them generously. Ah... this could only be better if I had the makings of an old fashioned in the house. Or if I had a slice of prime rib to eat. Or if I were really at a supper club.

You have the pickled beets, now you need some cottage cheese, three-bean salad and maybe some cheese to spread on a cracker!

Have a great evening!
Cathy2

I couldn't wait any longer for the real thing -- I went up to the Hobnob in Racine tonight!

Katie wrote:I couldn't wait any longer for the real thing -- I went up to the Hobnob in Racine tonight!

I am impressed!