Good Times and Danke! Gracias! Cheers! Thanks! Ta! You Rock!

Good times were had by all at the 10th annual Food Slam this past Friday night. Thanks to all you spectacular Slammers for coming to eat, drink, bid, and support WMSE, making Friday’s fiesta the biggest, funnest, and successfullest Slam to date!

And hey, check out that sweet video up there expertly shot in a gritty, dizzying, hand-held style by yours truly, Food Slam blogger Erin Harris. I think I missed my calling, Milwaukee. Writing, schmiting. I was meant to be a cinematographer on classic films such as Saving Private Ryan, etc. JK. But do dig the tune by magnificent Milwaukee musician and musical mastermind Rick.

Oh and big, big thanks to the fine local establishments that provided the awesome auction items, and a special shout-out to the following delicious vendors for supplying the tasty vittles:

Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., Atomic Chocolate Co., Ball ‘N Biscuit Catering, Beans & Barley, Blue’s Egg, Bolzano Artisan Meats, Centro Cafe, Chubby Cheese Truck, Eat Cake!, Hector’s On Delaware, Indulgence Chocolatiers, Jake’s Deli, Jow Nai Fouquet Thai, Kasana Concierge Gourmet, Martita’s Mixers, Maxie’s Southern Comfort, McBob’s Pub & Grill, Milwaukee Ale House, Molly Cool’s Seafood Tavern, The Noble, Outpost Natural Foods, Paciugo Gelato, Purple Door Ice Cream, Red Rock Saloon, Revolucion Mexican Restaurant, The Rumpus Room, Sala da Pranzo, SPiN Milwaukee, Times Square Bistro & Pizzeria, and The Wicked Hop

Nectarous! Cheers! See you next year!

–Erin Harris

Purple Door’s Perfect Four

Purple Door Ice Cream's Espresso, Chocolate, and Salted Caramel Ice Creams

Ice cream for lunch. You scream for lunch. We all scream for lunch. I stopped down at Purple Door Ice Cream’s production facility yesterday and had ice cream for lunch, and O, Sweet Succulence, let me tell you how good it is. The espresso flavor, made with beans roasted fresh at Anodyne, pops with a superbly balanced kick ‘a coffee. The chocolate’s perfectly sweet, and the expert confectioners down at Purple Door ain’t afraid ‘a no cocoa. And the salted caramel, well, in the words of one of Purple Door’s retailers, the salted caramel is “make-out good.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’m guessing it refers to the luscious sensuousness you feel when that sweet stuff lingers on your tongue. And the fourth thing that’s cool about Purple Door–if you’re wondering about the discrepancy between the number of flavors in the photo and the number of things in this post’s title–is Purple Door’s Milk for Milwaukee program. The good folks at Purple Door designate a portion of their proceeds to providing milk to local homeless shelters including The Guest House, The Cathedral Center, and Pathfinders. These cats are dedicated to both crafting deliciousness and helping people in need. So come to the Slam to get a taste of their nectarous goodness alongside, say, a knockout slice-a cake from Eat Cake. But you know the drill–you gosta get your tickets ASAP cuz there won’t be none left PDQ.

And here’s a video of Purple Door co-owner Steve Schultz talkin’ ’bout makin’ the sweet stuff. You’ll notice that the dude totally rocks.

–Erin Harris