My Week that Was - March 2

A Madison favorite. 2/24/2024 dwm

  One of the shows we watch regularly is "Wisconsin Foodie" on Wisconsin Public Television. It features restaurants, chefs, and Wisconsin food.

 A recent episode highlighted two well-known bagel shops with fervent fans in Milwaukee and Madison. I heard of Gotham but had never tried it so we decided to check it out Saturday morning.

 Located on Mifflin street just off Capitol Square, it has a great location close to a lot of people. When we walked in, the lobby was crowded with people eating breakfast, drinking coffee or standing while waiting for their order.

They make a variety of bagels fresh when you order. In addition to walk-in business there were quite a few carry--out and delivery service orders.

It's a New York bagel shop, owned and operated by a New Yorker who loves Madison. My egg bagel had a nice texture and consistency that was complimented by butter and cream cheese. 

 

An egg bagel w/cream cheese. 2/24/24 dwm

Eating a bagel like a sandwich is too messy, so I pulled each side apart first. The first half was great. There were a couple flavors I didn't expect on the second half of the bagel, one was onion and an errant knife added lox to what was supposed to be plain cream cheese.

It was a good experience but isn't likely to be a regular stop for me. My taste in bagels leans to chocolate chip, french toast, and cinnamon crunch. 

 

As an authentic NYC shop, there isn't anything like that on the menu. If you like the savory side and especially if you like using a bagel as a sandwich, I heartily recommend Gotham's Bagel shop.

It was an exhibition game but the Milwaukee Brewers started playing baseball Saturday. It was fun catching a couple innings on the radio as I ran a couple errands.

Monday I attend the second of two memorial services in three days for residents I was honored and privileged to know during my time serving at Oakwood.

At Monday's service, the daughter of a long-time professor didn't speak of his hard work but of his heart work.  The phrase made me think, more about that in an upcoming post.

At the first of two services, the guest of honor sang the closing hymn thanks to a recording of him singing The Lord's Prayer. He loved to sing and was seriously good.  Over the years, I joined a sing-a-long group a couple times a month, pre-Covid, to sing songs from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Many were songs I remember Dad singing on car trips.

My favorite times with that group was when I sat next to this man and tried to join his baritone with whatever you would call my voice. Whether it was opera or a hit from the 1940s, he enjoyed singing.

Thursday evening I was asked to introduce our resident chorus for their first concert since Covid. It was a delightful concert with a variety of winter songs.

The best news of the week was getting through a list of forty phone calls that backed up my calendar, it will be nice to start fresh on Monday.

It was yet another strange week of weather. It was nice Monday and Tuesday, when temperatures reached 70, then the thermometer dropped 40 degrees by Wednesday. Thursday warmed a little and by Friday it was in the upper 50s again.  

It wasn't March coming in like a lion, that's for sure; have a great week!