VISIT Milwaukee Blog
A “Great” Time to Go to the Movies
by Guest Blogger Maxwell Zupke
The Charles Allis Art Museum will screen the 1949 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” May 8 at 7:30 p.m. It’s a rare film never aired on television nor released on VHS or DVD. The screening, which precedes a wide theatrical release of a new adaptation, will be shown as part of Charles Allis’ bi-monthly Movie Time series, which showcases classic films from the vast personal collection of Milwaukee’s leading film historian, Dale Kuntz.
The collection of art and furniture on display at the Charles Allis Art Museum makes Movie Time a double feature. For $7, patrons enjoy a general admission ticket to explore the home before taking their seats for Movie Time, which is always preceded by Kuntz’s inside scoop on the featured film.
Exploring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 seminal novel has become a staple of high-school English classes and a popular project in Hollywood, which has adapted the classic five times, perhaps due to the continuing relevance of Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the empty nouveau riche lifestyle. “The Great Gatsby” screen debut was a silent film released in 1926, though it has since been lost.
The 1949 version highlights '40s megastar Alan Ladd as the eponymous Gatsby and features Academy Award-winner Shelley Winters in a small role. Due to legal loopholes and entanglements, the film has never been televised. Thankfully, one reel has been kept in pristine condition by Kuntz. The condition of the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow was not so pristine, garnering mixed reviews at best, which is far better than 2000’s made-for-TV flop starring Paul Rudd and Mira Sorvino.
Here’s to hoping the latest big-screen adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire, fares better. Helmed by “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge!” director Baz Luhrmann, the film retains Fitzgerald's 1920s setting, but adds a punchy, modern soundtrack.
Sounds like a “great” time to dust off that faded “Gatsby” from English Composition (insert your decade here), reacquaint yourself (or acquaint, like me, as I have yet to read it) with Gatsby, Nick, Tom and Daisy, then check out back-to-back “Gatsbys” – first at the Charles Allis on May 8, then May 10 at the Marcus Theatre of your choice (I’ll be planted, popcorn in hand, at the Majestic). It's a great opportunity to view two versions of a timeless tale, one Fitzgerald fans shouldn't miss.
Details:
Movie Time
Charles Allis Art Museum
1801 N. Prospect Ave.
I’m Melting
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Thursday, April 18, 2013 By Zack Zupke Creative Services Manager VISIT Milwaukee |
I got on the elevator after work the other night (you know, that one night it was raining) and a gentleman got on one floor down, umbrella in tow. He quickly noticed I was without precipitation protection.
“You’re gonna get wet,” he smirked.
Of all the replies running through my head (“not if I take your umbrella” popped in there pretty quickly), I calmly countered with “Well, I hope I won’t melt.”
He chuckled a muffled chuckle, realizing what he’d just said to a stranger was quite odd. I chuckled, internally, a last-laugh laugh because the word “melt” reminded me I was going to Melthouse Bistro for lunch the following day and, well, that’s the kind of stuff I find funny. Internally.
The menu at Melthouse Bistro, however, is no laughing matter. A giant chalkboard greets you upon arrival at their east-side location on East Kenilworth a half block west of Farwell. Filled with mouth-melting choices like The Cheesehead (provolone, aged cheddar and muenster), The Sergeant Pepper (Wisconsin pepper Jack and cheddar cheese, roasted cauliflower and red peppers with tempura fried onions on sourdough) and The ‘Lil Kahuna (Wisconsin pepper Jack, pineapple, sautéed bell peppers and smoked ham on country buttertop buns), Melthouse Bistro takes the grilled cheese sandwich to mythic proportions.
“Our gourmet flavor combinations are a culinary adventure, bringing warmth, comfort and absolute bliss together that will bring you back again and again,” is how Melthouse Bistro tells it. And they’re spot on.
The day a co-worker and I visited, it was rainy and cold (a dramatic shift from the otherwise windy, rainy and cold). We were in uber need of warmth and comfort and we found it in the form of The Big Sal (Wisconsin asiago and fresh mozzarella, Italian sausage, roasted red peppers and sautéed onions, portabella mushrooms and bell peppers on ciabatta bread) and The Biloxi (Wisconsin fontina, pulled barbecue pork, pickles and creamy coleslaw on buttertop white).
But, Melthouse Bistro is more than delectable artistries between bread, their sides and choice of beverages (they offer wine and beer pairings from local wineries/breweries for all sandwiches) alone warrant repeated visits. We sampled the mac ‘n cheese, waffle fries and a bowl of Yukon potato soup, as well as Sprecher Root Beer and Sprecher Orange Dream – in frosted glasses.
Ironically, we appeared to be in a frosted glass as we gazed onto Kenilworth from our window seats. The steady rain obscured our view, but not our grilled-cheese escape. I can’t wait to make another escape to Melthouse Bistro. So, let it keep raining. I’ve got a lot of menu to cover.
Details:
Melthouse Bistro
1857 E. Kenilwoth Place
Let’s Celebrate Milwaukee Day
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Friday, April 12, 2013 By Jeannine Sherman Director of Public Relations VISIT Milwaukee |
Sunday is April 14 and you know what that means. It’s 414 and that’s the code, as in area code, for MKE. It’s a day to celebrate the city we hold dear, so put on your thinking cap and get out there and find an “only-in-Milwaukee” way to enjoy your favorite place on the planet!
I’ve got a few ideas to get you started, but the key to doing it right is to make the day your own. What do you love about Milwaukee? What are some of your favorite ways to spend time here? Let me know and I’ll add it to the list!
- Start a blog about why you love Milwaukee
- Enjoy all four food groups in a Bloody Mary Milwaukee-style
- Start the day off with a big cup of Joe at Alterra
- Learn about new restaurants and cool neighborhoods on a Milwaukee Food Tour
- Walk through the Milwaukee Public Library
- Take your best friend out for frozen custard
- Go for a stroll along the lakefront
- Share the Dear MKE feature film with someone who doesn’t live in Milwaukee
- Take your pic with the cow at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart and post to Facebook
- Have brunch at a new restaurant
- Instagram from atop the Pilot House at Discovery World
- Visit a neighborhood you’ve never been to
- Take a Miller Park tour
- Have a drink, an appetizer, a sandwich, a stroll with your best friend – anything. Just do it on Milwaukee Street.
- Bike the Oak Leaf Trail
- Go bowling!
- Take someone from the burbs on a tour of Milwaukee and post all your pics online
- Have a Milwaukee microbrew from your favorite watering hole
- Grill a bratwurst
- Watch the wings open on the Milwaukee Art Museum
- Eat at Friday’s Front Row Grill
- Hop on a motorcycle at the Harley-Davidson Museum
- Go somewhere you’ve never gone before – a park, restaurant, museum, neighborhood, etc.
- Pose for a picture with the Bronze Fonz
- Eat a handful of cheese curds
- Make an official invitation to a friend or family member who’s never been to Milwaukee, or hasn’t in a long time, to visit this summer
- Walk the entire RiverWalk
- Tell the time using the “human sundial” in front of the Domes
- Push the rattlesnake button at the Milwaukee Public Museum
- Find Gertie the Duck on the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge
- Learn about our roots at the Milwaukee Historical Society
- Eat something from every vendor at the Milwaukee Public Market
- Sign up for the Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole Run
- Have a picnic in a County Park
- Locate the top-secret Safe House, Milwaukee’s international spy hangout
- Check out the view of the flame atop the Wisconsin Gas Light Building from Blu at the Pfister
- Take a brewery tour
50 Family Fun Ideas – Spring Break in Milwaukee
by Guest Bloggers Carrie Woods & Kerry Burke
Looking for things to do while the kids are out of school this week?
Check out this list of 50 fun things to do with the family on Spring Break in Milwaukee!
- Meet the new Jaguar cubs – B’ alam and Zean – at the Milwaukee County Zoo
- Climb to the top of the 60-foot observation tower at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
- Get custard at KOPP’S, Culver’s or your favorite local place for the creamy treat
- Visit New Orleans in Milwaukee at “Blue Bayou” in the Show Dome at the Mitchell Park Domes
- Climb the Northpoint Lighthouse tower
- Pretend to ride motorcycles at the Harely-Davidson Museum
- Hang out with Mr. Potato Head at the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum
- Fly a kite at Gift of Wings on Milwaukee’s lakefront
- Climb the rock wall at the Urban Ecology Center at Riverside Park
- Visit the Kohl’s Art Generation center at the Milwaukee Art Museum
- Bike the Oak Leaf Trail
- Head to a Brewer game and root, root, root for the home team!
- Check out story of how the game of baseball has changed over the years at “Baseball – Innovations That Changed the Game” at Discovery World
- Talk like a pirate and see real pirate treasure at the Real Pirates! Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum
- Skate like a pro (or pretend to) at the Pettit National Ice Center
- Play ping pong at SPiN Milwaukee
- Play on the digging equipment and virtually operate mining shovels at the Bucyrus Museum
- Take a pizza tour at Palermo’s and enjoy a piping hot slice of pie at the end
- Head to the Admirals game on Friday
- Talk an art walk to along the Milwaukee RiverWalk (…be sure not to miss Gertie the duck!)
- Grab your Frisbees, balls and bats out and have some fun in a Milwaukee County Park
- Fill the kids with cookies and candy from the bakeries and sweets shops at the Milwaukee Public Market
- See grandiose history at the Pabst Mansion, the only known restored beer baron’s mansion
- Look for new buds on the rose bushes at Boerner Botanical Gardens
- Check out the larger-than-life bronze statues in the “Man at Work” collection at the Grohmann Museum
- Star gaze without staying up past bedtime at the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium
- Learn about the Jewish culture at the Milwaukee Jewish Museum
- See a show and go bowling to spark some family-friendly competition at IPic Entertainment
- Say cheese! Take a picture with the Bronze Fonz on Milwaukee’s Riverwalk
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Take a tour of the Milwaukee Public Library
- Take a drive and zoom down the zip line at the Lake Geneva Canopy Tours
- Have a tea party at Watts Tea Shop
- Take a tour of the Jelly Belly Visitor Center
- Get outside and check out the art at the Lynden Sculpture Garden
- Take a Pizza Bus Tour from Milwaukee Food Tours. Yum!
- Go swinging at the Holton Bridge Swings
- Visit the St. Joan of Arc Chapel, which is believed to be the only medieval structure in the entire Western Hemisphere still used for its original purpose
- Step back in time at the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear
- Give the kids all the soda they could ever dream of drinking at the Sprecher Brewery Tour
- Pretend to be a top-secret international spy and explore the Safe House
- Visit the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, an aviation museum at the General Mitchell International Airport
- Admire Wisconsin’s wildlife on a hike at the Wehr Nature Center
- Smell the spices at the Spice House and bring home something to cook as a family
- Check out the big cow at Wisconsin Cheese Mart and taste some delicious cheese.
- Tour St. Josaphat’s Basilica, home to one of the largest domes in the country.
- Watch the wings flap at the Milwaukee Art Museum
- Check out Milwaukee’s past at the Milwaukee Historical Society
- Take your dogs for a play date at the dog park
- Take a “Skywaukee” tour and explore the history of Milwaukee from its skywalk system.
- Get a great grilled cheese at Milwaukee’s only grilled cheese café
