John D.'s Profile

This is an unwelcoming and dying mall.  Ever since the mall management announced in early 2012 that transit riders are not welcome here, I've rethought  patronizing any business in this mall.  I've never really thought about this mall as other than a decent place to shop.  However, once the mall management's true attitude toward me was revealed in their anti-transit announcement, I've decided that I am not welcome here.  

I've also begun to worder:  is this anti-transit and anti-pedestrian attitude the official policy of stores like Sears and Kohl's that are located in this mall?  What about the other retailers?  

There is little doubt that the suburban shopping mall as a business model was over about two or three decades ago.  The management of this mall has now shown its true colors:  it embraces anti-transit and anti-pedestrian attitudes that indicate backwards thinking that will no doubt accelerate this mall's journey into the dustbin of history.  

I pity any investor in this mall:  like at Northridge, money invested here will likely be worth only pennies on the dollar years from now.   I will rethink patronizing--even online--retailers like Kohl's and Sears as long as they are part of this mall.

Another great addition to the Alterra cafes.  This one is in a four-story mixed use building set in a walkable urban neighborhood.  Kudos to Alterra for moving into a street-friendly and pedestrian-friendly building that is designed in an appropriately urban style rather than head out further into the burbs and create a bland shack set in the middle of an asphalt parking lot.

Inside, you'll find the familiar warmth, wonderful coffee, and baking aroma that welcomes you to Alterra.  They've done a great job in maximizing their use of space in this cafe.  They've provided multiple, long window-facing counters where you can sit at a stool and take up just space for one if you go there with your laptop or a book to read or if you want to just gaze out the window at the passing life on Oakland Avenue or Kensington Boulevard.  There are metal chairs and tables outside which will be great in the warm weather.  Inside, there seems to be plenty of tables and comfortable chairs in socially-oriented groupings.  It was pretty full when I was there, but there were places available still when I arrived and when I left (late afternoon on a weekday).  The free Wi-Fi worked fine.

The coffee and food are great, and you would be familiar with these if you have visited the other Alterra locations.  I don't know what the brew bar (or "pour over" service) is--I saw it and thought it was a display of coffee makers for sale or something.  I'll have to figure that out sometime and try it.

Astor Street Dance Studio provides instruction in a wide variety of dance forms by caring and skilled teachers.  The studio also hosts many different dance-related events.  I've attended many of the dance showcases and was always impressed by the students and instructors.

What is really neat is that the studio is in a historic building and located right in the heart of the Yankee Hill neighborhood.  This is a dance studio that, if you live nearby, will be a pleasant walk.  County Clare is next door, and Monica's is right downstairs.  By including this dance studio in your regular choices for dance, exercise, fitness, and having fun with others, you'll really improve your life!  I couldn't recommend it more highly!

My girlfriend and I stopped in Coquette Cafe for the special lunch offered by the Downtown Dining Week promotion.   We each had a wonderful meal--a choice of opening salad or soup du jour, a croque monsieur for myself, flatbread pizza for her, and oeufs à la neige for dessert.  The food was all very tasty and served pleasantly and quickly.   The staff was very attentive, considerate, accurate, and fast.   The decor of the place is comfortable and dignified without being pretentious and offers outdoor dining in good weather.  Many people were dining--it seems very popular.  I would recommend it for any casual business lunch or great-tasting and reasonably-priced lunch in the Third Ward.

I went to the Transfer Pizzeria for the first time for a meeting luncheon.  The pizza served was excellent--many different styles (veggie, white pizza, meat lover's-style also), and the crust was just the right crispiness, the ingredients tasty, and a generous amount of cheese.  The servers for our meeting were efficient, friendly, and courteous.

I can't say what the restaurant itself would be like, but it is in a neat location (the former "Scrambled Ed's diner") and well worth a visit for pizza in Walker's Point.

Located in Walker's Point, Conejito's is the type of genuine place that makes Milwaukee great.  We went for dinner and had plenty to eat for a reasonable price, all on paper plates on communal tables.  The food was great-tasting--just like I remember from my days in old Mexico!  If you are looking for an authentic experience, great-tasting food, and food priced just a bit less than what you would pay in a fast food chain, stop by.  My only complaint is the smoke--but that should go away with the new laws in 2010. I look forward to visiting when we can breathe.

Bucketworks provides a space for creativity to grow.  You'll find a range of meeting rooms for your group, plans for you to join to grow your business, or events and meetings to attend on a variety of topics.

I've attended regular web414 meetings at Bucketworks as well as the annual Barcampmilwaukee get-together.  I'm impressed by the space, staff, and how they work together to foster a creative environment.

I'm a Yooper and grew up eating pasties.  My Mom would make them based on her own recipe.  Dobber's pasties are the best pasties that I've had and closest to the home-made pasties that I grew up with.  What makes them great is that they are simple--the basic pasty emphasizes the meat, potatoes, and flour shell--nothing more and nothing less.  None of that fancy stuff.  We didn't have fancy stuff in the UP!   We had to walk to school in the deep snow!  It was cold!  You had a pasty, and it warmed you up.

And--holy wah--don't use gravy.  Try ketchup on the pasty.  I know the trolls (people from downstate Michigan) eat it with gravy, but that makes no sense at all--you might as well go ahead and have stew or something.  We had ketchup on our pasties and were grateful!

This is a stunning park along Lake Michigan that shows off a wide variety of the landforms and biota of Wisconsin.  While the trees, birds, ponds, and lakeshore are beautiful to encounter along the paths through the park, I was a bit taken aback on my visit by the automobile-centric nature of the grounds.  

The layout of the center seems burdened by the need to move cars throughout the property, with little regard for alternate forms of transit or pedestrians.  There are no separated walkways for pedestrians to arrive on foot or bicycle (we came on a bus that stops further west on Brown Deer Road).   The entrance consists of a winding asphalt road on which cars travel to large, free, surface parking lots.  I found it stunning that the person who (kindly and competently) gave us directions at the desk inside the center assumed we had driven in.  Isn't driving to a nature center like driving to a health club?   I also object to the center displaying its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) plaque when it offers so much free surface parking.  I do not believe leadership in environmental design should subsidize automobile travel and support massive, free automobile storage at a nature center.  

I respect the mission of this organization very much, and I think the park is beautiful, but the sensibility of its design seems more akin to a suburban shopping mall than a center in the stewardship of the environment.

This is a great place for a bagel sandwich, bagel, or just coffee.  It offers free WiFi, outside seating in good weather, and, despite its small interior, adequate seating.  The location is very good -- as it is in a walkable neighborhood and located a short walk to downtown, the lakefront, Peter White library, or, further up Third Street, Northern Michigan University campus.