Soup and Bread

S&B Tour 2011: Milwaukee

I was slumped over the bar at Sugar Maple last Thursday, having determined that, given the preceding 24 hours, a Stateside Saison was a sound idea, when I noticed the woman sitting next to me — though it wasn’t so much the figure herself but what lay before her on the bar that caught my eye.

“Mind if I take look at that?” I said, waving at a red flyer stamped with some familiar words.

“Oh … Sure!” She looked me over as I looked over her leaflet. “Do you have something to do with this soup thing?”

As she spoke, my spine straightened — and what I was reading swum into focus. It was a flyer for a Soup & Bread night … in Milwaukee … in two weeks time. One that I had absolutely nothing to do with.

I couldn’t help it — I started to jump up and down. “What … how … where’d this come from?” I asked.

I’m sure I’m botching the story, because my inner reporter was off duty by then. I think what she told me was that she — Kris, was her name — had heard about the cookbook …. on a food blog? … and had bought a copy of the book off the internet. And she was so taken with the idea, that she decided to organize her own Soup & Bread in Milwaukee before she got wind of the one we were staging at Sugar Maple and decided to come do some recon.

“I hope that’s OK …” she said.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THAT’S TOTALLY GREAT AND AMAZING!!!

Lately I’ve taken to describing Soup & Bread as an “open-source” concept, and even in our own travels this past month it’s been fascinating to see how each event finds its own distinct identity, shaped by the peculiarities of the city, the venue, and the cooks. So, it’s always been my secret hope that other people would take this weirdo soup idea and run with it. There’s even an appendix in the book detailing how to produce your own Soup & Bread event. I don’t know that I ever truly thought it would happen — but between this, and the news this morning of a recent Soup & Bread: Atlanta, and the promise of new initiatives bubbling up in Brooklyn, in Madison, and (more on this later) Nashville …

It is kind of thrilling.

Inside Milwaukee has a bit more info on Kris’s event — produced in conjunction with Hunger Task Force Milwaukee and a new(ish) local group called FoodFightMKE. I wish I could attend but I’ll be on the road heading home from Detroit on the 15th. If you go, please do report back.

Meanwhile, oh yes … the soup!

We had a good turnout at the Maple, courtesy of the networking skills of Adrienne Pierluissi, who, with her husband, Bruno Johnson, runs Sugar Maple and its sister bar, the Palm. Adrienne rounded up a great crew of friends and associates to contribute soup. Above are the fearsome threesome of Kate O’Keefe, Melissa Crockett, and Tyan Soo. Or, as we call them: Saigon cinnamon mole with chorizo, white bean-chicken chili, and black bean and chorizo soup.

We also had a duo of Italian wedding soup and squash soup from Chris Ward, who couldn’t stick around for the event, a lentil soup from Petra Grabowski, and a tasty “vegantarian” carrot-curry-ginger soup (made with honey, but no other animal products) from beer writer Lucy Saunders (above), the author of Grilling With Beer and Cooking With Beer.  I had a great time talking with Lucy about indie publishing and how to make the most of the odd twists it can throw at you — and look forward to digging into this here copy of The Best of American Beer & Food, which I traded for a soup book.

Last but by no means least, we had Sheila’s brother Ed. Have you seen those buttons around Milwaukee that say “I know Ed”? That Ed. Here’s a better picture.

He put that decal on his Crock-Pot himself. And not only does the man own a PBR-themed Crock-Pot, he’s got a thermal carrying cozy for it to boot. Ladies, seriously. Ed made a pot of what he dubbed “Ed’s Love Chili Soup.” Chili flavors, soup consistency, and very tasty.

After our low-speed, high-comedy UPS adventure earlier in the day, it was a pleasure to be able to kick back at the Maple surrounded by a happy crowd of the bar’s friends and regulars.  We sold some books (hooray). We ate a lot of soup. Bruno DJ’d. I worked myself at least a little way down the Maple’s epic list of American craft beers, for which the bartender kept neglecting to charge me. And we raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 (I forgot to write it down) for Bay View Community Center. Good job Adrienne! (There she is up there, in the knee socks, with Lucy.) And then we went back to Ed’s house and collapsed.

The next morning: A leisurely breakfast at Honey Pie. A quick tour of some of Milwaukee high points. And then, back on the road. Somewhere around Wilmette I got a call from the bartender at the High Noon, in Madison. Our missing box of books had arrived.

Posted: Friday Dec 9,2011 04:36 PM In S&B Cookbook

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