As we crossed the state border into Wisconsin, we were met with a sunny and warm day. We were not going to freeze in the land of cheese. Our ultimate Wisconsin destination was Madison but we needed to find a breakfast joint before reaching the city. One criterion for choosing where to have breakfast in a particular state is that it needs to be in a locality that I have never had the pleasure of visiting. Madison was out because I was a student there in the early 1980s. We did find a place that opened at 6 AM with good internet reviews and located just over the border with Illinois.
Jerry's Cafe
Beloit, Wisconsin
AMBIENCE: Jerry's Cafe, which opened in 2011, sits near the center of Beloit surrounded by small businesses such as auto body shops, a laundromat, and a dry cleaners. I had assumed that the restaurant is named after the owner but I later found out that the owner is Oscar Garcia. I have no idea about the identity of Jerry.
The eatery is not in a very big space and the tables are tightly packed together. It is readily apparent that the family who own and operate the place are of Hispanic origin. Menu items such as chilaquiles, burritos, and quesadillas were one clue. They did serve Swedish pancakes but I was certain those weren't Swedish accents I was hearing from the waitresses. What really gave it away however, was the television on the wall.
The four or five authentic Mexican or Latin American restaurants we visited on our travels had at least one television playing in the dining area. Inevitably, the sound is muted. The television in Jerry's was set to the Food Channel. I think the TV chef was making pot roast which didn't do much for me at 7 AM in the morning. The lit up screens next to the TV listed the specials. I'm not sure, but it looked like you might be able to read X-rays on those screens.
It was a Saturday morning and the place was about half filled when we got there but by the time we left it had filled up and was bustling. It certainly appeared to be a real "locals place" with a real mix of families, students, friends, amigos, and amigas.
4 out of 5 stars
FOOD: Since we were in "America's Dairyland" I decided I would order the item with the most dairy products. That turned out to be the Breakfast Quesadilla which had pepper jack cheese, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. The tortillas were also filled with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and onions. On the side came hash browns. Since we were close to the state of Iowa, with its population of 20 million pigs, I ordered bacon.
The quesadillas tasted very good. The tortillas were perfectly grilled and all the inside ingredients melded perfectly into a scrumptious treat for the taste buds. Adding the sour cream and salsa just improved the feast. The hash browns were perfectly crispy. Adding some sour cream and salsa to the hash browns also upgraded the taste. The bacon arrived extra crispy, not my preferred outcome, but good nonetheless.
The Healthy One ordered the "home style" oatmeal topped with raisins and accompanied by an English muffin. After the Ohio breakfast of scrambled eggs and the Indiana breakfast of an omelet she was already sick of eggs. She said the oatmeal was "good" but I don't think you can say much more about oatmeal. I expect if I ever make it to the chronologically gifted home, I'll be eating oatmeal with an English muffin just about every day so I am postponing that excitement.
The Healthy One ordered the "home style" oatmeal topped with raisins and accompanied by an English muffin. After the Ohio breakfast of scrambled eggs and the Indiana breakfast of an omelet she was already sick of eggs. She said the oatmeal was "good" but I don't think you can say much more about oatmeal. I expect if I ever make it to the chronologically gifted home, I'll be eating oatmeal with an English muffin just about every day so I am postponing that excitement.
5 out of 5 stars
COFFEE:
The coffee was a notch above Midwestern coffee (see Ohio coffee rant). Perhaps there was a bit of a Mexican influence involved in the coffee brewing process; one of a hundred reasons why we should support compassionate immigration reform.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
SERVICE: It looked like the waitstaff of six or so females were all related. This seems to be a true family establishment. All of them were similarly dressed in black shirts and black pants looking like a pack of benign ninjas. They operated like a well oiled machine, helping each other with cleaning tables, delivering food, and dispensing coffee refills. Our primary waitress was named Yuri and she was a delight. She had a smile that did not disappear. She was also the youngest of the bunch but performed like a seasoned veteran. The combination of her accent, her braces, and our aging ears made it hard for us to understand what she was saying some of the time, but she smiled, we smiled and everything was good.
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars
A FEW WORDS ABOUT BELOIT:
Beloit is one of those towns, like Oberlin, that when I hear the name, I automatically think only of the college rather than the town in which the college is located. The city has a significant population of 36,757 and really doesn't feel like a typical college town where the "gown" population is a much higher percentage of the "town" population. It lies just over the Illinois border and is known as the "Gateway to Wisconsin". It was founded in 1836.
The origin of the town name is in dispute, but a number of historians believe it is derived from the French word for handsome - beau - and then conformed to sound like Detroit which at the time was a prosperous and emulatable small city. Beloit College was established in 1846 with $7,000 in financial support from the town. These days, students help provide the financial support to the college to the tune of $57,000 a year for tuition, room, and board. Beloit College is Wisconsin's first college and has about 1,300 students.
Beloit was once a rough and tumble industrial town. Like other Rust Belt cities, its economy has been permanently altered by global competition. Unlike some other Rust Belt cities, it appears to be making a strong comeback from the 19% unemployment rate experienced in 2010. Beloit's core industries of food processing, agriculture, and manufacturing have stabilized. The unemployment rate is now at 4.6%. The city center is thriving with new shops, restaurants and bars. There appears to be a strong arts scene and the city hosts an annual well regarded international film festival. Not only that, Beloit has three supper clubs!
The supper club is a family run dining establishment and social gathering place that traditionally was found in the upper Midwest states. These clubs were typically located at the edge of town in rural areas. The heyday of the supper club was right after World War II. It was a place where people of modest means could go and feel like big spenders. It was pretty much an eating culture unto itself and the routine was well scripted. You would first go to the bar and have a cocktail, most likely a Brandy Old Fashion. Next, you would go to your table where a relish tray awaited. Your entree would be either prime rib or fish and a baked potato. After dinner you returned to the bar and maybe drink a Grasshopper. Many of them are still in business but unfortunately our schedule, evening locations, and travel wardrobe did not allow us to investigate in person.
Beloit is one of those towns, like Oberlin, that when I hear the name, I automatically think only of the college rather than the town in which the college is located. The city has a significant population of 36,757 and really doesn't feel like a typical college town where the "gown" population is a much higher percentage of the "town" population. It lies just over the Illinois border and is known as the "Gateway to Wisconsin". It was founded in 1836.
The origin of the town name is in dispute, but a number of historians believe it is derived from the French word for handsome - beau - and then conformed to sound like Detroit which at the time was a prosperous and emulatable small city. Beloit College was established in 1846 with $7,000 in financial support from the town. These days, students help provide the financial support to the college to the tune of $57,000 a year for tuition, room, and board. Beloit College is Wisconsin's first college and has about 1,300 students.
Beloit was once a rough and tumble industrial town. Like other Rust Belt cities, its economy has been permanently altered by global competition. Unlike some other Rust Belt cities, it appears to be making a strong comeback from the 19% unemployment rate experienced in 2010. Beloit's core industries of food processing, agriculture, and manufacturing have stabilized. The unemployment rate is now at 4.6%. The city center is thriving with new shops, restaurants and bars. There appears to be a strong arts scene and the city hosts an annual well regarded international film festival. Not only that, Beloit has three supper clubs!
The supper club is a family run dining establishment and social gathering place that traditionally was found in the upper Midwest states. These clubs were typically located at the edge of town in rural areas. The heyday of the supper club was right after World War II. It was a place where people of modest means could go and feel like big spenders. It was pretty much an eating culture unto itself and the routine was well scripted. You would first go to the bar and have a cocktail, most likely a Brandy Old Fashion. Next, you would go to your table where a relish tray awaited. Your entree would be either prime rib or fish and a baked potato. After dinner you returned to the bar and maybe drink a Grasshopper. Many of them are still in business but unfortunately our schedule, evening locations, and travel wardrobe did not allow us to investigate in person.
BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:
We headed up to Madison and enjoyed the massive farmer's market encircling the state capital building. There are up to 300 vendors and it takes about an hour to make the circuit (we did it twice). We then walked on State St. from the capital to the university and back. On day two, we covered much of the enormous UW campus and rewarded ourselves with Babcock Hall ice cream (the orange custard chocolate chip tastes as good as it did 35 years ago). To burn off the ice cream calories, we toured the fabulous Olbrich Botantical Gardens.
We headed up to Madison and enjoyed the massive farmer's market encircling the state capital building. There are up to 300 vendors and it takes about an hour to make the circuit (we did it twice). We then walked on State St. from the capital to the university and back. On day two, we covered much of the enormous UW campus and rewarded ourselves with Babcock Hall ice cream (the orange custard chocolate chip tastes as good as it did 35 years ago). To burn off the ice cream calories, we toured the fabulous Olbrich Botantical Gardens.
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October 7, 2017
NEXT UP: ILLINOIS
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