FEBRUARY 2022
40 YEARS OF MILWAUKEE FOOD
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NEWS 07 Please Vote for Mayor on Feb. 15 08 Can Psychedelics Change the World? 11 This Modern World 12 Don’t Believe Everything You Hear about Republicans Winning the Midterms — Taking Liberties 14 Darrell Jack's Fast Forward Fitness — Hero of the Month 16 Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson — Off the Cuff
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FOOD & DRINK
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22 Shahrazad Tells a New Story at its New Location
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26 The Wine Made Me Do It — Beverages
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SPECIAL SECTION 28 40th Anniversary: Food 28 40 Years of Excellence Milwaukee's Dining Scene from 1982 to 2022 32 Milwaukee Then and Now Forty Years of Food Trends 36 Best of Milwaukee Winners 52 Milwaukee's Favorite Fish Fries as Voted by Our Readers
CULTURE 54 History and Memory in ‘An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain’ 58 Bluegrass Pickings - Chicken Wire Empire and The Big Wu’s Chris Castino Team Up for Collaborative Album 60 This Month in Milwaukee
LIFESTYLE 64 The Many Meanings of 'I Love You' — Out of my Mind
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66 ‘No Evidence that Occasional Marijana Use Has Harmful Effects,’ Says Top Federal Drug Researcher — Cannabis
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Cover: Photo taken at Odd Duck. Photo by Michael Burmesch.
PLEASE VOTE
Please Vote for Mayor on Feb. 15 MILWAUKEE FLOURISHES WHEN PEOPLE ARE ENGAGED
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here is a once in a generation Milwaukee mayoral election that does not have an elected incumbent running. There will be seven candidates on the ballot, five of whom are current or former elected officials. This is a special election triggered by the resignation of long serving Mayor Tom Barrett who is now the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg. Due to the importance of the office of Mayor of Milwaukee, and the short window to campaign due to the recent appointment and confirmation of Ambassador Barrett, the Shepherd Editorial Group felt it was not fair to the candidates for us to endorse one candidate at this time. Also with our current Shepherd Express glossy publication, we had to send this publication to the printer on Monday,
Jan. 24. Again, this limits our time to see how the campaigns are developing. Organizing and running a city-wide campaign is complex and it takes some time to listen to voters throughout the city, understand their issues which are often neighborhood specific, and develop a city-wide set of policy positions that respond to the needs of the voters. We do have experience with some of these candidates, those who are currently serving in office or have served in elected office in the past. We feel that Milwaukee residents are very fortunate to have three well-qualified candidates running for mayor, anyone of them we believe could serve the city well. The top two candidates coming out of the Feb. 15 primary will square off on April 5. We will revisit the election again before the April 5 election.
THE THREE CANDIDATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER ARE:
Photo courtesy of Marina Dimitrijevic’s campaign website.
ALDERWOMAN MARINA DIMITRIJEVIC
Photo by Tom Jenz.
ACTING MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON
Photo courtesy of Earnell Lucas’ campaign website.
SHERIFF EARNELL LUCAS
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NEWS
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Illustration by Michael Burmesch.
CAN PSYCHEDELICS CHANGE THE WORLD? RESEARCHERS AND CLINICIANS TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY OF ALTERED CONSCIOUSNESS BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
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s a teenager and in my early 20s, LSD intrigued me. I had three experiences with the illicit consciousness-altering chemical that represent a slice of the psychedelic spectrum: terror, silliness and profound connection. The terror occurred when, after a large dose at a concert, a dark abyss opened at my side and I feared falling in. Fortunately, a friend recognized that I was on the edge and calmly talked me down. Several years passed until my next dose, at an “acid party” throbbing with music and colorful characters. While driving home at 3 a.m., the stoplight ahead changed from yellow to red, and I realized I had no idea if that light was two feet or two blocks away. Silliness: I may have stopped in mid-block waiting for the light to go green, a warning about driving while under the influence of any substance. And finally, connection. While hiking on acid with friends in the foothills overlooking San Francisco Bay, I experienced the vivid red of the redwood trees and the tweed-like texture of the ground and the oneness of it all. It was the psychedelic experience I always sought and afterward, I stopped searching. That was 35 years ago when psychedelic drugs had long been relegated to society’s outlaws. Lately, a rising tide of renewed interest has led to scientific studies, medical applications and psychedelic vacations (in countries with looser laws). The vacations are like taking a cruise, but the ship sets out from the port of your mind. I know a retired Milwaukee physician who purchased a batch of psilocybin mushrooms and is waiting for the time to trip. And then there is Brad Ehlert, a retired Milwaukee ad man who spent seven days at a “psilocybin-assisted retreat” in Jamaica. Operated by a firm called MycoMeditations, his retreat unfolded at a seaside resort with a psychologist, a nurse and a team of “trip sitters” on hand. The staff supervised each participant in the group of 14 vacationers who were given tiered doses of magic mushrooms in capsule form. According to Ehlert, most of his fellow participants endured some “challenging” as well as some positive trips. His were all good. “It’s hard to put into words,”
he recalls. “I walked to the ocean and had a sense that every beautiful day I’d had in my life congealed into that moment.”
CHANGING MINDS Ehlert never dabbled in illegal drugs during his youth. His curiosity about psychedelics was first stirred by a PBS documentary on an experimental program that gave LSD to terminally ill patients. “The point was that their fear of death and peace of mind were strongly affected,” he recalls. And then came the ground-changer, the book that heralded the reemergence of psychedelia as science, Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind. Pollan is perhaps America’s most respected contemporary nonfiction writer. Whether writing on gardening, agribusiness or American eating habits, Pollan has always been concerned with overcoming our alienation from the natural world. With How to Change Your Mind, Pollan took a step beyond by exploring psychedelic experiences through LSD, psylocibin, ayahuasca and an extract from desert toads called 5-MeO-DMT. Like many of his readers, Pollan, age 66, was a child in the ‘60s who never took a trip. How to Change Your Mind recovers LSD’s lost early history as a promising prescription for treating depression, addiction and anxiety. Like psylocibin and other organic consciousnessaltering substances, LSD appealed to mystics and seekers, but when it and other psychedelics became party drugs during the ‘60s counterculture, careless dosing in unhospitable settings triggered dangerous behavior and psychological breakdowns. A bad example was set by Harvard psychologist-turned-guru Timothy Leary, whose slipshod science and cult of personality were satirized in T.C. Boyle’s novel Outside Looking In. By the end of the ‘60s psychedelics were banned from research as well as personal use. However, Pollan discovered that the environment was shifting. A 1993 federal law permitting Native Americans to use peyote sacramentally led to a unanimous 2006 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing religious sects to import and use ayahuasca, a
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psychoactive derived from a South American shrub banned under federal law as a Schedule 1 substance alongside heroin, LSD and marijuana. By this time science had joined religion, conducting double-blind, placebo-controlled tests at Johns Hopkins and New York University on psychedelics legally available for study. Medical researchers were wondering if their predecessors in the 1950s and ‘60s were onto something. Some of that research has been conducted since 2014 by a team at the University of Wisconsin Madison led by Christopher Nicholas, Randy Brown and Paul Hutson. “We initially completed the first ever pharmacokinetics study of psilocybin in which we examined never before tested high doses of psilocybin. The rationale was to determine the safety and pharmacokinetic profile of these doses as some mental health and substance abuse disorders might require higher doses than what are typically used in current clinical trials,” Nicholas says. “We are now running the first trial of psilocybin for opioid use disorder and will be starting a similar study for methamphetamine use disorder.” Working with the Wisconsin-based Usona Institute for investigating the therapeutic effects of psylocibin, Nicholas and his colleagues are also conducting trials to treat major depressive disorder. In addition, their team is the site for FDA approved Phase 3 trials conducted through the national Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) focused on treating PTSD with MDMA, the psychoactive drug known to partygoers as Ecstasy. In 2017 the FDA designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for PTSD. Likewise, the FDA approved psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. UW Madison is going deeper into clinical research with the formation last year of the Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances. Trials on psychedelics are conducted in a setting that resembles a comfortable living room from an interior design magazine.
SEEKING WELLNESS While clinical trials for psilocybin and MDMA continue, one drug with psychedelic properties, Ketamine, has long been approved for clinical use, initially as an anesthetic. Justin Lubin’s Perspective Wellness is using Ketamine to treat Milwaukeeans for psychological and emotional pain related to mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. “We’re trying to create a little slice of California in Milwaukee— the non-judgmental energy of creating a safe place for people to have their psychedelic experience,” Lubin says. Coming from a background in managing community mental health clinics, Lubin received training in Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at California’s Ketamine Training Center and Polaris Institute. Perspective Wellness, operating at Shalem Healing (3338 N. Martin Luther King Drive) before moving to their own building in Wauwatosa this spring, applies a rigorous medical and
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neurobiological framework to the critical lessons learned by psychedelic explorers of the past: the mindset of the traveler and the setting for the trip are essential. Prospective clients at Perspective Wellness must answer a battery of questions and meet with a psychologist and a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Ruled out are people with a history of psychosis, uncontrolled high blood pressure, or a history of cardiovascular diseases like stroke or aneurysm. Ketamine causes a bump up in blood pressure, usually no more than a workout at the gym, but the clinic is careful. At the initial Ketamine session, the client sits in a comfortably upholstered chair and lets a 100mg tablet dissolve in their mouth. “Ketamine is very music-oriented and we use a wonderfully curated selection of music to move people into different spaces,” Lubin explains. “We’re very conservative about how we do things. Our philosophy is slow and low. We start with a minimum dosage and see how it goes. We go upwards very carefully.” Three sessions are recommended for each client. Blood pressure and vital signs are checked, yet the atmosphere is different—much less medicalized—from clinics where ketamine is administered through an IV drip. Before and after each session, clients engage in individual preparation and integration sessions, which are an important part of the treatment. At client Brad Ehlert’s recent session at Perspective Wellness, “the Ketamine experience was purer, clearer, more meaningful and gentler than mushrooms,” he says. “Also, the afterglow is much more noticeable three days later. Great sleep, feeling connected to the world, energetic, fantastic mood.”
MEANINGFUL LIFE? The patent has expired on Ketamine, so the cost is low. Sensing an emerging market slip from its grasp, Big Pharma is busy developing patentable Ketamine variants which they hope to sell at higher prices. Even when science turned its back, the psychedelic ideal was kept alive culturally in the ‘80s with a wave of neo-psychedelic bands (including Milwaukee’s Plasticland) and in the Ecstasy-fueled rave scene of the ‘90s. “I became interested in psychedelics at first for recreational use with friends at concerts,” says Matt Simpson, an “empowerment coach” who coordinates the Milwaukee Psychedelic Society. “But from those early experiences, I found relief from emotional and behavioral challenges and became curious about the therapeutic value which ultimately led me to the jungles of Costa Rica for an ayahuasca retreat in 2014.” Simpson’s experiences led to his book, Worth the Fight, and his Worth the Fight podcast. “Psychedelic medicine helped me cure my depression, addiction and the childhood sexual trauma that once was at root of all my dis-ease,” he explaines. “Plant mediIllustration by Michael Burmesch.
cine healing helped me cultivate self-love and a more meaningful, service-driven life, ultimately.” He advocates treating veterans with PTSD with plant-based psychedelics. The Milwaukee Psychedelic Society meets for monthly discussions. “We aim to serve as a local lighthouse for those seeking information about psychedelic healing and integration,” Simpson says. The meetups draw around 20 participants, men and women ranging widely in age with most falling under the Generation X heading. Simpson describes them as “mostly educated professionals that are ultra-curious about all the buzz and excitement centered around the promising research.” The first wave of psychedelic research fell casualty to the War on Drugs. Acknowledging the failure of that war, public thought has shifted to embrace medical marijuana, legal CBD products derived from cannabis plants and psychedelics. As in the early 1960s, psychedelics are seen as a way accessing the frontier of consciousness and a prescription for specific disorders. Whether seeking mystical oneness or mental health, it all comes down to a desire for personal transformation.
David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and author of several books on music, film and cultural history.
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NEWS TAKING LIBERTIES
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear about Republicans Winning the Midterms BY JOEL MCNALLY
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espite everything you’ve heard, there are still plenty of reasons Democrats could do much better in November’s midterm elections than Republicans and much of the media expect. In fact, the future of American democracy depends on it. Democrats certainly know in normal election years a new president’s party historically loses congressional seats in the first midterms because opponents angry over losing power are more motivated than the winners to vote in low-turnout midterms. But every American also should realize there will never be another normal election year in this country until Republicans free themselves from the control of their defeated president and the violent militias and hate groups that support him who refuse to accept the results of free and fair elections. Rather than distancing themselves from their divisive, unpopular president who was thrown out of office after a single term by the largest voter turnout in history, Republican leaders who know better have joined a lunatic fringe within their party in supporting Donald Trump’s preposterous lie President Biden somehow stole the election by manufacturing millions of fraudulent votes.
EXTREME CANDIDATES As a result, Republicans will be saddled with a lot of extreme candidates in those November midterms they’re so confident of winning. Adding to the chaos will be Trump himself campaigning 12 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
for the worst among them who are running against Republicans he wants to punish for accepting accurate election results or condemning his supporters’ terrorist attack on the Capitol. Trump is one of the best agents Democrats have to get out the vote in their party. In the past two national elections, Democrats set new voter turnout records in the 2018 midterms flipping 40 seats to gain House control and in 2020 defeating Trump. 2022 could make it three in a row. The absurd Republican candidates in the midterms include at least five running for House seats who actively participated in that violent Jan. 6 insurrection. A New Hampshire candidate promises to run from prison if he’s incarcerated for breaking into the Capitol.
THE RON JOHNSON OPPORTUNITY Wisconsin already provided a prime opportunity in the midterms for Democrats to increase Senate control by flipping the seat held by Ron Johnson, a national embarrassment who’s denied the violence of the attack resulting in five deaths and serious brain injuries to police beaten with iron pipes, hockey sticks and baseball bats. He’s discouraged vaccinations during the latest surge of a new, highly contagious COVID variant endangering the lives of the unvaccinated. Johnson could be joined on the midterm ballot by former Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch running against Photo by hermosawave/Getty Images.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Kleefisch enthusiastically supports Trump’s fraudulent election claims and Michael Gableman’s corrupt investigation into Biden’s victory in Wisconsin for Assembly Republicans that’s expected to recommend new Wisconsin voting restrictions. All but the most dimwitted Republican leaders have to realize how dangerous Trump and his violent supporters are to the future of democracy. But they believe they need Trump’s supporters to win the midterms. They’ll worry about controlling the contempt for democracy in their party later. By then, they’ll be the ones under control.
THE GOOD NEWS So here’s some more positive news about how much better the political landscape could be for Democrats in those fall midterms. The media have been warning us Republican state legislatures can easily win control of the House of Representatives with their usual corrupt gerrymandering of congressional districts in response to the 2020 census. Surprise, it’s not happening. The latest analysis by David Wasserman, redistricting expert for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, concludes redistricting is on track to create a congressional map slightly less biased in favor of Republicans than it’s been for the past decade. It should actually add a few more Biden-won districts. Wisconsin was specifically cited for one of the biggest ironies. After the racist anti-Obama tea party elections of 2010, Wisconsin and other Republican states drew such extremely gerrymandered maps it’s difficult for Republicans to make them any worse. In some Republican states, nonpartisan commissions and courts also are making a difference. Here’s more positive news for Democrats you haven’t heard nearly enough about. Nobel-prize-winning economist and columnist Paul Krugman described the first year of Biden’s presidency as “a year of spectacular economic recovery.” In early November, a Federal Reserve survey of economists predicted a year-end unemployment rate of 5.8%. Instead, November’s unemployment was 4.2% declining further to 3.9% in December. If supply chain problems keep easing in the coming year to reduce inflation, Biden’s economic success will continue. Here’s more. Not even Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema want their party to be the minority in the Senate after the midterms. They’ll vote for a substantial new package of Biden’s Build Back Better legislation before long to improve the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. Biden and Democrats could go into the midterms in good shape after another successful year. That would be very good news for American democracy.
Joel McNally was a critic and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal for 27 years. He has written the weekly Taking Liberties column for the Shepherd Express since 1996. FEBRUARY 2022 | 13
NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH
Darrell Jack’s Fast Forward Fitness KICKBOXING INSTRUCTOR TACKLES PARKINSON’S, TEACHING MOBILITY AND CONFIDENCE BY ERIN BLOODGOOD
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welve years ago, Darrell Jack opened a small fitness facility called Fast Forward Fitness; driven by his love for athletics, he understood how fitness could help people take on the challenges of everyday life. According to him, getting fit requires a deep dive into one’s mindset and the day-to-day concerns that affect one’s psyche. “If we don’t have the mentality, the physicality doesn’t matter,” he says. Years later, that approach to fitness led him to his work with Parkinson’s clients. In addition to personal training and group classes, Jack now offers regular kickboxing classes for those with Parkinson’s disease that teach improved mobility, agility, and other functions. The idea for kickboxing classes centered around Parkinson’s came up when a friend of Jack’s developed Parkinson’s disease
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about six years ago. The friend knew Jack was a certified kickboxing instructor and told him about Rock Steady Boxing, a national organization that assists coaches around the country to build kickboxing curricula that improve the quality of life of those with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that may cause motor skills, balance, sensory function, and speech to deterioration over time. More than 60,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. According to the Rock Steady Boxing website, studies have shown that intense exercise, especially rigorous targeted movement, may slow the disease progression and protect neurological functions.
Photo by Erin Bloodgood.
After learning about the kickboxing program, Jack traveled to the Rock Steady headquarters in Indianapolis for training. Shortly after, he built his affiliate program at his gym that now sits on Greenfield Avenue in West Allis.
Just like his approach with his other clients, Jack helps his clients with Parkinson’s build a strong mindset while they train. “It’s about getting into the psychology of the person and helping them move past the limitations they are putting on themselves,” he says. Jack strongly believes that his clients’ successes in the gym translate into everyday life and his favorite part of his job is seeing their growth. “At the end of the day, you’re adding to the world not taking from it.”
FORCED INTENSITY The program Jack developed is primarily built around “forced intense exercise,” which is a way to push people beyond what they think their limits are. “I always tell people when they come in, ‘you’re going to be blown away by the things you’ll be able to do,’” says Jack. He uses targeted movement exercises to address the main challenges of the disease. For example, he has his clients stand on a board and PVC pipe to address balance issues by strengthening those muscles. Because mobility, balance, and slowness of movement are some of the main challenges of Parkinson’s, Jack works on keeping his clients agile, mobile, and improving their core strength and posture.
Learn more about Fast Forward Fitness at www.fastforwardfitness.org. Erin Bloodgood is a Milwaukee photographer and storyteller. See more of her work on her website at www.bloodgoodfoto.com.
Photo by Erin Bloodgood.
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NEWS ISSUE OF THE MONTH
Milwaukee Mayor
CAVALIER JOHNSON “EVERY DAY HAS BEEN A DAY OF SERVICE FOR ME.” BY TOM JENZ
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fter serving 17 years, Mayor Tom Barrett resigned to become the Ambassador to Luxembourg. On Dec. 22, Common Council President Cavalier Johnson was sworn in as the new mayor. When I first met Johnson well over a year ago, I noticed he wore a green wristband. He said it was the YMCA wristband illustrating the YMCA’s core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. He explained, “Keeps me grounded, reminds me of where I came from.” He was barely a teenager when he first did community service at the Downtown Y. He later met his wife at the YMCA, and she still works there. They have an 11-year-old son and twin 3-year-old daughters.
Photo by Tom Jenz.
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At only 35, he brings youth and optimism to the office; he also brings experience as an alderman since 2016 and common council president since 2020. Yet he still faces two political hurdles, a runoff primary election in February narrowing the field to two candidates and then the mayoral general election in April.
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You bring a wide range of experience to the position of Mayor. For one thing, you were raised in the central city. You once told me, “As a teenager in zip code 53206, I’d walk North Avenue and think this area is dangerous, buildings boarded up, windows busted, and the businesses that are open aren’t run by Black people. As a young Black man, that experience seeps into your psyche.” Tell me more about your background and how you got into politics. I was born and raised in Milwaukee and spent my formative years in neighborhoods well known for poverty, violence and incarceration. By the time African American men reached my age of 35, half of them would have spent some time behind bars. I’ve got one brother who runs a prison facility and another brother who has been a prisoner in that actual facility. Growing up, I went to a number of Milwaukee public schools, from the Northwest side to the South Side. At the age of 14, I started as a service volunteer at the YMCA, and that experience led to my career in public service. Back then, I helped seniors to rake leaves and shovel snow. Then, I went to South America to help refurbish a school for poor kids in Chile. In my first spring break in college, I went to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina. I also went to London to help with at-risk young kids. I worked for a non-profit in New York and came back to Milwaukee to help people get their first summer jobs, and also help seniors retool their résumés to get back in the workforce. After college, I went to work in the Mayor’s office. In 2016, I ran for the Common Council and won, and then in 2020, I was elected Common Council President.
That is quite the impressive career path and all in public service. Every day has been a day of service for me. The YMCA program I started out in helped low-income students get involved in service but also go off to college. I graduated from UW Madison, first one in our family to go to college. In 2001 when I was 14, there were two influences that got me started in public service. The first was the YMCA program. The second was President Bush visiting what was left of the World Trade Center after 9/11 and trying to bring Americans together. That’s when I decided on a career in government service and I’ve never looked back.
Your new job as mayor will face significant challenges. Let’s start with the huge issue of crime and violence facing Milwaukee. Criminal activity has increased in 2021— shootings, murders, car theft, reckless driving, drug dealing and more. Recently, you said, “In the near future, I will finalize Milwaukee’s new public safety and violence reduction plan. It will include prevention, intervention, and accountability for those perpetuating violence.” Can you give me the specifics?
Photo by benkrut/Getty Images.
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My quote speaks to what the plan will include when it’s released. Milwaukee is a big, complicated city with difficult challenges that have been going on for the past several decades. Public safety should be holistic public safety—including violence prevention, mental health services, opportunities for young people, and the redesigning our roads to curb reckless driving. But public safety
also needs enforcement, accountability for those people who cause us harm. If someone harms people, the families of their victims need to trust that there will be justice served.
But when it comes to accountability and punishment, there are so many layers in our justice system—judges, juvenile justice, prosecutors, lawyers. Is there anything the mayor can do to see that accountability takes place, that justice is actually served? On my side of the ledger, I think that the city does do its part. The reason people end up in the justice system is that they have been captured by the police. The police are city employees. We do need to see that justice is served. We don’t want people taking matters into their own hands, which makes our neighborhoods less stable and safe.
WE NEED TO BREAK DOWN THOSE SILOS AND HAVE A UNITED FRONT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES SUCH AS SAFER STREET DESIGN, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENGAGEMENT.
Criminals should spend time behind bars, but it’s not the be all and end all. There are also restorative practices, and those depend on the severity of the crime. Non-violent criminals might need restoration, not incarceration. But ultimately, there has to be accountability in place so that true justice is served.
So if the police do their job and turn suspects over to the justice department system, the city cannot do much more than that, right? Correct. The officials, judges and prosecutors that decide on punishment are elected officials, too. The city government and our police can only make recommendations.
That brings me to law enforcement. In a recent interview, Chief Norman told me, “In the last couple years, through attrition, we’ve lost about 200 police officers, and we continue to lose some. Even with the replacement of 195 officers in 2022, we will be under 25 officers in authorized strength. In addition, there is the process of hiring and the six months of training. It all takes time. Our public needs more policeofficers to do sworn things.” Do you agree with Chief Norman? Does Milwaukee have enough police officers to help achieve your goals of reducing crime? The Chief is not wrong. We have lost a number of officers through attrition and some of that accelerated since the George Floyd incident. That tragedy and other police violence have created distrust of law enforcement in communities across the country. In Milwaukee, some officers retired after their 25-year marks. As a result, we’ve lost some institutional experience.
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But in the last year, I’ve worked well with Chief Norman in order to bring on additional officers. We were able to secure a Federal COPS Grant, nearly $10 million. This added 30 police officers. Then, I put a 2022 budget amendment forward that will result in an additional 195 positions. We’re trying to slow down the level of attrition, but it will take time for the training, I agree.
a united front to address the issues such as safer street design, traffic enforcement, and neighborhood engagement. I also plan to include our community neighborhood leaders.
The other problem is that Wisconsin local governments can’t just go out and collect revenue to be spent on law enforcement. We need permission in the form of revenue from the state. For the last 20 years, that revenue has been flat or declining, and yet our police costs have continued to grow. I’ve been working on this issue for a while and will continue to do so as Mayor.
The mayor has a bully pulpit to bring high level attention to certain issues. The leaders who run the city departments report directly to the Mayor’s office. I am able to issue directives to those various departments. The mayor can have a tremendous impact because he works with the common council in regard to the legislative purview. This is why I can be an effective mayor.
Another challenging problem is Milwaukee’s infrastructure. There has been great success in the building up the Downtown for residents to work and live. But improving neighborhoods surrounding Downtown has been challenging, if not neglected. All you have to do is walk the streets in the heart of the central city, 35th, 27th, Fond du Lac, and you will see a lot of vacant houses, stores and buildings—many of them owned by the city including a number of public school buildings. Any thoughts on what to do about this crucial issue?
I grew up in the disadvantaged neighborhoods, served as a member of the common council and then as common council president. I know what the job of mayor entails. I also believe that this is the time for generational leadership in the city of Milwaukee. We need to get this city from where we are now to the midpoint of the 21st century. No more just talking about entering the 21st century.
Improving the city infrastructure is at the top of my list. The first thing is to make sure that we take care of reckless driving. An example is we can pour concrete on the curb sides at stoplights so that a speeding driver can’t pass on the right and run a red light. Also, we need to make the streets more equitable, not just for motorists but for bike riders, scooters, wheelchair users, and pedestrians. After the Great Recession, the city acquired a number of properties including houses. In the past few years, the city has done some good work in getting those houses into the hands of owner occupants. But city-owned properties are a drain on the tax rolls. Last year, we received the American Rescue Act funds, and we made the largest investment ever in affordable housing. We have invested and will be investing over $40 million in affordable housing as a result of an omnibus amendment proposal I put forward and was co-sponsored by members of the common council. The affordable housing plan includes rehabbing city-owned residential properties.
Street leaders tell me there are too many silos—selfinterested groups and non-profit foundations where their leaders are protecting the money source. Last year, you told me this: “The silos paradigm is one of the things that really frustrates me. A lot of groups and a lot of meetings. It’s like they talk, talk, talk, and talk. I mean, why don’t we do something? Single fingers are not very effective, but they can make a fist.” I stand by those words. For example, public safety isn’t just me pontificating. It’s going to be my administration working collaboratively with stakeholders including the Office of Violence Prevention, Police Department, Department of Public Works, and others to put forth a plan. We need to break down those silos and have
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I think a lot of the public doesn’t understand what kind of power the mayor has to push his agenda. What is the mayor actually in charge of?
Is your job kind of like the U.S. President in that you structure an agenda and a budget and send that onto the Congress? Yes, like you referenced with the federal government, there needs to be buy-in from the legislative branch. That is exactly what I plan to do as mayor. This is evident from the very first act I did after I became Mayor at 5:01 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2021. I declared reckless driving as a public crisis and directed the departments to take on the issue. Another issue you may be familiar with, Tom, is the American Rescue Act dollars. The former mayor laid out his plan on how to use that money, and the common council modified that plan. That is an example of how the mayor works with the common council. In cases where I set agendas and how money is spent, I will work with the common council to get the votes to make things happen.
Tom Jenz is a Milwaukee writer and photographer. For his column, Central City Stories, visit shepherdexpress.com.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 21
FOOD & DRINK
Shahrazad Tells a New Story at its New Location PERSIAN-MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT ADDS A COUNTER SERVICE OPTION BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
A
new yet familiar restaurant has opened on a busy stretch of Oakland Avenue near UWM. Wedged between a Domino’s and a Jimmy John’s, and on the same block as a Qdoba and a Noodles & Co., Shahrazad adds a different flavor to a strip known for fast food. Shahrazad serves a menu of Persian and Middle Eastern fare, prepared quickly for sit down meals or for carry-outs. From 1993 through 2021, Shahrazad operated from unpretentiously elegant quarters near the corner of Oakland and Locust. The primarily sit-down restaurant, decorated with Persian artifacts, invited dinners to linger. But last year, owner Mohammad Khatibi, an immigrant who came to Milwaukee to attend UWM in the ‘80s, closed the old location and headed north on Oakland to the former site of The Halal Guys. 22 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
“COVID is the only reason,” Khatibi says when asked why he moved. “The dining experience was fading away. I had to come up with a new plan. I still had my regular customers, but they weren’t going out as often, which made it difficult to stay in business.” Open since Nov. 1 in the new spot, the new Shahrazad is more utilitarian looking with counter service and sit-down dining tables set on a tile floor. Vestiges of its former incarnation include photographs of the ruins of ancient Persia’s capital, Persepolis, and a scene illustrating the restaurant’s heroine-namesake, Shahrazad—the woman who fended off death for 1,001 nights by telling captivating stories to her homicidal husband.
Photos by Michael Burmesch.
sauce”) ($4.99-$8.99). All gluten free, vegetarian and vegan items are clearly marked—and there are many in each category to choose from.
MEAT LUNCH SPECIAL
VEGAN LUNCH SPECIAL
MEAT, VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN Khatibi describes the new menu as “the same mixture [of Persian and Middle Eastern] but fewer items,” eliminating dishes that involved heavy expenditures of time and labor to prepare while retaining the most popular items. Gone are several traditional dishes including the Persian eggplant and garlic spread called kashkeh-e-bademjan. However, many familiar specialties remain, such as the yellow split lentil soup (cup $2.99; bowl $3.99), a warm and hearty favorite for the cold months of the year. There are three lamb entrees, five beef entrees and five chicken entrees plus a mixed grill and five vegetarian entrees ($10.99-$18.99). The new restaurant continues to offer a half-dozen stuffed pita sandwiches (felafel, chicken, beef and lamb) ($5.99-$8.99) and introduces a new line of burgers (topped with “Mo’s secret
Good introductions to the menu are provided by the meat and vegan lunch specials, available weekdays 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ($9.99). Each includes a mound of basmati rice and a salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. The meat special boasts two racks of gently seasoned beef kabob koubideh and several tender chunks of chicken shish kabab. The vegan special focuses on creamy hummus studded with whole chickpeas, tender grape leaves stuffed with rice and felafel fried to crispy perfection without a hint of grease. Both come with a basket of oven-warmed pita bread and choice of soda or bottled water. “The legacy of Shahrazad,” Khatibi explains, referring to the heroine as well as the restaurant, “is that the story goes on and on—you can’t end it easily.” With his new location, another chapter begins. SHAHRAZAD 3133 N. Oakland Ave. (414) 964-5475 shahrazadrestaurant.com $$
David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express. FEBRUARY 2022 | 23
FOOD & DRINK FLASH IN THE PAN
MANGONEADA WITH CHAMOY
Photo by Ari LeVaux.
Enjoy Some Bold Mexican Chamoy BY ARI LEVAUX
S
alsa and guacamole get more glory, but chamoy, lesser known among Mexican condiments, might be more important. This fruit-based sauce is sweet, sour, salty, bitter and muy picante, all at once, a complete flavor that goes with everything. It embodies a certain boldness that’s common in Mexican food. The cuisine is alive and evolving, guided by deep traditions but not bound to them, interconnected by an ethos that finds it perfectly sensible to unroll a tamale onto a hot dog bun. Chamoy tastes vaguely like BBQ sauce, and I love shoveling it into my mouth atop crispy pork. Most any other meat is equally chamoy-able. And if it’s chamoyable, it’s enjoyable. Smeared onto a slice of melon, chamoy adds a surprising balance. On the rim of a frosty pint glass, it makes your beer more quenching. Mixed with mayo, you might as well put the stuff into an IV bag so I can mainline it. We can direct our gratitude to a salted plum recipe from the other side of the world. Chamoy is a legacy of a small Japanese Mexican population. Originally made with salted Japanese plums called ume, the sauce is now made with dried apricots and prune
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plums. This chamoy, which I am going to tell you how to make at home, is relatively wholesome compared to the corn starch, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate and Red No. 40 that comprise most of the stuff from the store. Those bottled chemicals are a faint approximation of the real chamoy, which has only fruit, lime, chile, salt and sugar. My favorite way to use chamoy, especially in summer, is in a brilliant dish called a mangoneada. It’s basically a mango popsicle, or mango sherbet, that has been treated with chamoy. Only in Mexico might we find a food that is at once too spicy, too sour, too salty, and too sweet, all at the same time, and yet have it all work out so perfectly. There are many ways to arrange and serve this cold, sassy treat, my favorite being a mango popsicle that you dip into a well of chamoy. So today we have two recipes. The one for chamoy is the most important, because this sauce will make you a true Mexican chef. But the one for mangoneada is also crucial, because it might be your favorite way to use chamoy, and the best thing you try this summer.
CHAMOY SAUCE
It’s the flavor that keeps Mexico masticating. A lot of chamoy recipes use hibiscus, which is relatively subtle compared to the other ingredients. But it does add a nice level of complexity • ¼ cup dried hibiscus flowers • 1 cup dried apricots • 1 cup dried prunes • ¼ cup sugar • 2 teaspoons salt • 2 tablespoons chile powder (mild, medium or hot, depending on your inclinations) • 5 tablespoons lime juice
DRIED HIBISCUS FLOWER Photo by AnnaPustynnikova/Getty Images.
FRESH CUT MANGO
Boil four cups of water and add the hibiscus. Strain the flowers and return the tea to the pot. Add the apricots, prunes, salt, sugar and chile powder. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool for ten minutes. Transfer to a blender. Add the lime juice and blend until smooth. Adjust seasonings if you wish. It should be strong yet balanced and complex.
THE MANGONEADA, AKA THE BOSS
This refreshing concoction depends on strong flavors cantilevered against one another, like a sailor leaning off the side of a yacht to keep it from capsizing. • 3 cups fresh mango chunks • 3 tablespoons lime juice • ¼ cup sugar • ¼ cup chamoy Blend the mango, lime juice and sugar. Pour the slurry into 8- or 10-ounce plastic cups, about 2/3 full, and put them in the freezer. When partially frozen, place popsicle sticks in the bright orange mango mixture. When they are totally frozen, they are ready to serve. To serve, remove a popsicle from a cup, and pour the chamoy into the empty cup. Replace the popsicle back into the cup, so it squeezes the chamoy about the sides. Let it sit for a moment so the outer surface of the popsicle can soften and absorb some chamoy. Then lick and re-coat with chamoy as necessary, and repeat.
Ari LeVaux has written about food for The Atlantic Online, Outside Online and Alternet. Photo by LOleksandr/Getty Images.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 25
FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES
THE WINE MADE ME DO IT YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY APHRODISIAC
BY GAETANO MARANGELLI
26 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Photo by Leonid Sorokin/Getty Images. Illustrations by Michael Burmesch.
T
he maenads were the female followers of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. (In Roman religion, the god was called Bacchus, his female followers, bacchantes.) They roved the mountains and forests worshiping their god ritualistically. They danced ecstatically. They had orgies. They were drunk.
LOW ALCOHOL
The first thing to know about wine—before you know the names of its great appellations and the years of their best vintages, before you know the way its growers cultivate and crush their wine grapes, and before you know the way its makers ferment, vinify, and age their grape juice—the very first thing to know about wine is its mythical power to metamorphose you. The American educator and author Edith Hamilton tells us “the influence” of Dionysus could make his worshippers—those Greeks who drank his wine—do what they didn’t think they could do. Or would do. “All this happy freedom and confidence passed away, of course, as they either grew sober or got drunk,” writes Hamilton, “but while it lasted, it was like being possessed by a power greater than themselves.”
Since wine was first made until the middle of the last century, wine was made naturally. A natural wine—a wine a grower cultivates and vinifies without chemicals or additives—allows the raw earth the wine is from to speak to us. Just as it spoke to the maenads of Dionysus.
Since the Greek age which conjured myths of maenads roving mountains and forests, we’ve told ourselves a story about how wine can animate and fortify the energy of our sexuality—its libido, its potency, its pleasure. The story says wine has the power to change our hearts. It says wine has the power to seduce us.
One of the pleasures of wine is drinking it. But that pleasure is fugitive. If you’re drinking high alcohol wine, you’re compromising the kind of passion that wine may inspire.
AS NATURAL AS POSSIBLE
NOT SO EXPENSIVE YOU CAN’T HAVE MORE THAN ONE BOTTLE You want to savor the act of drinking wine with your Valentine for as long as you can. Even if you and your Valentine want to savor that act from Valentine’s night until the small hours of the new morning.
Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was the managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.
Can wine pharmacologically make us want more sex? Can it improve us sexually? No, it cannot. Do we have a body of ritual and experience which says it can? Yes, we do. Which of us doesn’t plan a dinner for a Valentine without a bottle of wine or two? Which of us doesn’t tell our own story of a night when we and a Valentine—with wine in our blood and on our lips—did what we didn’t think we could do? Or would do? We can’t prove wine is an aphrodisiac, but we act as if it is. In the past 15 years, we’ve asked science to prove the stories we tell ourselves about wine. But it hasn’t yet. Not neurologically. What we know is that the alcohol in wine, beer, and spirits is called ethanol, which stimulates a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is as small as an almond. What we know is the hypothalamus governs our body temperature and physiological cycles, our appetites and emotions, our hormones and our libidos. But the spell of wine’s mythology is powerful, isn’t it? And you’d kind of like your Valentine’s wine to act like an aphrodisiac, wouldn’t you? First, discover the styles of wine your Valentine likes. (If you don’t know, ask.) Then look for a bottle or two of those styles using these three criteria: FEBRUARY 2022 | 27
SPECIAL 4OTH ANNIVERSARY: FOOD
40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE Milwaukee’s Dining Scene from 1982 to 2022 BY SUSAN HARPT GRIMES
28 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
M
ilwaukee has been blessed with many long running restaurants that continue to serve amazing food. Sadly, we’ve lost some great places too. The following are only a sampling of the great Milwaukee restaurants that have stood the test of time, a few of which were around well before 1982, and some of those gone-but-not-forgotten favorites of 40 years ago. Some things never change. Folks who don’t want to spend a lot of time or money, or those who keep unconventional hours still need to eat. That convenience may partly contribute to the success of these places, but once you dig in, you’ll know it’s about the food too. Back in ‘82 Beans & Barley (1901 E. North Ave.) was a bit more health food store than restaurant. Since those days, Beans and Barley has weathered challenges including a fire and being near neighbors to a Whole Foods. “Beans” has long been loved for their food, including an outstanding black bean burrito, and their persistent respect for special dietary requests. There is something magical about the experience of sitting down in Benji’s (4156 N. Oakland Ave. and 8683 N. Port Washington Road) cozy dining space. Fill your belly and enjoy a giant Reuben, a huge plate of hoppel poppel, divine potato pancakes, or savor a hot bowl of matzo ball soup. If right now you’re thinking “I don’t recall ever eating at Conejito’s Place” (539 W. Virginia St.), you may remember it better as the Mexican restaurant that serves everything on paper plates. The epitome of inexpensive meals, for as little as $4-$8 you can fill up on tasty tacos, enchiladas, burritos, or tostadas. There’s almost no place more legendary on the East Side than Ma Fisher’s (2214 N. Farwell Ave.). Outside of pandemic times, their 24/7 model always made it a great place for a hot meal any time of day. Excellent breakfasts, sandwiches, and dinners have made Ma Fisher’s a generational favorite. While their hours may not be as broad as they were in years past, Mr. Perkin’s (2001 W. Atkinson Ave.) is still a staple on the near North Side for fantastic monthly fish fries, soul food Sundays, and excellent breakfasts and lunches Thursday through Saturday. When the only thing you want is a piping hot bowl of chili, head to Real Chili (419 E. Wells St. and 1625 W. Wells St.). Some customization is possible with three levels of spice, beans or no beans, with or without spaghetti noodles. Since the 1930s they’ve been a favorite, spot lunchtime to bar time, for a quick, cheap meal Downtown.
Gone-but-not-forgotten lunch counters include Oriental Drugs at North and Farwell, Brady Street Pharmacy and Goldman’s on Mitchell Street that were always good for hot coffee, quick sandwiches or steaming bowls of soup. Stopping in for a 24-hour breakfast or burger at an IHOP or George Webb, both of which had considerably more local outlets in 1982, was a tradition for many Milwaukeeans. Heinemann's was also a favorite stop Illustrations by Ali Bachmann.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 29
SPECIAL 4OTH ANNIVERSARY: FOOD
with their multitude of grilled sandwiches and bottomless cups of coffee. And let’s not forget Marc’s Big Boy with locations all over the metro area, for fan favorite Big Boy Burgers, fish fries and breakfasts.
DINING OUT USED TO BE A FORMAL AFFAIR Back in 1982, restaurants tended to be a bit more formal than they are today. No one ever wore tennis shoes or jeans for a big night on the town. The restaurants that have continued to thrive these past 40 years may still have formal settings, and 5-star service, but now few look askance at casually dressed diners. Elsa’s on the Park (833 N. Jefferson St.) opened on New Year’s Eve 1980 and continues to draw a diverse crowd to a setting that suggests Manhattan more than Milwaukee. The drinks are strong and Elsa’s takes on burgers, nachos and wings brings bar food up several notches.
Celebrating their own 40th anniversary this year, Pasta Tree (1503 N. Farwell Ave.) has long been one of the most romantic restaurants in town. Popular with couples on date nights, or celebrating special occasions, the cozy space and outstanding Italian dishes encourages diners to keep that warm cozy feeling inside when they leave. After a devastating fire in 2010, Pizza Man, once an East Side landmark on North and Oakland, rose from the ashes to open multiple locations around the Milwaukee area. While the specific ambiance of the original may be gone, the vibe and food in the new venues is very similar. Thin crust artichoke a la mode pizza is still the way to go!
As the last remaining old-school German Downtown restaurant, Mader’s (1041 N Old World 3rd St) has maintained a loyal following over the years. The quality of the food has remained top-notch, but the nostalgia factor is priceless. Milwaukee remains home for two restaurants serving hearty Serbian food, Old Town (522 W. Lincoln Ave.) and Three Brothers (2414 S. St. Claire St.). Stepping into Pitch’s (1801 N. Humboldt Ave.) is exactly what you’d hope for when you hear the words “old-school supper club”—classic decor, dynamite ribs, excellent service, and a fantastic brandy old fashioned sweet. 30 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Illustrations by Ali Bachmann.
Zaffiro’s (1724 N Farwell Ave) is dedicated to the Milwaukee-style thin crust and making each pizza a delicious masterpiece. Their pizzas are served at Marcus theaters minus the Italian restaurant ambiance. Similar in vibe is another long-running Milwaukee joint, Di Marini’s (1211 E Conway St.)
REMEMBER WHEN? Gone-but-not-forgotten formal dining establishments begin with the unusual options at the Public Natatorium, at Fourth and Lapham, where you could take in a live dolphin show with your dinner. The English Room in the Pfister Hotel was the place to go for classically prepared French food. Long time downtown establishments Karl Ratzsch's and John Ernst Café tried to keep the city’s love for German food in the forefront, but both finally closed their doors, leaving only fond memories of Gemutlichkeit behind. The much beloved Acapulco Lounge at Sixth and National was known for the best authentic Mexican food in the city. William Ho’s on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood was one of the first area restaurants to serve up Sichuan food. Coffee Trader on Downer Avenue was a popular spot for weekend brunch and introduced French press coffee to generations of East Siders. Pieces of Eight at the lakefront, was host to countless seafood buffets, prom dates, and engagements. There are just too many wonderful Milwaukee restaurants that loom large in the collective memory to cite them all here.
Susan Harpt Grimes is a longtime restaurant and features writer for the Shepherd Express. FEBRUARY 2022 | 31
SPECIAL 4OTH ANNIVERSARY: FOOD
Milwaukee Then and Now
FORTY YEARS OF FOOD TRENDS BY SHEILA JULSON
32 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
GROPPI'S FOOD MARKET Photo by Michael Burmesch.
O
ur eating habits have changed a lot since 1982. Today’s palates are more refined and experimental, but one thing has stayed the same: food always was and always will be the essence of what comforts us, bonds us and brings us together.
THE HOME TABLE The early ‘80s brought an onslaught of convenience everything. It wasn’t cool to cook, and time saving products like Rice-A-Roni boxed pilaf mixes, pour-and-bake quiche, canned Sloppy Joes and spray cheese in a can were all the rage. Kids’ delights included pudding in frozen pop form or shredded bubble gum sold in a pouch to mimic chewing tobacco. Blue became a flavor as well as a color for everything from ice pops to juice to cereal. The joy of convenience carried into the ‘90s. Most recipes published in checkout stand magazines or passed around workplaces consisted of ingredients lists made up of Cool Whip, boxed cake mixes, Cheez Whiz, canned chili or refrigerator biscuits.
Culinary arts became cool again, and many of today’s home cooks have returned to our roots by making scratch-made meals with fresh ingredients. The desire for convenience is still there, as evidenced by home meal kits with portioned fresh ingredients all in one box. Packaged foods are still prominent, but the popularity of neighborhood farmers markets, along with cooking classes, cooking shows, blogs and cookbook clubs, are testament that people want healthy quality over convenience. Recent pandemic isolation brought a renewed interest in old world culinary arts like sourdough bread and pastry.
GROCERY STORES Local chain grocers such as Kohl’s and Sentry dominated the early ‘80s, eventually falling to warehouse-style grocery stores like Roundy’s Pick n’ Save, Cub Foods or Illinois-based Jewel-Osco, which came and went in Milwaukee during the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
Thankfully, we could usually count on grandma to still make a meal from scratch. Despite the dominance of packaged food, many people still appreciated quality, setting the tone for the whole foods movement that would lay ahead in the 2000s.
Family-owned neighborhood grocery stores struggled. The ‘80s would end up being the last full decade of business for corner grocers like Hintz Foods, in Bay View, which had a meat counter and a produce department. Ethnic grocers such as Groppi’s, also in Bay View, closed but was later revived by the Nehring family. Glorioso’s and Rupena’s Fine Foods are still in business and still family owned.
By the early-mid ‘00s, federal nutrition labeling standards passed during the ‘90s garnered attention and people started to wonder what the hell words like ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ meant. Documentaries such as Food, Inc. set off an awareness of the industrial food chain and had local farmers’ phones ringing off the hook.
Lena’s Food Market, started in 1965 by Bezelee Martin, at one time had five locations serving Milwaukee’s Black community. Martin died July 27, 2021. According to his obituary in the Milwaukee Times, “At one time, Lena’s was the largest Black grocery store chain in the U.S.”
Illustrations by Sophie Yufa.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 33
SPECIAL 4OTH ANNIVERSARY: FOOD
HOLYLAND GROCERY & DELI Photo by Michael Burmesch.
The near South Side, once dominated by Polish immigrants, had grocers like The Sausage Cart. Today, Polish cheese and sausage can still be found at A & J Polish Deli, on Lincoln Avenue. El Rey opened its first location on Sixteenth Street (now Cesar E. Chavez Dr.) in 1978 and has grown to become the largest Hispanic grocery store in the area with four locations. In 1982, few people knew the term falafel, but now Middle Eastern grocers are not difficult to find, such as Holyland Grocery & Deli or Attari Supermarket on the South Side. Indian/South Asian grocers include Bharat Mart on the East Side and Indian Groceries & Spices in Wauwatosa. Asian grocers can be found throughout the area, such as Milwaukee Asian Market on the North Side, Pacific Produce on the South Side and Mei Hua Market in West Allis. Small African grocers such as Adom African Market, J & S African Center and Lisabi African Market offer African foods, spices and health and beauty products. Russian Foods & Gifts, on Oakland Avenue, has imported Russian foods and spirits to Milwaukee since 2007. Cermak, a chain supermarket with two locations in Milwaukee, carries foods from more than 15 countries, reflecting the global influences that grace today’s tables. In 1982, we washed down our food with PBR, Schlitz or a Steidl’s or Bartles & James wine cooler. These days, suds from craft
34 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
brewers, wine from Portugal, Chile or Australia, or exotic cocktails accompany our meals. What will the next 40 years bring to our tables? Whatever it is, I’m eager to find out, and wash it down with a glass of vino from the next up-and-coming wine region.
Sheila Julson writes the Eat-Drink column for shepherdexpress.com.
WHAT DID A BURGER COST IN 1982? Really, only 70 cents? The recent rise in inflation might spark ‘80s nostalgia among some of us for the era of cheap meat. Of course, a Big Mac set us back $1.60, but why not—the McD’s marketing campaign demanded— upgrade to a Big Mac Value Pack for $2.59.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 35
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE | PRESENTED BY BUNZEL'S OLD-FASHIONED MEAT MARKET & CATERING
2021 brought to you by
Shepherd Express
36 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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Beerline Cafe RAMEN
Red Light Ramen RESTAURANT OPEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY
The Packing House RESTAURANT SERVICE
Steny's Tavern & Grill RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW
Harbor House SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
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Soup Market STEAKHOUSE/SUPPER CLUB
Five O'Clock Steakhouse 40 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
FEBRUARY 2022 | 41
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D I N I N G O UT STREET FOOD VENDOR
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GROCERY - ALL PURPOSE
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Outpost Natural Foods - Bay View
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BUTCHER SHOP/MEAT SELECTION/ SAUSAGE SHOP
Bunzel's Meat Market CHEESE SELECTION
GROCERY - ETHNIC
West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe M I LWAU K E E M US I C ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN
COVER/TRIBUTE BAND
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snag
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Vincent Van Great 42 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
O UT AN D AB O UT ALL-AGES VENUE
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Von Trier
COCKTAIL LOUNGE/ROMANTIC BAR
IRISH PUB
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AXE THROWING BAR
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BAR FOR QUIET CONVERSATION
CRAFT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR
Bryant's Cocktail Lounge
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The Iron Horse Hotel FEBRUARY 2022 | 43
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE | PRESENTED BY BUNZEL'S OLD-FASHIONED MEAT MARKET & CATERING
O UT AN D AB O UT MILWAUKEE TOUR
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AUTO DEALERSHIP - DOMESTIC
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Boswell Book Company 44 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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M I LWAU K E E FOO D & B E V E R AG ES ARTISANAL CHEESE
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Palermo's Pizza 48 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
R EAL ES TATE REAL ESTATE AGENCY
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Educators Credit Union FEBRUARY 2022 | 49
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50 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
LAW FIRM - PERSONAL INJURY
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S PO RTS & R EC R EATI O N BOWLING ALLEY
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Adventure Rock
FEBRUARY 2022 | 51
SPECIAL MILWAUKEE'S BEST FISH FRY
Milwaukee’s Favoriłe Fish Fries as Voted by Our Readers
J
ust about every restaurant in Southeast Wisconsin has a Friday fish fry or some variation of that longrunning tradition. In the 2021 Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee, our readers chose Lakefront Brewery as their favorite—but the contest was fierce. Here are some thoughts about Lakefront and the four finalists for the Best of Milwaukee Fish Fry.
52 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Photo by bhofack2/Getty Images.
KEGEL’S INN 5901 W. National Ave. Kegelsinn.com 414-257-9999 Kegel’s wood-paneled dining room with wall murals puts you in the mood for a hearty meal. Entrees include steaks and chops and many German house specialties. German beer is on tap. The whole set up conjures a vision of Old Milwaukee, and what could be more Old Milwaukee than a Friday fish fry? Enjoy in dining in, experience the beer garden when the weather is right or pick up at the drive through. LAKEFRONT BREWERY 1872 N. Commerce St. lakefrontbrewery.com 414-372-8800 More of a beer hall than a pub, Lakefront’s hospitality is legendary, and so are their beers. Their spacious bar and dining area, overlooking the river, feature Lakefront’s array of beers and an extensive restaurant menu with everything from a Friday fish fry and cheese curds to mac & cheese, brats and kielbasa. Don’t miss their famous brewery tour. THE PACKING HOUSE 900 E. Layton Ave. packinghousemke.com 414-483-5054 The Packing House is an always comfortable reminder of the golden age of supper-club dining with its generous portions and selection of appetizers, soups, steaks, poultry, veal, seafood— and great fish fries. On a busy Friday during Lent, the cars are backed up down the street for the drive-through. SANDRA’S ON THE PARK 10049 W. Forest Home Ave. sandrasonthepark.com 414-235-8889 Sandra’s on the Park is a “supper club with a modern twist.” Sandra’s has gathered a loyal fan base, and continues to build on that with every bite of their renowned ribs or sip of their traditional Old Fashioned. Generous portions will satisfy most Wisconsinite appetites or allow for some tasty leftovers the next day. In Wisconsin, a supper club without a good Friday fish fry is unthinkable. THE STILLERY W204N14025 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Richfield thestillerwi.com 262-674-2033 The Stillery is a rustic place is known for great tasting and imaginatively presented bar food—burgers, wraps and wings, mac and cheese, house made pizzas, cheese curds and—yes, a Wednesday and Friday beer-battered fish fry. Wash it down with a superb selection of whiskeys, cocktail kits and beer. FEBRUARY 2022 | 53
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An-My Lê (American, b. Vietnam, 1960), Untitled, Ho Chi Minh City, from the series Viêt Nam, 1995. Gelatin silver print, 15 3/4 x 22 1/2 in., courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery © An-My Lê
History and Memory in ‘An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain’ BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
T
he news footage of Afghan allies fleeing Kabul recalled pictures of a similar exodus when South Vietnam fell in 1975. That earlier event was formative to An-My Lê, an adolescent who fled Vietnam with her family and grew up in the U.S. An overview of her work, “An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain,” is at the Milwaukee Art Museum through March 27. Originating from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art, “On Contested Terrain” consists of more than 100 photographs, many offering what Lê calls “a side-glance view” of war and its impact.
54 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Lê began making photographs in the 1990s during her first return visit to Vietnam. Like other photographs displayed in the first set of galleries, they are stark black and white images that leave more space for the imagination than full color. Lê uses a view camera sitting on a tripod, the technology used by photographers of the American Civil War. Her pictures of Vietnamese faces, landscapes and urban scenes are the antithesis of today’s digital photography. They aren’t snapped on the fly and meant to be scrolled superficially.
RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY AN EVENING WITH
Tickets
$25
START AT mso.org | 414.291.7605
FRI
FEBRUARY 25
AT THE BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER
FEBRUARY 2022 | 55
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An-My Lê (American, b. Vietnam, 1960) Fragment I: Film Set (Free State of Jones), Battle of Corinth, Bush, Louisiana, from the series Silent General, 2015. Inkjet print, 40 x 56 1/2 in., Carnegie Museum of Art. Purchased with funds provided by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, 2020.21.6 © An-My Lê
The layered, complicated images demand attention as they whisper questions about the human condition that they refuse to answer. “On Contested Terrain” includes several series of photographs. One, “Small Wars,” was taken from 1999-2002 at Vietnam War reenactments in North Carolina and Virginia. Allowed access only if she participated, Lê is seen in one picture role-playing as a Vietcong sniper, waiting in the tall grass for the approaching platoon. War for the reenactors was theater and Lê documented performances that involved the personal and social anxiety of the players as much as the war’s fraught history. The long exposure time from her stationary camera creates blurry motion suggesting memories—but whose memories? The texture woven by light and shadow is often painterly. Some scenes are hauntingly suggestive of those Civil War campaigns fought in deep forests by rebel guerrillas against U.S. troops. 56 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Lê’s work is replete with references to art history. In the “29 Palms” series, taken at a Marine Corps training center for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, several photographs show the work of humankind as puny against a looming range of mountains. They call to mind the 19th century photographer Timothy O’Sullivan, who found the sublime in his landscapes. By contrast, Lê suggests bleak prospects. Lê turned to color in recent years, using a stationary camera but developing the negative digitally and printing them with an inkjet instead of the gelatin silver prints of her earlier work. According to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s photographer curator Lisa Sutcliffe, the change began with Lê’s series on the U.S. Navy, “Events Ashore.” The formidable size of the warships, the vastness of the oceans and the tonalities of sea and sky suggested the need for larger scale and full color.
An-My Lê (American, b. Vietnam, 1960) Night Operations VII, from the series 29 Palms, 20032004. Gelatin silver print, 26 1/2 x 38 in., Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Museum Purchase; 2005:37 © An-My Lê
An-My Lê (American, b. Vietnam, 1960) Fragment I: Sugar Cane Field, November 5, Houma, Louisiana, from the series Silent General, 2016. Inkjet print, 40 x 56 1/2 in. Milwaukee Art Museum. Purchase, Herzfeld Foundation Acquisition Fund, M2019.111. Photo courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery © An-My Lê
The exhibit’s final series, “Silent General,” begun in 2015, signifies polarization and the lingering presence of past events. Confederate statues are photographed on their pedestals in New Orleans and then in the warehouse where they were retired. Migrant workers in California bend over rows of asparagus like the peasants in Jean-François Millet’s 19th century painting, The Gleaners. The Texas-Mexico border is etched into the landscape by the Rio Grande whose winding course marks America’s mixed thoughts on immigration.
An-My Lê with her large-format camera. © John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation - used with permission.
David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and author of The Vietnam War on Film and other books on cultural history.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 57
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Photo by Ty Helbach.
Photo by Ty Helbach.
Bluegrass Pickings - Chicken Wire Empire and The Big Wu’s Chris Castino Team Up for Collaborative Album
S
BY JOSHUA M. MILLER
ometimes life hands you lemons and you make lemonade. Or if you’re not into lemons, fresh pickles. On their new collaborative album Fresh Pickles, out Feb. 4, Milwaukee’s Chicken Wire Empire and Chris Castino, frontman of Minnesotabased rock jam band The Big Wu, did just that, creating a sonically delectable sound. As the pandemic eased last year, Castino decided to make music. He picked some of his favorite Big Wu songs—some dating back to the band’s first album 25 years ago—and recruited Chicken Wire Empire to reimagine them in their unmistakably energetic, progressive bluegrass style. “I said, ‘Here’s a crazy idea … what if we took a bunch of songs that I’ve written that you guys probably know and rearranged them and put the Chicken Wire Empire stamp up on them,’” recalls Castino. “They were super into that idea, and I was 58 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
surprised but encouraged … They rearranged the tunes in a cool way, and it started to come together.” The members of Chicken Wire Empire have long been fans of The Big Wu and Castino’s songwriting. Founders Jordan Kroeger and Ryan Ogburn have known him since their early 2000s band Stealin’ Strings, which got to open for The Big Wu. They bonded through admiration for each other’s talents and playing shows together. After playing recent tribute shows to Jeff Austin’s album Songs From the Tin Shed, they decided to collaborate. “Part of the reason I love working with him is because we do things differently but in a complimentary way where we can work together,” says Kroeger. “It gelled fairly quickly because we come from slightly different backgrounds with our two bands. He came more folk country and rock and roll. We came from the Earl Scruggs bluegrass world and beyond.”
NEW ARRANGEMENTS, NEW LIFE Castino says he found new appreciation for his songs through the collaboration. The new arrangements helped breathed new life into the songs. “It made me excited, it gave me energy, the energy they put in,” he says. “It also changed the way that I thought about the songs and the way that I sang the songs. It’s easy to sing the song the same way you always sang it, because you're playing it with the same band, it's like muscle memory. “So having bluegrass instruments, having different tempos, having different arrangements, the different vocal harmonies, different solo sections, all of that contributed to forcing a new way of approaching all of the songs, which was lovely.” The song that changed most drastically for him was the Wisconsin-inspired “Jackson County.” He wrote the song about a friend who ran into some trouble with the law (“They like to clamp down on our hippie fans and whatever they might be carrying in their cars”). “We turned it into an uptempo waltz in the tradition of Flatt and Scruggs,” he says. “It went from a song that I thought would be played just every once in a while, to one of my favorites.”
BLUEGRASS ALL-STARS The collaborators recorded the album mostly live at Minnesota-based studio NeonBrown with the help of producer (and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades member) Adam Greuel and engineer (and Trampled by Turtles member) Ryan Young. Castino also brought in an all-star who’s who of the bluegrass world: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Tim O’Brien, Nick Forster, Keller Williams, Vince Herman and Andy Hall of the Infamous Stringdusters. “The timing of the recording of this record and how it coincided with COVID, was really actually a huge benefit,” says Castino. “They had the time since they weren’t touring.” He was especially honored to have Rowan—who once played with Jerry Garcia in the bluegrass group Old & In the Way—playing on “The Ballad of Dan Toe,” a song he had written in tribute. He revised the lyrics to the song from being about a “larger-than-life folk hero guy, kind of like a Paul Bunyan type guy” to a storyteller to make the character more like Rowan. They got the chance to perform with Rowan during their first performance together at last year’s Boats & Bluegrass festival in Winona, MN. Says Kroeger, “it was very serendipitous.” He continues, “We were making lemonade out of lemons over there and it worked out really, really well.”
Joshua Miller is a Milwaukee writer and frequent contributor to shepherdexpress.com. FEBRUARY 2022 | 59
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This Month in Milwaukee
10 THINGS TO DO IN FEBRUARY BY ALLEN HALAS, DAVID LUHRSSEN, JOHN SCHNEIDER, BLAINE SCHULTZ
Image courtesy of First Stage.
THROUGH FEBRUARY 13 The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963 p First Stage The Watsons Go to Birmingham traces an African American family’s decision to travel from Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama to visit Grandma Sands. Birmingham will forever be etched in time for the 1963 church bombing that killed four Black girls. With this historic backdrop, viewers ride along and learn the enduring life lessons of family in this coming-of-age story. Milwaukee Ballet Company. Photo Rachel Malehorn. Courtesy of Milwaukee Ballet.
FEBRUARY 3-13 “Genesis” p Milwaukee Ballet Due to uncertain travel restrictions, this year’s annual international choreographic competition is only open to U.S.-based choreographers. No matter. It’s always thrilling to see world premieres built on the strengths of this company’s excellent dancers by forward-looking young choreographers. Artistic Director Michael Pink says, “I’m searching for choreographers that demonstrate musicality and structure and an understanding of their craft that makes for an interesting competition.” FEBRUARY 4-6 Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue remains his most recognized composition. He also wrote a follow-up, originally called Manhattan Rhapsody before he settled on Second Rhapsody. Written to echo the sounds of a modern metropolis, Rhapsody’s cinematic journey debuted in 1932 under Serge Koussevitzky at the Boston Symphony. Ken-David Masur will conduct the Second Rhapsody in an MSO program featuring early 20th century composers. Aaron Diehl takes the spotlight on piano. Photo by carloscastilla/Getty Images.
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Photo by fergregory/Getty Images.
FEBRUARY 4-6 Mamma Mia! p West Performing Arts Center The peppy ABBA tune inspired British playwright Catherine Johnson to compose a storyline around a string of the Swedish group’s Euro-pop hits—“Dancing Queen,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You” et. al.—in the jukebox musical that enjoyed long runs on the West End and Broadway. And if Broadway ticket prices make you want to sing “SOS”—and you’ve seen Meryl Streep several times in the lively 2008 Hollywood adaptation—here’s a chance to enjoy the production on stage and close to home.
Graphic courtesy of Next Act Theatre.
FEBRUARY 10-MARCH 6 Pipeline p Next Act Theatre MacArthur Fellowship winner Dominique Morisseau began as an actor and turned to writing plays about African Americans because there were so few roles for her to play. Her award-winning 2017 play Pipeline concerns an inner-city public-school teacher who worked hard to give her son opportunities by sending him to an elite private school, only for misunderstandings and rage to follow.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 61
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HONEY CREEK
FEBRUARY 22 Quan Barry q Boswell Books UW-Madison English professor Quan Barry’s latest novel, When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East, concerns Buddhist monks in search of a reincarnation in the vast Mongolian landscape. Born in Saigon and raised in Boston, the Vietnamese American writer is the author of two previous novels and four poetry collections. During the Obama administration, she served as a cultural ambassador to Southeast Asia. Visit boswellbooks.com to register for this virtual event.
Photo via Facebook / Honey Creek. Photo by Brady Laflen.
FEBRUARY 12 Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly, GUWAK!, I Hate It Too, Honey Creek p Cactus Club Milwaukee pop-punks Honey Creek have cut their teeth extensively on the road since their inception, tapping into an underground DIY community of venues and bands across the country. That spirit comes home to Cactus Club when they’ll welcome a trio of DIY bands in Tennessee’s Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly, New Mexico’s GUWAK! and Ohio’s I Hate It Too. If you grew up in the golden era of the Vans Warped Tour, this should be the show for you.
TURNER HALL BALLROOM
Photo by Melissa Johnston.
FEBRUARY 15 Sleigh Bells p Turner Hall Ballroom Fusing the worlds of trap, electronica, hip hop, rock and more, Sleigh Bells are a powerful combination of larger-than-life sounds that have been known to electrify audiences. They’ll bring their energetic sound to Turner Hall Ballroom on their “Unannounced Album Tour.” As the name suggests, new material from the band is forthcoming, but the mystery of what new music may find its way into their live show is part of the appeal. Get your first listens in the best setting possible. 62 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
FEBRUARY 25 Frail Body, Knoll, Meth., snag., Graysea u X-Ray Arcade Five varying degrees of heavy music come together at X-Ray Arcade in Cudahy. Touring acts Frail Body (Rockford, Ill.,) Knoll (Memphis, TN) and Meth (Chicago) will be joined by 2021 Best of Milwaukee Metal Band snag., and emerging metalcore act Graysea. The extensive lineup makes for a night full of hardcore from a thriving facet of the Milwaukee music scene.
FEBRUARY 27 Totally Cashed, North Warren, Spoy, Fellow Kinsman Miramar Theater There was a time before the Miramar Theater’s current residency as a safe haven for local EDM in which the historic venue played host to a plethora of young bands on any given occasion. On Sunday, February 27, the theater will have that feel once again, as four emerging rock acts make their presence felt on the East Side. Each of the four on this bill could easily headline the evening’s festivities, but fans of local music should be there to witness a sample of some of the leaders of Milwaukee music’s next generation.
SNAG Photo via Facebook / snag.
GRAYSEA Photo via Facebook / Graysea. Photo by Ben Hoo.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 63
LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND
The Many Meanings of
‘I Love You’ BY PHILIP CHARD
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I
f it hasn’t happened yet, chances are, at some point, another person will look you in the eyes and say, “I love you.” I’m not referring to your parents, siblings or a best friend. Rather, this someone will profess to love you in a romantic fashion, as a potential mate. They may claim to be “the one” or your “soul mate” or to have “fallen in love” with you. Indeed, that person may look, sound and act like the bona fide love of your life. That prospect, in and of itself, can seem pretty appealing. However, much as we may long for such a moment, it’s when we hear those words—“I love you”— that the hard part begins.
other unwelcome expectation inhabits the message. Granted, this paranoia may simply be natural wariness, particularly if rejection, betrayal or abuse occurred in prior romantic relationships, or if one had an emotionally traumatic childhood. However, it may also indicate that an unwelcome back story is at work. We ignore our intuitions at our own peril.
“Ask,” I advised Cindy. “Try to find out what ‘I love you’ really means, and any expectations and needs that come along with it.” “Doesn’t sound very romantic,” she replied. “Maybe not. But it has the potential to be very intimate,” I suggested.
“How do I know he means it?” Cindy asked, referring to the boyfriend who had just spoken those words in what seemed a prelude to eventually proposing marriage.
An honest, heartfelt discussion between would-be lovers or spouses about what they truly want, need and expect from their emerging relationship will either drive the parties apart or draw them much closer. As such, it will test the strength of the initial bond. Someone easily threatened by these kinds of questions is probably emotionally insecure or immature. In other words, they constitute a bad bet in the game of romantic roulette. In the heat of courtship, it’s easy to brush these considerations aside and just ride the wave of romance and passion. Too easy.
“Well, he means something, that’s for sure. The question is exactly what?” I replied.
HIDDEN AGENDA? While seemingly simple and straightforward, the phrase “I love you” frequently comes with excess baggage, most often a complex, multi-layered set of meanings. And, on occasion, it harbors a hidden agenda, one your suitor may know but you don’t. We run across “I love you” so often, mostly in movies, TV programs and theater, that many of us presume we understand the meaning of that phrase when it comes out of an admirer’s mouth. Often, we don’t. Among the myriad possible meanings residing within this utterance, we may discover one or more of the following secondary messages that, upon reflection, may not be as appealing as the original one:
Psychological blind spots are common, particularly while caught up in the swoon of infatuation or when a rookie at courtship. Truth be told, I’d venture that most prospective mates fail to contemplate their intentions and expectations, let alone share them with each other.
So, when you hear sweet nothings whispered in your ear, remember that they are actually sweet somethings. Do your best to find out what those somethings are.
BLIND SPOTS Trouble is, it’s also true that when many of us say, “I love you,” we are not entirely conscious of what we mean. Our hidden agendas may be as invisible to us as to the person we are professing to adore.
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.
1. I need you to take care of me. 2. I want you to be the person I want you to be. 3. I expect you to make me happy. 4. I want to be the center of your universe. 5. I intend to control you. 6. I expect you to meet all my emotional needs. Often, when a person feels unsettled or uncertain about their suitor’s “I love you” overture, it is because they detect, albeit intuitively, that one of these or some
Illustrations by Ali Bachmann.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 65
LIFESTYLE CANNABIS
‘No Evidence that Occasional Marijana Use Has Harmful Effects,’ Says Top Federal Drug Researcher BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ
Photo by Olga Tsareva/Getty Images.
A
nyone raised on a steady diet of Reefer Madness and the well-honed tradition of vilifying cannabis in the media probably assumes that marijuana’s harmful effects are well-documented, by now. After all, marijuana has been banned for nearly a century, and more than 600,000 Americans are arrested every year for possession of personal-use amounts. Cannabis is even categorized as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and other potentially deadly drugs. Surely, it ought to be at least somewhat harmful … right? Wrong, says the country’s foremost drug expert. “There’s no evidence to my knowledge that occasional marijuana use has harmful effects. I don’t know of any scientific evidence of that. I don’t think it has been evaluated. We need to test it,” said Nora Volkow, who as director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse leads federal research on illicit substances. There have been many studies trying to establish a link between marijuana consumption and negative effects on the human body or psyche. The most serious potential consequence is to develop a cannabis use disorder—it is not addiction, as marijuana is completely non-addictive, but it is the habit of using marijuana as a mental crutch to the point that a person feels unable to function without it. If marijuana is consumed daily and in large doses, it can impair a person’s social habits. While the user will not suffer physical consequences for getting high instead of going out with friends, for instance, they might slowly drift away from their social network and feel under the weather, potentially leading to more marijuana use to dampen the negative feelings.
WHAT WE KNOW There are a few things that we do know. Marijuana should not be consumed by minors. It causes temporary impairment similar to alcohol and therefore shouldn’t be allowed while driving or operating dangerous machinery. There have been studies establishing correlations between pancreas issues and smoking marijuana, other studies finding that smokers are more likely to 66 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
have bronchitis. There have been correlations between marijuana and schizophrenia, marijuana and cancer, marijuana and many other ills—perhaps because Reefer Madness culture led people to assume that, surely, there ought to be something nefarious just waiting to be discovered. But these few accusations are the only negative effects that have ever been associated with marijuana use and these correlations are not firmly established due to the lack of proper research on the topic. “Those studies are poor and crappy—they’re correlation studies. What they’re calling strong correlations are about the same correlations as when you look at cat ownership in childhood and likelihood to go on and have a psychiatric illness,” said Carl Hart, neuroscientist at Columbia University. One of the reasons why the only available research is so poor and unreliable is because the U.S. government has spent the past 50 years actively smothering all research on marijuana by making it practically impossible for scientists to get authorization to study it and by limiting what cannabis plants are available for study. Indeed, researchers need approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food and Drug Administration and National Institute on Drug Abuse before being allowed clinical trials, which is an exceedingly slow process, and they can only study cannabis from one source, the only federally approved supplier, the University of Mississippi. Tests have proven time and time again that the University of Mississippi produces cannabis that is much weaker and chemically distinct from the products that most Americans consume, making it closer to non-psychoactive hemp than marijuana. “While most states in the U.S. recognize that cannabis has medical value, the DEA says otherwise, pointing to the absence of clinical research,” said Sue Sisley, researcher for the Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI), which sued the DEA to be allowed to
become a licensed grower. “But at the same time, government regulations and bureaucracy prevent researchers like SRI from ever doing the clinical research the DEA has overtly demanded.” This is an issue that is not limited to independent research organizations like the Scottsdale Research Institute; Nora Volkow herself, despite being at the helm of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, admits to having her hands tied.
REMOVING RED TAPE “Marijuana, by being a Schedule I substance, requires certain procedures that actually can be very lengthy. In some instances, it distracts researchers who want to investigate it because it’s just much more cumbersome than doing studies with other substances,” Volkow recently said in a forum hosted by The Hill. “I can testify to it. As a researcher, I always hesitate to go into doing research with Schedule I drugs. I do research in human subjects, it’s much more cumbersome.” Photo by Olga Tsareva/Getty Images.
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE ONLY AVAILABLE RESEARCH IS SO POOR AND UNRELIABLE IS BECAUSE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS SPENT THE PAST 50 YEARS ACTIVELY SMOTHERING ALL RESEARCH ON MARIJUANA. The DEA recently announced that a few other marijuana growers might be allowed to provide researchers with materials. This came to pass after four years of legal battle between research entities and the federal government. It concluded with the release of a confidential DEA memo proving that the agency had been willingly in violation of international treaties regarding marijuana. The DEA only accepted to consider distributing new growing licenses after it was caught red-handed violating the law to stunt research on marijuana.
If marijuana does not have any benefits, medical or otherwise, then researchers can prove it. If marijuana has nefarious effects, as anti-marijuana activists and politicians claim, then it would be better for absolutely everyone to let scientists figure that out. As it currently stands, scientists are barred from studying marijuana while millions of Americans are participating in one of the most reckless, uncontrolled human trials in history; the drug is already available everywhere and consumed by countless people. If opponents of marijuana reform genuinely held the beliefs that they claim to hold, they would be the first to demand the freedom to research marijuana.
Jean-Gabriel Fernandez is a journalist and Sorbonne graduate living in Milwaukee.
While she appreciates this improvement, Volkow pointed out that it is far from enough. The only way to open the door to research is by removing the legal red tape imposed by the government regarding the need for authorizations and by allowing researchers to study state-legal marijuana available in dispensaries. It is now trivially easy to purchase and consume marijuana in retail locations in two dozen states, but researchers in these very same states are legally barred from studying the products that they can buy and consume themselves. FEBRUARY 2022 | 67
LIFESTYLE DOMICILE
Discover the Secrets to Decluttering, Reorganizing and Reclaiming Your Home BY MARK HAGEN
B
y now you’ve either given up on your New Year’s resolutions or you’re happily moving them forward, full steam ahead. For many, those goals include organizing, cleaning and decluttering. Whether you’re looking to maximize space in your house or you’re simply longing to tidy things up a bit, keep the following hints, tips and tricks in mind for a quick and easy home makeover.
GETTING STARTED If the idea of organizing your house is stressing you out, start with a small project like cleaning out a medicine cabinet and working your way toward loftier goals such as reorganizing your garage. Once you’ve picked a spot to declutter, think about the best way to tackle the job. Like most things in life, a little planning goes a long way when organizing. Set a timeframe to complete the project but be realistic. Cleaning out an entire attic will take far longer than reorganizing a linen closet. 68 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Begin by separating items into three piles: Keep it, get rid of it, or move it to storage. Keeping things is easy. (After all, keeping too many things is what surrounds us with clutter to begin with, isn’t it?)
Deciding whether to keep something or pitch it can be a bit of a headscratcher for many. When you’re struggling with the decision to save an item, consider the following: • Think of decluttering as a way to make room for items that matter most. If something isn’t adding value to your life, it’s likely time to get rid of it. • Ask yourself if you’d buy this exact same item right now. If not, donate it. • Follow the two-year rule. If you haven’t worn something in two years, you likely don’t need it (and probably won’t miss it). • Eliminate duplicate items. Do you really need four pairs of black flip-flops? Keep the best pair and say goodbye to the rest.
organized. Clean the area, refold clothes and linens, and find homes for stray items. Invest in tiered shelves, shelf risers, storage boxes and drawer organizers. These items make consolidating a snap with minimal cost, but you can also use small bowls or even old muffin tins to organize junk drawers, office supplies and the like. While you’re shopping for organizers, consider a label maker. Labelling bins and storage boxes not only makes it easy to help family members set things where they belong, but labels offer a clean, finished look sure to leave you feeling satisfied with a job well done. If you keep an item, decide if it’s something that can be stored out of sight. If your home has a basement or attic, storage may not be an issue. For many, however, storage is always a concern. Try to get creative with space under beds (great for storing out-of-season clothing) or add shelving that takes advantage of vertical space. (Add a shelf over a doorway for books or hang sturdy racks from the garage ceiling to keep holiday décor.) Remember that just because you’ve always stored something somewhere, doesn’t mean that’s the best spot for it. For example, after organizing your pantry, you might find that it makes better sense to store your stand mixer on the kitchen counter where you’d use it more often.
GETTING & STAYING ORGANIZED Once you’ve downsized and decluttered, it’s time to get
Illustrations by Aleutie/Getty Images.
Revisit the space or area a day or two later and take a quick inventory. Is there anything else that could be donated or tossed away? Is there something that should be moved to another spot in the home? You might surprise yourself with your new ambition to downsize even more. You’ll need to keep on top of things if you want a clutter-free home, so schedule a few “declutter days” every season. While it may seem a chore at first, you’ll reward yourself by reclaiming your space and bringing a sense of calm to your home and to life in general.
Mark Hagen is a décor enthusiast whose house has been featured in numerous publications. His work has appeared in Fresh Home and Your Family magazines. FEBRUARY 2022 | 69
HEAR ME OUT DEAR RUTHIE | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION
I’M HAPPY, DAMNIT! DEAR RUTHIE, I’m a 58-year-old single gay man. My friends and family constantly tell me I need to meet someone and settle down. They always try to fix me up. I’ve had it! I have an active social life, am healthy and am very happy! What more do they want? I don’t want a partner right now. I love things the way they are. How can I get them to understand?
HOPING YOU REPLY,
Happily Single DEAR HAPPY, Live your life! The fact that you’re happy is all that matters, honey bunny. When it comes to friends and family, remember that their concerns come from a place of love. They just want the best for you—misguided or not. Let friends and family know that you’re happy with life. Acknowledge that you understand they have nothing but good intentions, but firmly state that you’re happy as is. Explain that while you appreciate their concern, it’s time for them to respect your wishes. Doing so in a calm, collected manner will hopefully end the questions, intrusions and suggestions. If not, send ‘em my way! I’m always up for a blind date ... or seven.
XXOO
Ruthie
Have a question for Ruthie? Want to share an event with her? Contact Ruthie at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on social media, too! Facebook: Dear Ruthie | Instagram: RuthieKeester | Twitter: @DearRuthie
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DEAR RUTHIE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Ruthie's Social Calendar FEBRUARY 6 WALKER’S POINT MINI PUTT-PUTT WINTER CLASSIC TOURNAMENT AT VARIOUS BARS THROUGHOUT WALKER’S POINT: The city’s whackiest, wildest pub crawl returns to Walker’s Point with new prizes and more fun than ever. To claim your team’s spot, sign up at any of the participating bars including Woody’s (1579 S. Second St.), D.I.X. (739 S. First St.), Walker’s Pint (818 W. Second St.) and Fluid (819 S. Second St). Prizes for the top 10 teams and a beer party for the best-dressed, make this a memorable afternoon of day drinking (noon to 6 p.m.) and one that’s not to be missed! FEBRUARY 11 - 13 ANIME MILWAUKEE AT WISCONSIN CENTER (400 W. WISCONSIN AVE.): Get your cosplay on as the Midwest’s anime and gaming communities come together to celebrate. Visit www.animemilwaukee.org for all the details regarding panel discussions, guest speakers, the masquerade, fan-art and fan-fiction contests, K-pop battles, children’s programs, event passes and more. FEBRUARY 12 MISS GAY FOX VALLEY AT THE RE MIXX (8386 STATE ROAD 76, NEENAH): Break out of your bubble with a road trip to this Neenah nightclub. Some of the region’s top talents compete for the crown in this popular pageant that’s sure to offer a bit of Vegas flair. The contest starts at 10:30 p.m. (and includes a $5 door charge), but table reservations can be made by shooting a message to the Re Mixx Facebook page. FEBRUARY 16 PRIDE NIGHT WITH THE MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS AT UW-MILWAUKEE PANTHER ARENA (400 W. KILBOURN AVE.): The gang at the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce join up with the city’s hockey team to offer this second annal Pride night. Come for the 7 p.m. hockey game, stay for the after party. See www.wislgbtchamber.com for tickets. FEBRUARY 18 “BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE” AT UWM PHYSICS BUILDING/PLANETARIUM (1900 E. KENWOOD BLVD.): Jazz up your social calendar with this changeof-pace interactive event. Explore distant galaxies, learn the origin of the cosmos and more when you attend the 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. showing. Get your $6 tickets at www.uwm.universitytickets.com or email planetarium@uwm.edu for additional information. FEBRUARY 21 TGNC (Virtual) Support Group via The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center: Singer Jennifer Schafer and an impressive group of musicians pay homage to Adele in this soulful concert. See www.pabsttheatergroup.com for tickets ($25 to $35) to the 7:30 p.m. show. FEBRUARY 25 “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Viewing Party at Fluid (819 S. Second St.): Everyone’s favorite queen, Shannon Dupree, hosts this 7 p.m. evening of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. See why Fluid is known as the bar that features fun with a twist when you cheer on the contestants from the current season of the drag reality show, enjoy drink specials and make plenty of new friends. FEBRUARY 2022 | 71
HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION
Will PrideFest Return This June? A CONVERSATION WITH MILWAUKEE PRIDE PRESIDENT WES SHAVER BY PAUL MASTERSON
WES SHAVER
I
n these uncertain times, one question remains on the minds of Milwaukee’s LGBTQs: “Will we finally return to a June PrideFest in 2022?” According to Wes Shaver, president of Pride Milwaukee, the festival’s producer, the answer is an unequivocal “yes”—provided, of course, there’s not another pandemic shutdown. Shaver joined Milwaukee Pride, Inc. in 2013 as a member of its board of directors. Since 2017 he has led the organization as its president, garnering recognition from the BizTimes in 2020 as a notable LGBTQ executive and, just last month, as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” honorees, an award for business professionals making a positive impact on the community. In the 1970s, Mlwaukee’s Pride celebrations took the form of dances and other small events. Largely due to the fear of outing themselves, many community members avoided such public expressions of pride, limiting attendance. The traditional PrideFest celebration as we know it goes back to 1988. Again, attendance numbers remained in the low hundreds. Media coverage, as far as there was any, usually mocked the event by focusing on its most outrageously “gay” characters.
STEPPING OUT TO SUMMERFEST GROUNDS Gradually, however, LGBTQ identity would be embraced and the festival’s attendance and recognition grew exponentially. In 1996, now a member of World Festivals, Inc, PrideFest moved to Henry Meier Festival Park (HMFP) grounds. Nearly a quarter century later, in 2019, a record breaking 45,500+ patrons celebrated at PrideFest. That year was also the most financially successful. Coming off that, according to Shaver, PrideFest 2020 would have been historic. “The PrideFest 2020 budget would have been the first million-dollar budget in the event’s history,” he said. Included in that budget was also another PrideFest first, stipends for volunteer directors. Reconciling the idea of paying production staff is easy, according to Shaver, who points out the tremendous experience and contribution they have made to the PrideFest’s success. The security director, for example, has been a volunteer since 1997 and oversees 200 volunteers. Photo courtesy of Wes Shaver.
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Shaver mentions the tens of thousands of dollars paid for equipment rental (tables and chair rental alone costs are $30,000), union grounds workers, professional fees, entertainment costs and all the rest. “All entertainers at PrideFest are compensated,” Shaver explains, “and many directors take off work, use vacation or PTO days so they can dedicate the weekend to PrideFest. I learned in my early days of business and management, as the boss of any organization, you always take care of those on the team first. I have earnestly put everyone else first as a philosophy I will always adhere to that.”
UNDONE BY COVID But that plan for PrideFest 2020 was undone by the pandemic. The 2021 event was also canceled but Milwaukee Pride did produce a smaller festival, PridetoberFest later in the year. For Shaver, the October’s shorter festival was necessary as a rehearsal for the upcoming 2022 PrideFest. Citing the two-year pause, Shaver acknowledged the need to give Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community a celebration of Pride as well as to get the production team back into practice. Asked if the 2022 budget would be the historic million-dollar event intended for 2020, Shaver replied “this year’s budget has not yet been approved because there are a lot of changes. The festival’s footprint will be changed for a new refreshed feel taking advantage of the improvements of the park that have taken place in the last years.”
Other organizations do the other things. Part of the process of running a community organization is to recognize the roles of others and not encroach upon them. This is work to be done to elevate the community. Community work should never be a competition.” Perhaps Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community is a bit spoiled to have a world class PrideFest without appreciating what it takes to accomplish it or its impact it has on Milwaukee? “It’s a major contributor to the city’s cultural and financial life,” Shaver said. “Everyone should step back and think, PrideFest shares space with the world’s largest music festival. LGBTQ people have striven to be at the table and share space. I take responsibility that the world knows we share the same space. That’s why I do it.”
Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.
As for entertainment headliners, rather than costly international stars, Shaver noted “the response was overwhelming positive and energetic for local talent. It’s important PrideFest remains about LGBTQ Pride and not become a music festival. It’s about how we celebrate Pride.”
WHY WE CELEBRATE That left a couple of final questions, where does PrideFest fit into the LGBTQ and the greater Milwaukee communities? To those Shaver answered at length. “My experience at the 2019 InterPride World Conference in Athens, Greece, helped me understand why we celebrate. I sat in rooms with people from places where LGBTQ people are still persecuted. They would do anything to be part of our community and celebrate Pride. They are taking a great risk to celebrate Pride in their own countries. But here we have people who do not appreciate what we have and its value. “Our purpose is to create a banner event for LGBTQ people in the state and take responsibility to create equitable, safe spaces for our LGBTQ population and allies to celebrate their Pride,” he said. In recent years, Milwaukee Pride went year-round with other projects like scholarships, but has pulled back. “We realized our role is solely to run a festival,” Shaver said. “Legally, we have a set list of criteria and we adhere to that.
FEBRUARY 2022 | 73
ART FOR ART'S SAKE
From The City That Always Sweeps BY ART KUMBALEK
I
’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, right now I don’t have the time to whip out a big honking monthly essay for you’s that’s going to match up with the damn deadline I’m supposed to cram up my dupa; so sue me. Besides, I’m due soon at the Uptowner tavern/charm school for a meet-up with my gang so’s to make plans for our annual Presidents’ Day costume contest, but since they’re not open yet, I’ll swing by my favorite open-24/7 G-Webb where a guy like me can get a jump-start on girding his loins in preparation for the day’s daily shitstorm to follow. Come along if you want but you leave the tip. Let’s get going. Bea: Hey there Artie. What’s your pleasure? Art: How ’bout a nice hunk of the blackest, thickest and cheapest cup of whatever you’re calling plain-old American coffee today—and by thick, Bea, I mean you don’t measure this coffee in fluid ounces, you measure in inches. Bea: Can do, Artie. So what do you hear, what do you know. Any Valentine’s plans coming up? Art: Heck no, Bea. I’ve been trained to stay away from what-they-call the relationships. Used to be come the Valentine’s, I’d always give the gal the box of some kind of candy and a nice daffodil. But I guess maybe ’cause I always spent so much time in the dog-house, in return I’d get a new flea collar and a bath. Yeah yeah, I’m always reminded of the words of the great Greek philosopher from the olden days—Socrates, I believe—when one day he was having one of his famous dialogues with his students about the relationship between men and women. To hit the bull’s-eye with a point he wanted
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them to absorb, he asked of them a riddle, which was this: “What is the difference between a tornado, and an ex-wife?” Know the difference, Bea? Bea: Lordy, I do not, Artie. What’s the difference between a tornado and an ex-wife? Art: None. They both get the house. Bading! And that just goes to show you, Bea, that even thousands of years ago divorce was no cakewalk on the beach. But the difference is that in the day and age of the modern times, divorce is no more uncommon than the common cold. And times change quickly. For crying out loud when I was a kid, the word “divorce” was so scary that whenever you heard it, the first thing you had to do was put on clean underwear. Bea: It can be scary, all right. Art: But to the kids today, seems like parents getting the divorce is no big deal. It’s just another routine ritual of growing up, like First Communion, eighth-grade graduation, the first time you got to call your pop from the police station. How ’bout you carve me out another cup of that coffee there would you, Bea? Bea: My pleasure, Artie. Art: Trust, Bea. Trust. That’s what makes a relationship work. Bea: That’s what I hear. Art: Trust in your spouse as you would your doctor, Bea. But that’s easier said than done, like this couple I knew once. The guy hadn’t been feeling so hot for a while, so the wife takes him to see the doctor. Doctor examines the guy every which way and tells him he’s got a very serious condition of which he needs to speak to his wife about in private.
Bea: Oh dear. Art: So the doctor says to the wife, “Your husband’s condition is so serious that he could die any day. However, there is one way you can save his life. For six months, you must cook three extremely well-balanced meals a day for him, vigilantly keep the house spotless from dust, and energetically and creatively cohabit the connubial nighttime boudoir—spiked heels and fishnet stockings a plus. And madam, if you perform these three tasks in full throttle, your husband will recover to lead a rich and full life.” So the wife thanks the doctor and meets her hubby in the waiting room. Naturally, he wants to know what the doctor said. She takes a deep breath, looks deeply into his eyes and says, “The doctor said you’re going to die.” Bea: Isn’t that something. Art: And understanding each other’s needs is a big deal to boot, Bea. Like the philosopher Henny Youngman said: “My wife and I have the secret to making a marriage last. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, a little wine, good food. She goes Tuesdays; I go Fridays.” Well, I got to run. Hope you have a very nice Valentine’s Day folie à deux. And let me remind you what the famous Greek philosopher Anonymous said about that: “The ideal relationship can only be achieved when one partner is blind, and the other is deaf,” Thanks for the coffee and for letting me bend your ear there, Bea—utiful. See you next time. Bea: My pleasure, Artie. Always nice getting talked at by you. Take care. (It’s off to the Uptowner. If I see you there, then you buy me one ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.)
Background by Nikand4/Getty Images. Photo by lisafx/Getty Images.
