BREAKFAST FOR DINNER >>>
Weekly Volcano's ever-expanding Nosh League made a ruckus in the Old Milwaukee Cafe last night. That's right, I said "night." Members and newcomers packed the tiny breakfast joint for a lesson on how to make the perfect pancake, as well as taste the goods - four variations - long after the Sixth Avenue breakfast/lunch joint's typical closing time. Owners Patricia "Pat" and Chad Kerth received several rounds of applause and damn near royalty bows on numerous occasions. People hug the Kerths. People name babies after the Kerths. The Kerths put to shame those pale and lazy and uninspired breakfast plates knocked out every day by other breakfast shifts at other restaurants across the fruited plain.
Although capped at 20 Nosh leaguers due to the diminutive size of the Old Milwaukee, Pat kept darting behind the curtain to grab more chairs when the door was locked after the 27th smile entered the restaurant, although the Kerths, had they owned more space, wouldn't have turned their back on those pressed against the glass front door. Service before self (read: enormous pile of dirty plates) pours from their soul like buttermilk batter.
Speaking of buttermilk - that was pancake the Kerths chose for the demonstration. Pulling a table and hotplate from behind the curtain, Pat came clean with the ingredients while Chad whipped egg whites in the back kitchen. Ingredients stay in the Nosh League, although I will tell you that melted butter and folding in egg whites are key - as well as the timing of the first flip. Somewhere between a Swedish pancake and a fluffy pancake lies the Old Milwaukee Café buttermilk pancake - a fluffy Swedish pancake, if you will. Nosh League member Gayle Selden, known for her awesome pancake recipe, gave props to the Old Milwaukee pancake.
Two rounds of raffle prizes and a whole bunch of screwdrivers, Bloody Marys and Kahlua and coffees elevated the gathering to an 11.
For two hours we dined on buttermilk, huckleberry, bacon and dessert pancakes, plus eggs, bacon and sausage. Every bite of the bacon pancakes reveals salty goodness. And the huckleberries don't burst with core of the sun heat. Whipped cream and peanut butter stood ready for those who felt 1,000 chocolate chips wasn't adequate in each dessert pancake.
The Weekly Volcano food group Nosh league meets the second Thursday of the month. July's gathering hasn't been solidified as of this post. We'll be at D.O.A. sampling new chef Aaron Grissom's invention in August. September takes us to Affairs Café in University place where Gay Landry has chocolate up her sleeve.
To join the Nosh League, click here (you may have to join our community first). We also are on the Facebook here.