Season's eatings! The weather may be getting colder, but Dining Month on OnMilwaukee is just cooking up, dishing out your winning picks in this year's Best of Dining poll. Dining Month is brought to you by Fein Brothers, your premier food service equipment and supply dealer in Wisconsin since 1929. Congratulations to all of the winners, and happy eating for all those who voted! See all the winners for the month so far here.
Though nobody's going to argue too much with the stern baritone of Marcellus Wallace himself, Ving Rhames, Arby's has worked hard over the past several years to live up to its beefy boast that it has the meats. That artery-clogging quest to make vegetarians cry has introduced sandwiches topped with all manner of dead animal, from pork belly to barbecued brisket to what appears to be an entire barnyard stacked inside a "Meat Mountain" sandwich.
Amongst the odder off-the-wall meat options at Arby's recently, however, was venison, which the fast food restaurant introduced last fall in just 17 locations in five particular hunting-happy states – including Wisconsin. The Bambi burger – my name, not theirs; call me, Arby's marketing department – must've hit a bulls-eye, as participating restaurants reported selling out of the sandwich within hours.
So, of course, it's coming back.
On Saturday, Oct. 21, the venison sandwich – featuring a venison steak, marinated with garlic, salt and pepper, and sous-vide for three hours (I can hear you snickering!), then topped with crispy onions and a juniper berry sauce (stop laughing!) all between a toasted bun – will return to all Arby's locations across the country. Those desiring deer from a drive-thru, however, will have to act quick: The sandwich is only available for in limited supply and only available for one day.
If you miss out on the venison sandwich, however, Arby's apparently has another new carnivorous creation cooked up and ready to serve: an elk sandwich, this time featuring an elk steak topped with crispy onions and a blackberry port steak sauce (no, really, what's so funny?!) on a toasted bun. Unfortunately, if you want a bite of that crazy burger, you'll have to hitch a ride to the Mountain Time Zone, as the sandwich will have only a limited, one-day roll-out in a mere three locations in three select states: Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Apparently, Wisconsin just doesn't hunt enough elk to qualify for the special sandwich.
Whatever, Arby's; call me when you've got a kangaroo sandwich. And even then, the only thing that could surprise on an Arby's sandwich is a vegetable.
To find the closest Arby's location, here's a map.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.