October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, special features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food. Bon appetit!
Because I only usually eat pretzels at the zoo and the ballpark, my standards have fallen since I grew up eating delicious examples on the streets of New York. Unlike here in Milwaukee where the pretzel is most often wedded to (natch!) cheese, in the Big Apple, mustard is the bride of choice.
So, when my son and I stopped at Cafe Centraal last week and sampled the pretzel there ($3.50), we were very pleasantly surprised.
The pretzels are baked to order -- according to the menu -- so they arrive at table warm, and in our case, nearly piping hot. And, they arrive with a small dish of spicy Dijon mustard.
With a nice, nearly crunchy exterior and a pillowy soft inside, the Centraal pretzel is a revelation.
In a Teutonic town like Milwaukee, there must be other great pretzels on offer. I'm counting on you, dear reader, to tell us where they are. Please use the talkback feature below to share your tips on our favorite twisted bread.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
