CHEW:Gemütlichkeit at the Crossroads

Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW)
http://www.wisconsincooks.org/chew

Next Meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
7:15 PM
**Please note: CHEW 2008 Membership Dues are Due

CHEW's monthly meetings are free and open to the public but regular attendees are encouraged to join CHEW to help support our programs. And there are special events, like the annual CHEW potluck, that are open only to members. Regular membership is $25/year, student membership is $20/year & institutional membership is $50/year. CHEW dues can be paid at the the monthly CHEW meeting or sent by mail to: CHEW c/o Paul Lyne, 2532 Van Hise Ave., Madison, WI 53705.

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“Gemütlicheit at the Crossroads: Fairly True Tales of the Good and Not So Good on One of Madison's Most Notorious City Blocks, and the Beer Hall That Changed Everything.”

Bob Worm, owner/operator of Essen Haus German Restaurant and Germania Properties, and Madison writer Marge Pitts will discuss the checkered history of Madison's Block 115, the 500 block of East Wilson Street.

Located in the heart of the First Settlement District, this block was one of the very first to be developed in Madison. With train depots on either end, the block soon became a crossroads in the young city. The short block once contained three hotels, a butcher shop and dry goods emporium, and numerous saloons and eating establishments of varying degrees of respectability. Block 115's fortunes waxed and waned over the years. By the early 1980's the area was rife with prostitution, crime, chronic alcholism and failed businesses. That's when Bob Worm, then the chef at the former White Horse restaurant, saw his opportunity. He acquired the old Germania Hotel, built in the center of the block soon after the Civil War. There he created the Essen Haus Restaurant and Trinken Halle, which has been a successful business since 1983. Over time, Bob acquired many more properties on the block, where in cooperation with the First Settlement District Neighborhood Association he helped spearhead real urban renewal, including an attractive condominium development, rebirth of a classic hotel, and successful remediation of the most unsavory aspects of the old block.

In celebration of 25 years at this location, Bob Worm commissioned Marge Pitts to create a little book, “Gemütlicheit at the Crossroads,” to tell the story not only of the Essen Haus, but of the historical block that is its home. The book accompanies a special one-liter stein created for the occasion.

Marge Pitts is a Madison writer who graduated from the University of Wisconsin many years ago with a degree in Creative Writing, which led directly to a career waiting tables at several venerable, locally owned Madison restaurants. She worked for Bob at the Essen Haus from 1987-1996.

The meeting will be at the Willy St. Co-op Community Room (1221 Williamson St.).
Important: CHEW meetings attendees may not park in the Willy St. Coop lot; that is reserved for customers. There is on-street parking on all streets surrounding the co-op. The meeting is open to the public.

See you there!!

Announcements

Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Behind-the-Scenes of Food Television

Presented by
Louisa Chu

Saturday, March 1st, 2008
10 AM
Kendall College
900 North Branch Street, Chicago
(West of Halsted Street, North of Chicago Avenue)
Free Parking

Cost: $3 per person, free to Kendall students and faculty with ID.

What's it like to be suddenly thrust on camera with Anthony Bourdain? Where
was the eeriest location to sip pre-ban absinthe? How does the food actually
taste on Iron Chef America? Louisa Chu, chef and food journalist, will
answer these questions and more with first-hand reports from behind the
scenes of food television. She led Bourdain on a wholesale meat market tour
in the Paris episode of No Reservations on the Travel Channel. She's a
"Foodie" and producer for "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie" on PBS. And look for
her as a judge in an upcoming battle of Iron Chef America on the Food
Network.

Louisa is Gourmet's Chicago correspondent and the product review columnist
for CHOW. She's been a correspondent for "Good Food" on the NPR station KCRW
since 2002. Her articles have also appeared in the Chicago Tribune. She has
cooked in restaurants around the world including El Bulli, Alain Ducasse in
Paris, and Alinea. She trained in both pastry and cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu
in Paris, but first learned to cook in her family's Chinese-American
restaurants in Chicago. Louisa lives in Chicago, Paris and on the road. She
can always be found through her food blog, Movable Feast
(www.movable-feast.com).

This program is hosted by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable. To reserve,
please phone 847/432-8255, then leave your name, telephone number and how
many people in your party or e-mail: chicago.foodways.roundtable@gmail.com