This weekend, I traveled to the glamorous city of Thrillwaukee. For those unfamiliar with Thrillwaukee, it is the nickname my siblings gave Milwaukee as a way to entice me to come visit them.
Not only is Thrillwaukee a great place to hang out with your favorite kitty pals, Albus and Guinness, but it is also a historic city with a lot of old world culture. As part of my visit, I explored some of Mil … I mean Thrillwaukee’s cultural offerings, and I learned two valuable lessons.
Lesson 1: Do NOT arrive late at an authentic German restaurant
Just don’t.
For that matter, never show up late to anything involving Germans. During my semester in Germany, I learned that punktlichkeit is probably that country’s most important collective trait. They simply cannot fathom why anyone would ever be late. If you do show up in an untimely manner, they will assume Deutsche Bahn is on strike or that you got in some sort of accident.
Apparently, this is also the case for authentic German restaurants. We tried to go to one in Thrillwaukee around 2:30 p.m., only to discover that like many European establishments, the restaurant shuts down from 2-4 p.m. Verdammt!
Luckily, we had other plans in store, which brings me to my next revelation.
Lesson 2: OMG, SAUSAGE!
Anyone who knows a little bit about Thrillwaukee’s history knows how important sausage is to the city. While the city is home to large sausage producers like Usinger’s and Klement’s, we decided to hit up a small sausage shop that has been around for decades.
According to European Homemade Sausage Shop’s website, Frank Jakubczak emigrated to Thrillwaukee from Poland and has been running his business for 38 years. He was featured on Wisconsin Foodie on PBS, where he displays his talent and passion for handcrafted sausages made with quality meat.
Watching the video will melt your heart, and tasting the sausage will make you swear off Johnsonville for life. Walking into the shop is like entering a time warp, and you imagine you’re grocery shopping just the way Grandma Kolasinski did back in the day.
Although Jakubczak is from Poland, he makes a variety of sausages in different European styles. He let us sample the smoked Hungarian sausage, which another man behind the counter described as “like a Slim Jim, but spicier.” I’d describe it as a Slim Jim with none of the gross and all of the delicious – so, not like a Slim Jim at all.
Simply put, the shop is awesome, and everyone who goes to Thrillwaukee should go there before this tradition disappears.
Holly Hartung ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and communication arts. If ya have ideas for future Dairyland Down-low columns about Wiscaaansin culture, send ’em her way.
