The newest review on my page about Restaurants in Appleton and the Fox Cities is for Jonathan's Italian Bistro, which get my award for Best Italian Dining in the Fox Cities. They are at 1910 N. Casaloma, Appleton. Phone: 920-882-7876.

Jonathan's Italian Bistro is a great place for Italian food, with rich, hearty flavors, a reasonably broad but not huge menu, good service, and attention to detail at moderate prices. Jonathan's is hard to beat for good Italian food and an enjoyable environment, though it doesn't offer much of a view if you're seated by a window (the Trasino Center strip mall doesn't offer much to look at). I've been there twice and was impressed both times. They offer warm bread with traditional olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping - something I truly enjoy (press torn pieces of bread along the side of the dish with the oil and vinegar to get some of the vinegar into the bread - just dipping the bread straight into the mixture will leave you with nearly all oil and not enough of the vinegar). The salad was a delight. For the two of us, they brought a large bowl that essentially had four normal servings of a fine salad with a good mixture of crisp greens and a fine Italian dressing. The pasta dishes are imaginative and excellent, such as the three ravioli dishes, all outstanding. My wife was pleased with the portabello mushroom ravioli that definitely tasted better than the related dish at Olive Garden, and had sizeable chunks of mushroom instead of a finely ground paste. I had a goat cheese and roasted red pepper ravioli that surpassed my expectations. Tangy, perfect flavor and marvelous texture. Very nice work! Another review of Jonathan's is available from Blogger Beer.

Jonathan's is part of the Supple Restaurant Group, which include Fratello's, the Melting Pot, and the Fox River Brewing Company. Their Website allows you to make online reservations for these restaurants. Cool!

April 2010 Update: You can still read the review below and the comments about a variety of places, but early in 2010 Siroccos kicked the bucket. Their quaint spot on College Avenue is now occupied by Cena Restaurant, which looks like it has potential with a good menu.

Here's the original post about Sirocco's:

---

Sirocco's is a breath of fresh Mediterranean air in the Fox Valley. Mediterranean tapas are its specialty. Tapas are the light and elegant appetizers of Spain which come in dozens of varieties. Sirocco's has extended the quintessentially Spanish concept to bring in delicious themes from throughout the Mediterranean (Spain, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, and Morocco), served tapas style. But if you think you already know Mediterranean cuisine because you've had a lot of pasta and pizza, think again. Sirocco's is not about loading you up with starchy calories. They focus on elegant and even stunning dishes that are small but so memorable and delicious.

Sirocco's is in the quaint spot formerly occupied by Peggy's on College Avenue (125 E. College Avenue 882-3813). We went on a cold Thursday night, arriving at about 8 pm. We were seated fairly quickly, but the place was packed. Since they are relatively new, just opening a couple months ago, it's a good sign to see such good business on a normally slow night. The word is out. The atmosphere was vibrant and filled with energy - people were having a great time.

Each dish I tried was a surprise and a delight. Fabulous flavors, unusual ingredients, attention to detail and appearance. Even in something simple like a salad there were surprises, such as the use of small delicately flavored champagne grapes.

Sirocco's is on the somewhat expensive side for the Fox Cities. Tapas range from $8 to $12 each, but you need about two per person for a meal since they are small and light (perhaps three if you're really hungry). They also offer seven main courses to choose from, ranging from $16 to $28.

Here are a few sample items:

Trio of Croustades. This is a cold tapas plate with six small pieces of toasted Italian bread with interesting ingredients on top. There are two each of three varieties. One has goat cheese with asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon, Kalamata olives and pine nuts. Amazing! Another variety had a light sauce made from roasted peppers and some feta cheese. Another had a Gorgonzola olive spread with some delicious peppered tenderloin, caramelized pears, and spiced walnuts. Surprising and so good. I'd go back for this alone.

Goat cheese, sun-dried tomato, and tarragon pesto in a torta with fig jam and pine nuts, with garlic-herb pita toast. Another cold tapas.

Empanadas are one of the hot tapas plates. They can be filled with your choice of three stuffings: (1) chorizo sausage, green chile, and manchego cheese (a goat cheese from Spain), (2) artichoke, roasted pepper, Kalamata olive and feta cheese, or (3) caramelized apple, fennel and Brie cheese with a sweet pepper syrup. We tried the artichoke variety and were pleased.

Another hot tapas we tried was spiced lamb skewers served with pita bread, a salad with tomatoes, olives, and red onion, and fresh tzatziki sauce.

A hot tapas plate that I'd like to try sometime is the king crab cake and shrimp la pancha served with a mango and avocado salad with apricot-chile vinaigrette.

Main courses looked great, but we didn't try any. I almost ordered the Black Angus filet mignon stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese and served with portabello mushrooms, beans, onions, and mashed potatoes.

They also offer a vegetarian moussaka with layers of zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash and Yukon Goki potato and roasted red pepper served in a three-cheese chive bechamel sauce. Sounds great!

They get my award for bestMediterraneann food in the Fox Valley. Let me know if you disagree!

Looking for US or foreign coins? Appleton has a couple of coin shops to consider:

Affordable Rare Coins 402 W Northland Ave    Appleton, WI 54911 (920) 954-0129

Avenue Coin & Jewelry 303 E College Ave Appleton, WI 54911 (920) 731-4740

For jewelry and gifts, Avenue Coin is a pretty classy place with a nice selection. But for coins, lots of coins at surprisingly low prices, you've got to try Affordable Rare Coins (pictured above in a photograph I took this week). It's on the north side of Northland Avenue halfway between Richmond (Hwy 47) and Oneida Street, almost across the street from Sai Ram Indian Restaurant and Koreana. A great place to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts.

For silver buffs and gold bugs, you'll be glad to know that they have a great collection of silver and gold coins, including some very affordable silver coins near the spot price of silver. I sent a friend of mine there the other day, and I even bought a few silvery gifts for a couple people as well.

Here's a couple of fairly typical Wisconsin barns, photographed Dec. 8, a little south of the Fox Cities. Boring, I know, but some people just enjoy barns....

It's hard to find Christmas music on the radio any more in this "politically correct" era, but I'm to report that one local station is serving the community with a steady diet of Christmas music. That station, WRST 90.3 FM of Oshkosh was featured tonight in the Post-Crescent, but they left out an important detail: WRST FM offers live programming over the Internet at http://www.uwosh.edu/wrst/listenlive.php. That's handy because reception isn't that great up here in Appleton.

Listened to the station for a while tonight. Quite an eclectic mix. The station is on the UW Oshkosh campus and was started by Dr. Robert L. Snyder over 35 years ago.

During a recent conversation with an official from Lawrence University, I heard a story that agrees with my experience on campus. An official from a nominally Christian college told this official how impressed he was with the quality of the students at Lawrence. The visitor noted that the Lawrence students were polite, respectful, and generally avoided profanity. In contrast, the visitor said that when parents were visiting his campus, he would try to steer them away from groups of students since he didn't want parents to hear all the profanity that students there tended to use. The acquaintance of mine from Lawrence told me that this has been his experience as well: the students at Lawrence generally tend to show a lot of respect for other people, and low use of profanity is an expression of that respect.

For me, walking around Lawrence University has always been a pleasant experience. The students there really do tend to be a decent and respectful group. They are diverse, coming from a wide range of backgrounds, but quickly develop bonds of understanding at this outstanding gem of a university. It's part of what the leaders at Lawrence try to do. And it's part of why Appleton is such a great place to live. Lawrence University adds so much to the spirit and culture of this town. And at the heart of it is a student body and faculty with an attitude of respect not just for knowledge and the arts, but for other people, no matter who they are.

I'm serious about this: Lawrence University is a rare gem about universities. And I feel incredibly lucky to have it at the heart of Appleton.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's article, "Cold Creativity" offers some great tips about how to enjoy winter beauty in Wisconsin. My favorite recommendation - something I'm anxious to do now - is to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore area on the south side of Lake Superior. This park has some spectacular sandstone caves that normally require use of kayak to experience, but in winter, when the lake is frozen over, you can walk to the caves. Great idea! And the combination of ice, sandstone, and sky makes for some great photos. Can't wait! But I may have to - it's best to go in February when the ice is sure to be thick enough.

Here is an excerpt from "Cold Creativity" by Donna Marie Pocius, Dec. 9, 2006:

Also a must-see for arts lovers are beautiful ice-encrusted sea caves on the Apostle Islands - 22 islands in far northwestern Wisconsin, off the Bayfield Peninsula. The mainland caves on the west side of the peninsula, about five miles northeast of Cornucopia, are a good place for travelers to visit.

Weather permitting, people walk on a frozen Lake Superior to sea caves, where red sandstone cliffs take on a kaleidoscope of ice color and formations. Ice forms in spectacular ways as waves, once crashing on the cliffs, are frozen in place. Also, water coming down the rock is stopped cold in its tracks.

"You got the colors of the ice - not to mention the color of the rock, the water, the sky. The sandstone is red, the ice is mostly white, but in some places it is light blue and pink," says Neil Howk, assistant chief of interpretation and education for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

"And there are all different shapes of ice. You will find the finest of icicles. Some inside the caves are so delicate, they look like a carrot in the ground with roots. So delicate that if you breathe on them they move. It is all pretty amazing."

The best time to come is late February and early March - but do call the ice line, (715) 779-3398, Ext. 499, to check conditions before making the drive.

Mr. Howk also advises people to dress appropriately (hat, gloves, etc.) and to bring a ski pole to test the ice as you go. Being out on the ice can be dangerous, so use caution and check with local experts (e.g., call the ice line number given above).

A friend at work recently asked me where to go in Appleton to find a high-quality kaleidoscope for a gift. A couple of calls led me to a great answer: Donald's Gifts in the Trasino Center on north Casaloma, between Northland and Wisconsin (right behind the new Hudson Grill, south side of the Trasino Center).

Full contact information:

Donald's
1770 N Casaloma Dr, Appleton, WI
(920) 734-6484

My wife and I dropped in and were really impressed. They had over a dozen different kaleidoscopes to choose from, including some exquisite wooden ones with beautiful imagery inside. Prices range from $6 for a child's kaleidoscope (still some very nice ones at the low end) up to about $250 for beautiful desktop display items. One looked like a wooden lighthouse. My wife had to drag me away from the area, it was so interesting.

And then I fell into temptation with the rest of the store - a sprawling gift shop with beautiful crafts and art work. My favorite section was the glasswork, where some beautiful intricate works caught my eyes. Glass sculptures with intricate interior designs, even including interior fiber optics to enhance the display with a lighted base. Cool stuff.

Appleton was the hometown of Heimo Korth, the subject of the popular and highly acclaimed book, The Final Frontiersman by James Campbell of Lodi, Wisconsin. Heimo Korth left Appleton in the 1970s to live north of the Arctic Circle, many miles away from any other human. In fact, Heimo is one of only seven hunter-trappers with a permit living in the huge Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (about 20 million acres). He lives with his wife from Alaska and two daughters. They are 130 miles above the Arctic Circle, the only settlers for more than 500 miles (and they are 250 miles from the nearest road).

It's an amazing story of survival and courage. And it makes Appleton seem far less remote and much less cold!

(Hat tip to the Post-Crescent for carrying a note on the book.)

Here are a couple photos from the Nov. 25 Hmong New Year's Celebration at Appleton East High School. Great event, huge turnout. Lots of fun!

The Telulah bridge over Highway 441 has been opened again. It was closed for a couple months to repair damage caused when it was struck underneath by an excessively high truck, causing structural damage to the east side of the bridge. Repairs are complete and life can get back to normal for those of you on the southeast side of town.