Appleton just completed its biggest and best Octoberfest ever, with well over 100,000 people from all over joining in for the fun. Record attendance, I understand. I'm not sure how anyone counts all those people, but I suspect a conservative estimate can be made by counting the servings of beer sold and dividing by four (just kidding - it's a remarkably sober event, though beer is certainly one element).

The main Saturday fest spanned a mile of College Avenue, parts of Lawrence University, and Jones Park, a new addition to Octoberfest. Jones Park is just a block south of college avenue and about 100 feet below; steep stairways connect the park, nearly at river level, to the higher altitudes of downtown Appleton. It provided another location for one more band, food, and fun.

Looking out over the curb-to-curb throngs of humanity lining College Avenue during the Saturday event, newcomers might wonder what drives these masses to coalesce in Appleton for this annual event. I think the answer is simple: Tiger Paws! Though they may look like a big slab of fried dough covered in sugar and cinnamon, like a huge flat donut without the whole, those who know the way of Tiger Paws recognize them as a passport to true enjoyment, an escape from tedium of life, and a ticket to fulfillment and self-realization. Or something like that. In other words, fresh, hot Tiger Paws taste great. And I'm not kidding when I say that it's a must-eat-treat for many Octoberfest trekkers. They've been a tradition for over 10 years and are even featured in the radio ads for Octoberfest to help draw people in.

Tiger Paws are made to raise funds for local Boy Scout Troops affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed "Mormons"). The process for making them is actually pretty involved - special procedures, custom equipment, a well-greased supply chain, and lots of practice and know-how to allow us to crank out thousands of delicious, hot Tiger Paws every year to serve them fresh, hot, and delicious to salivating crowds. An awful lot of preparation is required - but it really pays off. If you came by the Tiger Paws booth near Chase Bank and the Paper Valley Hotel, you might have seen me in there doing some of the drying. Quite an experience.

And now, on with the photos!

Here's a view of the crowd on College Avenue around 2 pm. Sadly, some of these people will not take the time to buy a Tiger Paw before leaving, but fortunately there are many other things to enjoy and do - or so I hear.


What beacon is this that draws in crazed masses yearning for culinary delight?


A behind-the-scenes look at the frying and sugaring section of the vast Tiger Paws assembly line.


My son, Mark, and his friend from church, Josué, are working on dough handling.


Appleton's spacious Performing Arts Center momentarily lies in the shadow of something much bigger. What I don't get is why a giant beer bottle has been erected here instead of an inflated Tiger Paw? Maybe next year. (These photos were taken around 7 am, before the crowds showed up.)



At the crack of dawn, College Avenue is already bustling with activity as groups set up their booths and prepare for a busy and long day.










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I took two friends to lunch on Friday at Ginger Rootz, a Chinese restaurant on Ballard Road in the north part of Appleton (2020 N. Ballard RD, 920-738-9688). Nice interior, but the food was inadequate. I ordered a Kung Pao dish that looked nice but violated the delicious tradition of Kung Pao style cooking. The peanuts, for example, were just regular roasted peanuts that were sprinkled on the dish at the end, rather than participants in the flavor medley created during cooking of the dish. The vegetables were also disappointing. They were nothing but chopped water chestnuts with a few large pieces of bell peppers thrown in - and the bell peppers tasted horrible.

I don't know where they got such things, but there was a strange chemical flavor on the bell peppers that I didn't pay attention to at first but almost gagged me when I actually tasted it. The waiter didn't check in on how the food was after I noticed this (we were busy talking), but I did tell the front desk about the unpleasant pepper experience. In fact, I was worried that I had ingested something harmful and asked for a sample of their peppers in case I got food poisoning or something. They brought me a few pieces and there was an odd smell to them. But they assured me they were fresh and high quality. Oh well. (I took them home and after a day, the smell was even worse, but that may have been due to new microbial degradation unrelated to their state in the restaurant. It was a similar smell - but my best guess is that it was a residue from cleaning agents or pesticides. Both the red and the green pepper pieces tasted bad - and I'm a big fan of bell peppers, very familiar with their normal taste.)

Please note that my experience with what I think was some kind of chemical agent in the bell peppers may be extremely unusual. Maybe it was just a new spice I've never encountered, or I may have just had unlucky peppers that naturally tasted bad. But I just heard reports from two other people indicating they also had been unimpressed with the quality of food there. And one of my guests told me that his General Tso's chicken dish also was inadequate, lacking the crispy exterior on the chicken that is traditional for the dish.

Better recipes and perhaps better ingredients might be needed for Ginger Rootz - though I know some people think it's great. But for me, at least for now, I have to give it my dread thumbs down.

Time for the Fox Valley Mystery Photo Contest, a continuation of our previous Appleton Mystery Photo Contests. There will be about 30 photos over the next few weeks. Here are three entries. The first two are worth two points each, the third just one point. To get the points, be the first to identify the location with clear information (e.g., the backside of John's bakery on Peterson Avenue, or 275 W. Maynard Street, or the bridge on Tayco Street). You can provide the answer to me by email (jeff at jefflindsay dot c0m) or post it here if you identify yourself or use an account with a login name to identify yourself.

Prize: A rare Morgan silver dollar, over 100 years old, plus maybe something more.

Photo C-1:


Photo C-2:


Photo C-3:

What a great event we'll have this year.

Just one hint is all it should take to bring you one: Tiger Paws!

A.G. Edwards recently announced the results of their Nest Egg Index, based on a survey of nearly 1000 communities around the nation, evaluating the tendency of citizens to save and avoid debt. Appleton ranked #16 in the nation, with the highest score of the 24 Wisconsin communities in the survey. Wisconsin overall ranked #8 out of 50. Not bad! Appleton's residents do tend to have a lot of fiscal wisdom, and that contributes to the health and stability of our community, in my opinion. Congratulations, Appleton!

Some information about the 2007 Nest Egg Index from A.G. Edwards' Website:

In the third annual Nest Egg Index, we ranked the 500 top-performing communities and the 50 states based on their residents' personal savings and investing behavior. By measuring a dozen statistical factors - including participation in retirement savings plans, personal debt levels and home ownership - the Nest Egg Index shows the geographic regions where people are succeeding and facing difficulty with their nest eggs.

A PDF file of the top 500 communities is also available.

Here's an excerpt of the story "Wisconsinites Among Best Savers" in the Post-Crescent, Sept. 14, 2007, by Larry Avila:

Appleton knows all about saving money for retirement.

In A.G. Edwards' latest Nest Egg Index, the city ranked 16th among 500 surveyed U.S. communities on their residents' personal savings and investing behavior. Green Bay ranked 55th.

"I think the reason we've scored well is by nature, Wisconsin is just more conservative with its money than some of the larger states and the coasts," said Mike Hamilton, a financial consultant, with A.G. Edwards, 1270 W. Hill Blvd., Grand Chute. "We're just more prudent about fiscal management."

The Nest Egg Index involved a dozen statistical factors ranging from participation in retirement savings plans to personal debt levels and home ownership. A.G. Edwards used consumer data compiled by the marketing information firm Claritas and a cost of living measure from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

In Wisconsin, which ranked eighth, all 24 communities rated made the top 500.

Hamilton said the survey also takes into account cost of living in a community.

"When you look at the overall job cutbacks we've had in the area, we continue to be very solid from an employment standpoint," he said. "When you have stability, people feel more comfortable setting money aside for retirement."

A reader with a lot of experience in Mexico recently tipped me off to what some say is the most authentic Mexican food in town: Antojitos Mexicanos (207 N Richmond St., Appleton, WI - phone: 920-380-0244). Located in the former location of Mr. Churro's next to Little Ceaser's on Richmond Street, just north of College Avenue, Antojitos Mexicanos offers inexpensive Mexican food with great flavors. Their tacos, for example, are unlike the tacos found in most Mexican restaurants in the US, but are the perfect double-corn-tortilla open faced treats that I love. Real gorditas, too - greasy but delicious. A highlight of the evening was the fish tostada - an impressively delicious mixture of tender fish and rich flavorings on a crisp tostada. And yes, they have horchata, my favorite Mexican rice drink.

The food is quite inexpensive. You can order gorditas for $2 each, and two might be all you need. Tacos are even less. Three of us had as much as we could eat for $27, including $6 for three horchatas. Not bad!

The tortilla chips are homemade - thus a bit heavy and greasy.

Service is fast and friendly.

The decor and tables are suited for a fast food place, so don't expect fancy - but do expect tasty.

Bienvenido, Antojitos Mexicanos!

Many of you have probably been wondering, "Who has the worst customer service in Appleton?" There are some serious contenders for the honor, but based on the information I've got, I have to give the award to Time Warner. They provide cable-modem Internet access for many people in the area, as well as cable TV and even phone service. And for people like me who have them as the provider in all three areas, any time you have trouble with any of these services, you can dial one convenient local number for service: (920) 738-3160 (which apparently gets fed into their national service center). And after you call, you may experience any one of these four options:

1. Receive a busy signal. Estimated frequency: about 70% of the time for me.


2. Reach the automated telephone system which automatically cuts you off after making your menu selection (at least this is what has happened for me when trying to get help on TV problems). Estimated frequency: about 10% of the time.


3. Get into the automated telephone system and then be kept on hold for over 20 minutes until you give up, without any indication as to the estimated wait time. Estimated frequency: about 10% of the time.


4. Get into the automated telephone system and then be kept on hold with an automated system that tells you that the estimated wait time is over thirty minutes, and after five minutes of waiting, the system tells you a wait time that's even longer than what it was when you first called. The only reasonable choice is to hang up and fume. Estimated frequency: about 10% of the time.


5. Reach a knowledgeable employee who helps you with your problem. Haven't experienced this in any of our calls over the past couple of weeks, but I'm sure it happens. Well, not so sure anymore - please let me know. Estimated frequency: rare.

Please note that I'm not complaining about outsourcing customer service jobs to India - I don't know if they have done that or not since I haven't reached anybody recently, though a few months ago I did reach an English speaker with good English. So maybe they haven't shipped everything overseas. But maybe they should add some overseas positions since the one or two people they are using for their national call center obviously can't handle the load. I'm sure the service is good when they can be reached, but true wait times of over 40 minutes are totally unacceptable.

Time-Warner, for you appalling lack of customer service, you have won the Appleton Blog Worst Service Award.

Perfect Presentations is a classy meeting facility with a board room, various conference rooms, a kitchen area, and even a theater that can seat nearly 100 people. The facilities can be rented for meetings with clients, for staff meetings, or for special programs that don't fit in your existing facilities.

Perfect Presentations offers amazing service as well. During meetings I was in today, we were surprised and delighted when we were brought delicious chocolate-dipped strawberries, hand-made by the owner. What a pleasant touch!

They are at 1534 Lyon Dr, Neenah, Wisconsin, near the intersection of Breezewood Lane and Commercial Street, just a few yards to the east of Copps. (Being walking distance from Zuppa's for lunch is another plus.)