Our second gastronomic journey comes courtesy of one of my frequent excursions with a group of like-minded souls that congregate at the website Roadfood.

The site has members from all over the country, but our particular contingent of foodies live in Chicagoland and various areas of Wisconsin. We take "tours" that center on different geographic areas, neighborhoods and foods in search of the best in edible delights. That is our mission, our quest, the reason we venture out into parts unknown looking for the good stuff.

Yesterday's sojourn had us exploring Milwaukee and its wealth of ethnic grocery stores and eateries. Our first stop took us to a Greek grocery called "Parthenon Foods" where we snacked on sesame bread, feta cheese, a wonderful roasted red pepper dip and Kajmak, a traditional Mediterranean spread that tastes like a combination of soft butter and cream cheese.



The brownie in the background was a homemade treat brought by one of our members.

Our next stop was to "Mekato's Columbian Bakery & Restaurant" where we sampled a plethora of traditional South American faire.




Beef and Chicken Empanadas on the sides and in the middle Cassava.


Inside of the Empanadas and Cassava.


Pork sausage and a piece of fried bread.


A sweet corn Arepa with melted cheese.


Columbian Bread Pudding.


Columbian tamale wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf.


Inside the tamale.

To drink I had a Milo, a chocolate and malt concoction that tastes a bit like Ovaltine. I also had a Malta, which is a malt-flavored soft drink. Raven likes his malted beverages.



Our third stop was to the "El Rey" grocery story, which had a wide array of baked goods as well as some lovely homemade specialties.

Cookies, cakes and buns, oh my!




Onto the savory side of the shop.


Mmmm Chicharrón


This chicken looked quite tasty....


But I took a pass on the feet.

In the end we decided on a couple of small items to split.


Creamy Elote.


Delicious Carnitas.

Our final stop was to the "Milwaukee Public Market", a massive indoor bazaar with a myriad of things to eat.



While others looked at the various unique items scattered around, I made a beeline for the sweets section.


Chocolate.


More chocolate.


Still more chocolate.


Did I mention I love chocolate?

I also love cake, pie and other baked goods.


Red Velvet cake.


Pumpkin torte.


Giant Snickerdoodle.

There were also a few humorous items.

Like this jolly cherry pit remover.


Some film-inspired food.


And my favorite....

The Vampiric Sushi Roll. (note the first ingredient)


By this point I was full just looking at things, so I ended the trip with a simple beverage



While my chums got their seafood on.


All-in-all it was a great and delicious day and I look forward to our next trip into foodie land.

-Quoth the Raven

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