By Amy L. Schubert Food Writer Published Apr 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM

Let's see, what to do in an election year? What else? Let's EAT!

MR. B's announced this week that it will bring the "beefsteak banquet" to Brookfield.

The Mr. B's event is potentially the first Milwaukee-area gluttonous feast of its kind: "all you can eat, silverware optional."

According to a Jan. 30 article in The New York Times, in the mid 1800s, special "beefsteak" dinners were hosted as political fundraisers. Rows and rows of predominantly male eaters arrived and donned white aprons and chef's hats to plunge head first into a raucous, all-you-can-eat beef smorgasbord with all the trimmings ... minus silverware, that is.

A 1912 Times piece noted that the beefsteak banquets were a proverbial who's who of politicos and guests, coming together in a rudimentary, but very patriotic environment, to stuff their faces, and their favorite candidates' wallets.

The Mr. B's beefsteak dinner -- Sunday, May 4, from 4:30 p.m. -- 8 p.m. -- features salad, meat course, side dish and dessert, and costs $55.95 per person, plus tax and gratuity. It is not a political fundraiser, says Bartolotta's John Wise.

Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.

The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.

Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.