With the holiday season safely in the rear-view mirror, the editorial staff is back to tell you about some more cool stuff we like right now. This week's submissions include an incredible pizza from Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grill (pictured), a groovy movie site, another addictive HBO series, some outstanding sports entertainment and some tasty cheese and tortilla chips.
Taco pizza at Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grill -- Taco pizza might sound a bit passé, and when not prepared properly can taste a little like a tray of nasty nachos. But, there's one great taco pizza in the city and it's one of the more popular pizzas at the always-tasty Riverfront, 509 E. Erie St.
Riverfront's taco pizza ($11.25 for a 9-inch, $18.25 for a 13-inch, $22.50 for 15-inch, $25 for a 17-inch) is freshly topped with refried beans, ground beef, mozzarella, crispy chips, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and black olives. It's served with salsa and sour cream and it's very, very good. Try it. --Jeff Sherman
Using Google in different ways -- Everyone knows how well Google works as a search engine, but I like to experiment with different ways to use the powerful Web site -- and usually, I'm pleased with the results. For example, this holiday season, I discovered that just copying and pasting in a tracking number from UPS or FedEx yields the expected results, and it shaves a few steps off visiting the shipping companies' sites directly.
Similarly, I use Google as a spelling checker all the time, especially for proper nouns. It's also a conversion calculator: just Google "10 cups to liters," for example, and it'll provide you the right answer.
And finally, I'm a big fan of the "link:" term; if I type in link:onmilwaukee.com, Google will show me all the sites that link to us (currently 538). That's a very useful marketing and tracking tool. I'm sure there are many other non-traditional ways to use Google, and I'm not even getting into how cool Gmail and Google Images are. It's good to see the company continues to push the envelope. --Andy Tarnoff
"Summer Heights High" -- Although I've done no research to support this, Chris Lilley has to be one of the most talented actors in Australia. Think of your top five favorite "Saturday Night Live" stars of all time and wrap them into one, mid-30s Australian comedic genius. Lilley stars in this HBO mockumentary, set in a public high school in Australia, that follows the lives of a drama teacher, a 17-year-old female private school transfer student and an eighth-grade Polynesian boy struggling to identify his potential. The first season is over, but you can catch all eight, 27-minute episodes on demand. You'll be surprised at how much you both laugh and become attached to each character by season's end. --John Hyland
Indieroad.net -- Here's a new way to catch innovative film. It's an online network exclusively for independent filmmakers and film lovers. You can stream the films in real time or download them to watch whenever you'd like. The site offers multiple genres of cutting edge short films, full-length feature films, documentary films, animated films, and original film soundtrack music. The content is selected from the best filmmakers around the world at the forefront of independent cinema. You can stream or download them for as low as 80 cents per film and the soundtrack music can be downloaded for 50 cents per song. On Jan. 15 it's partnering with Slamdance Film Festival to provide an exclusive online portal to the festival just hours after they debut. --Julie Lawrence
Isola Tomini cheese -- Although tomino (which despite its name isn't a smaller version of the more widespread toma) is often made from goat cheese and sometimes sheep's milk cheese, this one, imported by Chicago's Isola Imports is a fresh cow's milk cheese. There is a piccante version with pepperoncini and another infused with herbs but the one I like -- which can be found at Whole Foods Market -- is laced with white truffle shavings. The cheese is buttery with a fresh earthiness and the truffles make it a real rich and tasty treat. Amazingly, despite a few shavings, this tomini rings up at a mere $6.99. --Bobby Tanzilo
Marquette women's basketball -- The Golden Eagles women's basketball team opened Big East Conference play last Saturday with a 68-60 victory over South Florida. Sophomore Angel Robinson and senior Krystal Ellis are leading the MU women into another fine season. Despite a tough, foul-plagued, last minute loss to UWM on New Year's Eve, the team is strong and a lot of fun to watch. Tickets cost just $4, so if you need a good, inexpensive outing, MU women's games are a blast and family friendly, too. --J.S.
Mission's cilantro and lime chips -- My favorite flour tortilla makers manufacture my favorite tortilla chips. Mission's tortilla triangles are as addictive as a bag of Doritos, but without trans fat. Flavored with lime, cilantro and a hint of jalapeno, you don't need to dunk or dip these into anything, although pairing them with a cilantro and lime salsa intensifies the south-of-the-border snack experience. Buy these chips at any chain grocery store, Whole Foods or Outpost Natural Foods. --Molly Snyder Edler
The WSJ.com series "The End of Wall Street: An Oral History" -- The Wall Street Journal's new three-part video series called "The End of Wall Street: An Oral History" takes an in-depth, documentary style look at the current financial crisis.
It's very good and worth a watch. The parts, "What Happened," "Why it Happened," and "What Happens Next?" are about 9 minutes long and easy to comprehend.
"The events of the past three months have torn apart the world financial system, shaken the very pillars of global capitalism, and are likely to result in the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression," Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor of the WSJ.com, said in a recent statement. "This video is our attempt to explain how it happened." Check it out here. --J.S.
