For the seventh straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2013."
I'm not a "foodie" by any stretch. I like food. I eat it. I enjoy it. But few dishes really make me happy. OK, only ONE dish makes me absolutely giddy. And that's the mac & cheese at The Comet Cafe.
I was introduced to the cafe and the dish by my then-girlfriend (now wife) when she moved to Milwaukee.
I'm a "cheeseburger" guy, and it's always my "go to" selection at most places. But, she insisted I try the mac 'n' cheese at Comet the first time we went. Over the years I've had most everything else on the menu, but at least every other time I have to order that wonderful, wonderful dish.
I can't put my finger on why I like it so much, why I actually get a taste for it and periodically make us go just so I can order it.
Perhaps it's because the dish is so large I know I'll have leftovers for lunch the next day. Perhaps it's because the cheese is so thick I have to use a knife to separate it from my spoon. Maybe it's because the noodles are hearty.
Whatever it is, I love it. It's the ultimate "OnMilwaukee.com recommends" for me. I mention it to any athlete that asks me where to go or what to eat, to any out-of-towner, anyone.
So now, I mention it to you. And if you have had it before, go have it again. I am.
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
