Thursday, October 20, 2011
Four years ago, Wendi’s Secret Pal from church gave her a gift card for Boston Market. The trouble is that there is no Boston Market in our area, so we never found opportunity to use the gift card.
I was on vacation this week from work, and our anniversary was Sunday the 16th, so on Tuesday afternoon we drove 67 miles to Brookfield, Wisconsin, where the nearest Boston Market is. There was road construction on Highway 164, and lots of traffic, and somehow we missed a turn. We suspected something was amiss, and we were sure of it when the road ended, and to our right the sign said “Dead End,” so our only choice was to turn left. We decided to ask directions at the first business we came to.
That business was none other than Sweet Perfections Bake Shoppe (918 North Barstow Street, Waukesha, WI 53186; phone 262-446-2253) in the heart of historic downtown Waukesha. It was about 6:15 p.m. and the lady running the place would be closing it at 6:30. Though the place seemed tiny, people come here from Chicago, she said, to buy their bakery products. She let us sample some almond florentine and some mini-cupcakes; both were excellently made and had great flavor. We visited for a few minutes and bought a package of four Red Velvet Cupcakes ($6.99) which later proved to be very smooth and delicious! Though the lady wasn’t from town and was unable to give us directions, she said we should ask at the liquor store across the street; maybe they could help us.
The guy at Discount Liquor was very helpful; he gave us clear directions with landmarks. Main Street was at the end of the block. We would follow that until it ended; there was a Ford dealership at the left. Follow right onto Bluemound Road and take that for two or three miles. Boston Market would be on the left, right next to a Kmart. Wendi bought some pumpkin seeds while we were there, and we thanked the guy for his help.
A short while later, we arrived safely at Boston Market (18340 West Bluemound Road, Brookfield, WI 53005; phone 262-821-1600), where we ordered dinner. They had half of a rotisserie chicken for $7.99; it included two sides. Wendi ordered loaded mashed potatoes (with cheese and bacon) and garlicky spinach; I ordered stuffing and the spinach. We each added an order of cinnamon apples. The food was wonderful, worth the long drive (though I wouldn’t do it often at today’s gas prices).
We decided to take a different route home to avoid the road construction. We took I-94 from Bluemound Road, intending to catch Highway 26 back to Janesville. The signs at that interchange were confusing; I was led to think there were two exits and so missed my turn again, this time ending up just east of Madison, where we got onto I-39/90 and came home from there, stopping at Walmart in Janesville on the way to pick up a few things. So it was 67 miles to Brookfield and 98 miles home; a one-way drive to Green Bay would have been shorter! But the whole evening was fun and well worth the time and energy spent.