Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience - Hardcover

Faiola, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1572841427 ISBN 13: 9781572841420

Publisher: Agate Midway, 2013

Synopsis

Wisconsin Supper Clubs is a resource for and about supper clubs throughout Wisconsin that includes beautiful photographs of the unique supper club interiors, proprietors, and customers, as well as fascinating archival materials. Also recorded in this book are the regional specialties served at these clubs, ranging from popovers and fried pickles in the northern part of the state to Shrimp de Jonghe in the south. One Northwoods supper club even features fry bread, a traditional Native American dish uncommon to most any restaurant.

The "supper club experience" is a tradition embodied by many long-standing restaurants scattered throughout the small towns of Wisconsin. It is based around a bygone idea that going out to dinner is an experience that lasts an entire evening. The clubs emphasizing food made from scratch, slow-paced dining, and family-run businesses. Combine this with stately dark-panel decor, complimentary relish trays, and the best brandy Old Fashioned sweet you'll ever have, and you have barely scratched the surface of the Wisconsin supper club's appeal.

Author Ron Faiola is the critically acclaimed director and producer of the documentary by the same name. Supper clubs are hugely popular with Wisconsin locals and regularly frequented by all Midwestern foodies "in the know." With Wisconsin Supper Clubs as a guide, these establishments are primed to be choice summer road trip destinations for anyone looking for low-cost vacations this summer. After the successful debut of Faiola's documentary, this book is sure to be a hit throughout the region and beyond.

About this title

About the Author

Ron Faiola is a photographer, author and filmmaker who has produced and directed numerous critically acclaimed documentaries.  Wisconsin Supper Clubs - An Old Fashioned Experience, his PBS movie, released in 2011, and the Agate/Midway published book (of the same title) released in 2013, have brought new attention to Wisconsin supper clubs as people from around the country experience "the restaurants of yesteryear" by using both as guides to travel around the state to visit many of the featured supper clubs.  Faiola is currently working on a second book of Wisconsin Supper Clubs, due out in the spring of 2016.

Review

Praise for Ron Faiola, his documentary, and his book WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUBS: AN OLD-FASHIONED TRADITION:

"A glorious look at a Wisconsin tradition, Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience [is] a glossy 225-page book that just might make your mouth water." William Hagemen, Chicago Tribune

"[A] compelling, delightful and not to make too much of it important documentary.... Ron Faiola [is] a genius filmmaker." Rick Kogan

"Ron Faiola is passionate about food. He is the author of Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience, a coffee table book chronicling the unique Wisconsin tradition of the supper club.... Faiola put 5,000 miles on his car traveling to every corner of the state to capture the timeless charm of the supper club." BizTimes Milwaukee

Prime rib, Friday night fish frys, and relish trays are the stuff of legend in Wisconsin.... But the supper club is a relic, so [author Ron Faiola] is hoping to bring them back into fashion...[Wisconsin Supper Clubs] documents 50 of the states most enduring time capsules.” Steve Dolinsky, ABC 7 News, Chicago

A beautiful book...you read this book and not only does your mouth start watering, but you start thinking kind of expansively [about] weekend getaway opportunities.... I heartily endorse it.” Bill Moller, WGN Radio

"Faiola went to [great lengths to] get the right shots for his coffee-table book, Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience. He spent 10 weeks on the road last year, traversing the state to visit dozens upon dozens of the state's emblematic restaurants." Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

"Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old Fashioned Experience is a mouthwatering tour of rarefied restaurants from another era that has me thinking of excursions northward." Peter Exley, Chicago Reader

"Ron Faiola has become Wisconsin's legacy filmmaker." David Luhrssen, Express Milwaukee

"Wisconsin-native Ron Faiola recently released a book Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience which showcases some of the finest supper clubs in the state and shows why supper clubs are such a big part of Wisconsin's food culture." State Senator Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin’s 12th Senate District

"Faiola’s book goes behind the scenes at 50 Dairy State restaurants, offering photos, stories, and his take on each of the clubs." Wisconsin State Journal

"In his new book Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience, writer/filmmaker Ron Faiola...traveled across Wisconsin and profiled 50 Supper Clubs...hallmarks include brandy Old Fashioneds, Friday night fish fry, prime rib, relish trays, lake views, taxidermy, glowing vintage beer lights, Packers paraphernalia, and more." Paula Forbes, Eater.com, National page

"Milwaukee filmmaker Ron Faiola has made an homage to the throwback restaurants to our north that are very much alive and well." Joanne Trestrail, Crain’s Chicago Business

"The book treats each club, about fifty in all, to a few pages of text about the experience, complimented with a generous serving of pictures that are equal parts Americana and food porn.... It’s easy to see how people get inspired to take eating tours of Wisconsin.” Dave Robson, Daily XY
PRAISE FOR THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB TRADITION:

"I fell in love with these restaurants long before I’d ordered my first cocktail, and for good reason: the food was always tasty supper clubs were doing custom-cut dry-aged steaks long before the practice became an urban fetish and the vibe was always pure Wisconsin gemütlichkeit, leavened by a lively mix of locals and vacationing families." David McAninch, New York Times

"Supper clubs are a classic Wisconsin summer experience and I try to find a few new ones each year. I associate them with lake country, brandy old fashioneds, relish trays, baked potatoes and prime rib." Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Fortunately though, a few of Wisconsin’s supper clubs remain, and many restaurateurs have kept the traditions alive.... The common denominator in today’s notion of a supper club is simple American cuisine.... For the most part, gone are the days when a supper club meant an entire night out: a lounge with high-backed booths, highballs at low-ball prices, a piano bar, an orchestra, and a dance floor. It’s still possible, however, to listen to jazz piano or fox trot to Sinatra at some of Wisconsin’s ritzier supper clubs. And the one thing that’s never gone out of style, of course, is simply prepared great food." Brenda K. Bredahl, TravelWisconsin.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Agate Midway
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1572841427
• ISBN 13: 9781572841420
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224