Days 121-122 - A disappointing treat at Tulip's

Wednesday was our anniversary and wanting to make it special, we made reservations at Tulips in Milwaukee.  It is a Mediterranean-focus nice restaurant/bar, but no non-smoking area that we saw. We checked out the menu on the website and were salivating for the lamb and beef combination, but it was not to be.

First I was disappointed that they do not carry a green or caffine free tea.  What effort does it take to pick up a box at the store?  Maybe they think it doesn't fit the Mediterranean cuisine, but they did have black tea which I cannot consume. When we told the waitress our selections, we were informed that that meat takes over 4 hours to cook and they only make it on Tuesdays.  Would have been nice to put that on the website.

  Most of the remaining entrees (nicely priced at $10 and including soup and salad) were too spicy for our taste so Ken ordered the lamb sliders (two) and I ordered some tapas (appetizers) and a cranberry salad with lamb on it - NO parmesan.  While waiting we were served a basket of warm homemade bread and olive dipping oil topped with spices.  The bread was a very soft consistency - soda I am guessing.  It was very delicious and we were eager to sample the rest of our orders.  We also had the zucchini patties (blended zucchini, egg, onion, tomato and spices).  A good idea, but overcooked and very greasy. The two almost-burned patties were served with an attractive but inedible bit of salad because it was covered in parmesan.

Ken's sliders were "ok" and he pronounced his first Greek salad as good - have to give him credit.  He is not an adventurous eater, and had never tasted Feta before.  I had his creamy vegetable soup - good taste but was barely warm when served with a giant spoon more fit for serving family style.  I requested a smaller spoon but she forgot and offered to warm the soup when the meals came, but we tasted and wrapped it to go.  I also ordered stuffed grape leaves, which were interesting.  Totally rice filled and spiced with cinnamon, the rested in a lemon-infused oil, and were decorated with lemon wedges.  Pretty good but I guess I got spoiled at Spiros the other day. 

My salad was too spicy so I ate the cranberries and the tomatoes.

The highlight besides the dipping oil and bread was the dessert - a homemade baklava that was very unique.  Served as 4 tiny pillows (about 1" or so square) on a plate, they were a single layer of filling version of the dessert with the nuts finely ground and dusting the plate as well.  The sauce was very unique - possibly rose water or cardomon.  There was something on the one dessert - a strand of something that was stiff, but I could not break it with my spoon- which I asked the waitress to identify.  She said she had no idea what it was, took it to the kitchen and came back with our bill and no comment.  I wonder what it was I almost ate.

Despite a warm and inviting atmosphere -  brick walls, the fireplace that apparently got lit in different seasons, the granite table tops and baby-carnations adorning each table, the place was freezing. Neither of us could bear to remove our coats and were eager to get outside.

All in all - can't say we would recommend it, although we did not get to taste the main dishes on the menu, and we are unique in preferring mildly seasoned food.  It might be your cup of tea (pun intended) but it was not ours.

Thursday was mostly a liquid diet.  Pictures are trapped on my cell phone.  I could not locate the adapter for the mini-card and Radio Shack convinced me to purchase a multi-adapter instead, but I do not have proper feature to download the software to make it work.  We will try to find another Radio Shack on the way.

On the way?  To Florida!  More tomorrow. - or later today actually.