Diamond Jim’s Steakhouse

Friday, December 30, 2022

Benjamin and Sean gave me three books about Wisconsin Supper Clubs. One tells about the history of supper clubs and the other two showcase 50 individual supper clubs (each) from around the state. A new hobby has been born! One hundred meals to be savored and shared.

We hadn’t planned to come to Waukesha for New Year’s, because I was supposed to be feeling sick. I had scheduled a covid booster on the 27th, because for the past three shots I have been sick (SICK!) for three days (as in too-sick-to-watch-TV sick). I couldn’t do it while school was in session, because I had to work. We had tickets for a musical review on the afternoon of the 31st, so I needed to get sick and be better by then.

Then I got made redundant!! (I keep saying fired, but that does imply I did something wrong. I did not. I am just not needed anymore. Woohoo! No responsibility!) Anyway, now I can do my booster shot next week (it is very hard to want to make yourself that sick. Think nice things for me), so we loaded up the car and drove to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin? Home of supper clubs! What is a supper club, you might ask (especially if you are from the UK). It is a place to expect luxurious comfort food. According to winconsincheese.com, supper clubs have three elements:

1 Ambiance – expect to travel back to the 1960s, with dark, moody lighting and wood paneling. There might be plush (velvet?) furniture.

2 Drinks – the classic supper club tipple is the Brandy Old Fashioned – Wisconsin’s unofficial state drink (my mom and dad had many an old fashion when I was a kid. They come with maraschino cherries – and sometimes I got to eat the cherry when the drink was gone. That is how I learned to like the taste of brandy) (I love my children so much, but I am never giving them the cherry from my old fashioned. I assume this is why neither of them has ever tasted alcohol.) An Old Fashioned is cherry, orange, sugar, and bitters muddled together, topped with brandy, and a splash of soda. I have mine with sweet soda, Nancy has hers with seltzer. A Brandy Alexander (ice cream drink) is a fine way to finish a meal! (as if you weren’t so stuffed you could possibly have an ice cream drink!)

3 Relish Trays – it’s like an appetizer to your appetizer. You can expect to find carrots and celery, pickles and olives (black and green) radishes, maybe even a few crackers and cheese.

I got busy reading the southeast Wisconsin section of the books to find a supper club close to Nancy’s house. We found one only about 25 minutes away. I called for a reservation, but they only take reservations for 6 or more people. They open at 4pm, and the woman on the phone suggested we come about 4:30 – 5:00 to be sure to get a table. We were excited to go and got there by 4:15. We watched the restaurant fill up by 5:00. Our timing was good. An interesting thing about going to dinner at 4:15 is that you are the youngest people there and that when you are done eating you are sure it is midnight, but it is only 5:30.

Keith ordered a 20-ounce ribeye, I ordered the regular filet mignon (14 ounces!! I would call that the giant filet, but it was only $6 more than the small 8-ounce size. Value!!), and Nancy had a New York strip. We discussed if there was a difference between a Kansas City strip and a NY strip and whether our butcher friend from the UK would know either of those cuts. Do they use USA city names in the UK? We are hoping to hear from our expert. (Keith also wants to know if UK butchers call flank steak a London broil.)

After New England clam chowder (Keith) and salads (Nancy and I), we started in on our steaks. Holy cow, they were beautiful. Mine was a little less done than I would have liked, but Nancy and Keith had tastes cut right out of the slightly squishy reddish center and left all the delicious edges for me. The baked potatoes were wonderful.

We were stuffed, because these meals were huge. But we did not fail on dessert! Keith ordered two desserts for us to share – and told the lady we would just take the leftovers home. Ha! Leftovers! Dessert one was their almost famous banana cream pie with pecan crust. Keith and Nancy have not stopped raving about it since we got home. Dessert two was Schaum torte with ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream. I looooove Schaum torte, so that was my win. (I got a banana slice from the pie. They were zealous on their pie. I was going to explode if I leaned far enough forward to reach a bite, so I just let it go. Apparently, I really missed out. I am not sad, because I am not exploded, which is the best way to be).

Benjamin suggested we have someone sign the book on their page when we visit, but we decided to have our diners sign together. One down, 99 to go.

I have to add that we stopped for breakfast along the highway today. We pulled off to go to McDonald’s, then I shouted (momentarily very alarmingly to the driver) that there was a Taco John’s and I have always wanted to go there for breakfast. So, we did. A dining achievement all in its own. It was wonderful.

Also, we saw a cow dressed up as Santa.