Margherita at Dolce Food & Wine, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

When we walked into Dolce Food & Wine in Hudson's Riverfront Square, we were immediately greeted and offered any table on their large patio. We chose to sit near the road which gave us a view of the parking lot of Riverfront Park and the Saint Croix River. The nine or so tables had Corona umbrellas and the daily specials were written on a board near the door.

We ordered the 14" Margherita Pizza for fifteen bucks. We were told it would arrive only in a few minutes as they use a convection oven. I took a minute to look at the wine menu, which is mostly Fish Eye, Beringer, Kendall-Jackson and the like. In other words, the stuff you'll find on the bottom shelf of Casanova about a block away. The first thing I noticed when our pizza arrived was the basil. When I looked closely, I asked myself if it was frozen. The tomatoes did not look very fresh as well. The crust was paper thin and crumpled on the edges. The globs of mozzarella were the highlight although were at about room temperature. Overall, the pizza tasted mediocre but wasn't bad. I cannot say it's worth fifteen bucks though. If you want to sit outside, visit Dolce -- they have a selection of sandwiches and paninis that we haven't tried and everyone else seemed to be ordering. If you're hunting for good pizza and a decent wine menu in Hudson, walk a couple blocks from Dolce to Bricks Pizza, where the pizza seems to be better every time I visit. Dolce Food & Wine 106 Buckeye St Hudson, WI 54016-1588 715-381-1200

Pepperoni Pizza at Paradise Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Sarah and I had a small road trip to pick up some honey, beer and to have some pizza at Pizza Cellar in Osceola. I told her it'd be worth the trip from Minneapolis. Unfortunately, for some reason Pizza Cellar was closed at 8:00 P.M. on a Saturday so we went to the other pizza joint in town, Paradise Pizza.

Immediately we were greeted by bright lights, fake plants and bright pink and blue walls. It was empty and we went to the counter to order our pizza. I inquired about their competitor, Pizza Cellar and the two men behind the counter thought it was strange they'd be closed at such a prime time for pizza. One of them joked, "our pizza is better anyway."

I don't think so. While our pizza looked nice, I had a hard time finding anything nice to say about it. The pepperoni was average but the cheese almost had no taste to it. The sauce was a bit sweet and worst off, the crust tasted like foam. Squishy foam. With grease on top. Sarah argued that the crust wasn't cooked well enough. She might be right. Overall, it was very plain, unsatisfying and tasted unusually synthetic. It was a notch away from Domino's Pizza in my opinion. Being there aren't any of the pizza mega-chains in Osceola perhaps this is the market they are satisfying.

There are a couple enjoyable things about Paradise Pizza though. Although the interior feels like a 1980's Floridan retirement community designed by a heavily inebriated Jimmy Buffett mixed with the aesthetic of the Subway Restaurant next door (which are owned by the same couple), you can buy beer. They have a few cheap beers and four varieties of Leinenkugel's. The other enjoyable aspect was the price: for a 14 inch pepperoni pizza and two bottles of Leinenkugel's the total came to $15.79. If you can tune out the static coming out of speaker overhead playing the Bee Gees, it's not a bad deal at all.

Honestly if they turned off half of their fluorescent lights, cooked the pizza a bit better and used tastier cheese it might be pizza in paradise... for those times you need to get something in your stomach before a night of hitting up the bars of Osceola.

Paradise Pizza
444 N Cascade St
Osceola, WI 54020
715-294-3996

More photos on Flickr. (you have to see this place)

Quattro Formaggi at Bricks Neapolitan Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Co-workers Nick, Ian and I decided to brave the winter storm and head to Bricks Neapolitan Pizza for lunch.

This was my third visit there and while I didn't have great pizza the first two times, the third time was a charm. I've had the Quattro Formaggi on my first trip and I thought the crust was a bit too doughy and tasted flat. The mixture of cheeses didn't work out for me. Satisfying, though. My second trip I had the Margherita prepared to D.O.C. and it felt a bit out of balance. Again, satisfying but nothing to write about.

I decided to try the Quattro Formaggi again on this trip and I think they've been improving. Crust was soft but still crispy enough on the edges. It was fun to go through the cheeses but I had a hard time counting four. A good mixture. The sauce was tasty and the pizza was just messy enough. Overall a yummy pizza.

Ian got the Formaggi Bianca which I got to swap a slice of. Quite tasty.

Our server Hannah was really friendly and personable but we were her only table. In fact, we were the only people dining at lunch today. What's wrong with you Hudson? Go out and eat some locally owned and operated Neapolitan-style pizza! Apparently 100% of the profits go to Compassion Now as well. No brainer. Go. Maybe you'll see us there because we'll be back.

Bricks Neapolitan Pizza
407 Second St
Hudson, WI 54016
715-377-7670

Check out more photos on Flickr.

Pizza Cellar, Osceola, Wisconsin, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Some recent conversations about out-of-nowhere hole-in-the-wall but fantastic pizza joints got me thinking of one of my favorites of that genre: Pizza Cellar in Osceola, Wisconsin. I hadn't been in years. A girl I dated for much of high school and I used to go up to Pizza Cellar over ten years ago as it wasn't far from her parent's place. Back then, we dubbed it "Pizza Satan" as you got to it from a back alley, the door was beat up and you went down a dark stairway down to a spooky dining area with a dropped tile ceiling where all the chairs were ripped up. The florescent lights were either burnt out or replaced with glowing red ones. Eerie and spooky but the best pizza in the area, dirt cheap.

Lesley and I ventured the 50 mile trip from Minneapolis to check it out. I was a bit surprised to find out that they're no longer using that beat up door and have a nice newer one and inside is completely remodeled! A mild disappointment because of my expectations but they actually did a nice job. They removed the dropped ceiling, put in decent lighting and newer tables. It still has some bizarre things about it, such as this cellar window with a fake view of (presumably) the Saint Croix river.

We ordered a pizza and the woman taking our order (who had a grey hooded sweatshirt with an illustration of Tinkerbell on the back and had the word "TINK" on the front) apologized that they had absolutely nothing to offer us for drinks. She noticed that I was looking behind her and saw a fridge with some 20oz bottles of Lipton Raspberry White Tea. She said that she can't sell me any of it because it's all past expiration. No problem with us, although it was a bit funny that they had no problem drinking it themselves. Heh. No big deal. Before our pizza was done she did deliver two refreshing glasses of ice water though.

Our pepperoni pizza came out perfect. For rural pizza joints, this is some of the best I've ever had. Perfect amount of cheese, very well cut, not too greasy, stays together nicely, the pepperoni tasted fresh and the crust had a yummy, almost sweet flavor to it that Lesley and I couldn't figure out. There was times that I was nabbing small crumbs just to keep tasting it.

The rest of the evening and even into the next day Lesley and I kept talking about how fantastic Pizza Cellar pizza was.

If you're in the area, you're lucky. If you're in Minneapolis, it's worth the 50 mile drive. If you make a trip out of it, come before sunset and visit Cascade Falls, a short walk from Pizza Cellar. Afterwards, there's a couple local dives Osceola. Alternatively if you want to avoid the dives, take Minnesota Highway 95 down to Marine on Saint Croix on your way back and have a drink at the only bar in town, Brookside. You'll be surprised with the juxtaposition of a good selection of taps and not having mobile phone service.

Check out the rest of the photos on Flickr.

Pizza Cellar
102 2nd Ave
Osceola, WI 54020
715-294-3663

Open Thursdays 4 PM - 8 PM, Fridays and Saturdays 4 PM - 9 PM.

Bon Iver, originally uploaded by s4xton.

Kyle from Reveille Magazine and I took an after-work day-trip to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to see Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver at The Nucleus last night. It was a hometown reunion show for DeYarmond Edison where Justin was a member. In addition to Bon Iver, opening was Megafaun, which comprises of the members of DeYarmond Edison sans Justin Vernon. So all and all, a very close group.

Racys and the Nucleus is essentially a small restaurant, a small café and a tiny music venue under the same roof. When we arrived around 8pm the show was already sold out. We watched some of Megafaun through the door until we were able to get escorted in.

Bon Iver's set was intimate, emotional and personal. Here in Eau Claire he was playing to an overcapacity room of long time fans, friends and family. He played from For Emma, Forever Ago and a cover of "Satisfied Mind." He brought up the folks from Megafaun to back him on the last part of his set ending with "The Wolves" where the crowd sang the backing vocals at Justin's direction. I was amazed it all came off even better than the album.

DeYarmond Edison played a few pieces on stage and then went into the middle of the room where a large microphone was set up and played acoustically for the rest of the night. They called for more and more crowd participation until the last piece where the band spread out to different parts of the room and everyone sang together. The band dubbed us all the "Eau Claire Choir."

Kyle thought it quite possibly be his favorite show all year and I can't agree more. On our way out we nabbed tickets for the Land of Talk show at The Nucleus where Bon Iver will be opening on Tuesday, November 6th. We figured this was well worth the trip and we're ready to do it again. Justin joked on stage about Land of Talk that "They're from Montréal. That's in another country. This might be an Eau Claire first!"

Reveille this week has an interview with Bon Iver and he'll be playing tonight with Megafaun and Digitata at the Uptown Bar tonight, October 26.

See my Bon Iver and DeYarmond Edison at the Nucleus photos on Flickr.

Last weekend I attended Sean and Stephanie's wedding in sunny Waupaca, Wisconsin. One of the highlights was the interruption of a child during the vows which was thankfully captured on video by someone and put on YouTube: (Video via MNpublius) Ain’t it the truth, ain’t it the truth! Congratulations Sean and Stephanie!

Amy Jo and Casey, originally uploaded by s4xton.

My sister got married this weekend in a barn with a bluegrass band in western Wisconsin. One of the best weddings I've been to. It's a great feeling when you hear everyone talk about how genuine and fun everything was. Casey's a fantastic guy and I'm proud to have him as my brother-in-law. I got to meet many of Casey's relatives over the weekend and my sister certainly married into a very wonderful and loving family. Great people. Made for a great weekend for all. Check out the photoset on Flickr.

To many, many happy years...!

UPDATE: As many have asked, that fantastic beer at the wedding was a gift from DUO Brewing.

Sailing, originally uploaded by s4xton.

Last weekend I was sailing around the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore just outside of Bayfield, Wisconsin. Chartered a boat from Superior Charters who are nice people. View all the photos here. (slideshow)

Rusk County Airport, Ladysmith, WI, originally uploaded by s4xton.

Christine and I took some photos around Saint Paul, MN, Ladysmith, WI, Shell Lake, WI and down the Saint Croix River. (Flickr Slideshow)