Letter from the Editor: Fall 2018
What does "comfort food" mean? That is the question we sought to answer through this issue of Edible Milwaukee. As one might imagine, there is no simple definition--it means many different things...
Letter from the Editor: Winter 2018
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for our teams at Edible Milwaukee and Wisconsin Foodie (TV). Our writers, designers, editors and photographers have been pushing harder than ever to produce a magazine even better than the last, which isn’t easy. The team at Wisconsin Foodie has also been extremely diligent wrapping up another season of our Emmy® award-winning television show. Watch for new episodes starting in January on Milwaukee PBS and online on Youtube and wisconsinfoodie.com. I wanted to personally shout out the team at Wisconsin Foodie - Ryan Sarnowski (Lead Editor), Nelson Schneider (Cinematographer/ Editor) and Kyle Cherek (Host) on our 2nd Emmy® award for an episode featuring farmer Charlie Tennessen and his team at Anarchy Acres. Coincidentally, there is a wonderful story written by Charlie Tennessen in this issue were he discusses immigrant wheat.
I am so grateful to be able to collaborate with and promote all of the best people in and around our city. It’s humbling to work around all these great artists and I can’t thank them enough for the time and energy they put into making our community a better and more thoughtful place to live. When we work together, we make anything possible. Lastly, I want to thank our amazing subscribers, advertisers and underwriters! Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to share these great stories with our community. We are firm believers that once you know the story behind the food you eat, there is no going back.
This holiday season, we want to take some time to celebrate the incredible immigrant communities around the country, especially in our city of Milwaukee. Without their contributions, our country wouldn’t be what it is today. Certainly, the quality and diversity of our food wouldn’t be the same. In this winter issue of Edible Milwaukee, we wanted to share a few culinary stories from our local immigrant community. There were so many stories to tell; we could have written a novel but unfortunately are limited by the pages contained in this magazine.
Honestly, the majority of my favorite places to eat are small ethnic restaurants, whether it’s sitting at Bollywood Grill eating Indian buffet and watching Bollywood films or eating tacos from a gas station in West Allis at Chilango Express. Each time I visit one of these establishments I’m transported to another culture and I fall in love with the idea of traveling to a far off country all while sitting at the dinner table.
If you’ve turned on a tv in the past two years, you’ve probably heard certain people disparaging immigrants or noticed that horrific hate crimes seem to become more frequent. This is not our America. Our America comes together, embraces all people and rises above hate. We owe these groups way more love and respect than they are currently receiving in this political climate. If you ever find yourself feeling anger at someone for their ethnicity, just take a moment to look down at your dinner plate and remember all the people and stories that may have touched your food.
Ask yourself, where did this food come from? Who raised this meat? Who picked this vegetable? How about the recipe, what are its origins? More than likely it is not uniquely American. Let’s not forget that we are a melting pot, we are a country of immigrants.
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