5 Ways to treat your Valentine in 2012

Guys, your better half deserves a treat.

Let’s face it, she didn’t mind your Super Bowl party. She probably even did most of the cleaning up afterwards. We can complain about St. Valentine’s Day being created by the greeting cards companies but in truth, she deserves every week instead of once a year.

Yet there is always that question about what to do for Valentine’s day.

How will you celebrate St. Valentine's Day in Wisconsin?

What do you do for her? What do you get her? She deserves a bit more than the cheap bouquet at the grocery store on the way home.

5 Ways to treat your Valentine special in Wisconsin:

1. Take her for a romantic retreat a one of Wisconsin’s romantic spots.

Maybe an evening with Swiss European flare in New Glarus. How about a night in Door County at one of the local resorts? There are many places in Wisconsin that offer a different view and a chance to be together and enjoy it.

2. Give her  a special Wisconsin treat.

If getting away for a night is not an option this year since St. Valentine’s Day is in the middle of the week, you can still giver her a treat from those places. You can order chocolate from the New Glarus Cheese and Chocolate Haus or Esther’s European Imports. Both have online stores and you might get the goods in time if you order soon. There are a number of Door County specialties that can be found all over the state. At the very least, you could get her some special Door County Coffee and enjoy a warm evening together. Don’t forget the New Glarus Bakery or any local Wisconsin bakery for other baked sweets.  You can get her jelly beans at the Jelly Belly Factory in Kenosha.

3. Spend some time in the Wisconsin outdoors together.

One hint: the middle of February is probably not a good time for a walk down Grant Park Beach with the cold wind from Lake Michigan. However, the 7 Bridges in Grant Park might make a nice romantic walk and it’s kinda of hidden from the wind. If you can skate (or she can) there is ice skating at Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee. For something even more athletic, go skiing. Crystal Ridge Ski Hill in Franklin is just minutes away from much of Milwaukee and has ski rentals.

4. Flowers from one of Wisconsin’s florists.

I’ve always loved the look on my wife’s face when I give her flowers. She really loves them. There is Parkway Floral in South Milwaukee as well as a large number of other local florists in Wisconsin.

Flowers and Jewelry Make Valentine's Day Better

5. Diamonds are always treasured.

If not diamonds, there are other choices in jewelry that will thrill her heart. My wife loves pearls. I think they look better when she is wearing them then in a store. I suggest you go to a local jeweler like Donn Powers instead of a discount chain store. You’ll know your getting something that is worthy of your better half instead of some cheap imported piece of costume jewelry.

Of course, if one of the five ideas above doesn’t come to mind you can take your Valentine out to eat at a Wisconsin restaurant.

You can go Italian at Paisano’s in South Milwaukee or diCarlo’s Pizza in Oak Creek. You can go with Chinese at China Chef in South Milwaukee. For something a bit more upscale, you can take your Valentine to the Packing House. If you are not near one of these places, I am sure there is another fine Wisconsin restaurant near you the she loves. Better yet, combine dinner with one of the options above.

Whatever you do, do something.

She deserves it, doesn’t she? After all, she chose to spend St. Valentine’s with you.

Italian food at Paisano’s in South Milwaukee, WI.

One reason we chose to eat at Paisano’s Italian Restaurant was it always looks busy.

My wife always noticed that the parking lot is usually full when she went by. So, when we were looking for some place new to try, she wanted to give Paisano’s a try.

Paisono's Italian Restaurant at Night

Paisano’s is easy to find.

It has a large number of neon lights around the building that really stand out. It’s just a few buildings south of College Ave. on North Chicago Ave. (it is called Packard Ave just north in Cudahy) in South Milwaukee. There is plenty of parking around the building.

First, the waitresses were wonderful.

Paisono's South Milwaukee Wisconsin

They were smiling and cheerful. They were very good at making sure we were well taken care of without being annoying at all. I still had plenty of soda in my glass when a full one appeared to replace it. It was great service.

The food was great too!

I had the Delmonico Steak. It was topped with onions, mushrooms and mozzaralla cheese. I never even finished the french fries.

My wife had the Sicilian Beef with Pasta. Her dish was so full that it didn’t look like she ate much when she finished. I had some the next day for lunch and it was still good. We both felt the soup was extremely good. The soup itself could have been enough for a full meal. I cannot remember if they called it minestrone or Mediterranean  soup. It was very thick with lots of mushrooms.

We also had an order of french fries for our niece and the Charbroiled Prime Rib for my wife’s sister. The waitress brought out the fries early for our little niece. Even with the rest of us helping, there were probably enough fries left from the huge bowl to make a full serving at many places.

The steaks came with a choice of potato (at least four choices there) and all the dinners had the choice of soup or salad and a choice of garlic bread or Italian bread. We were too full to even think about the pudding that was included (maybe next time).

Paisono's during the day.

I felt the prices were very good.

Nearly all the dinners on the menu are in the $9.00 to $12.00 range. The steaks we had were a bit more but not too bad.  If you were to go for lunch, they have a large number of sandwiches in the $6-$8 range with french fries and coleslaw.

Paisano’s also makes homemade Italian style pizza.

Crust options are:

• Thin-n-crsipy
• Thick-n-chrunchy
• Pan Style

Paisano’s Italian Restaurant has a nice decor if you eat in.

This artwork on the outside is similar to the painted walls in the dining room.

Phone for Paisano’s Italian Restaurant:

Address for Paisano’s:

Website for Paisono’s Italian Restaurant:

paisanositalianrestaurant.com

Google Map to Paisano’s Italian Restaurant

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China Chef South Milwaukee, WI

China Chef is a gem for South Milwaukee.

It may be one of the best Chinese restaurants in the state. The food is definitely above most Chinese restaurants including those in Chinatown Chicago, Ill. This is the first Chinese restaurant that my wife (who is Chinese) admitted the food was as good as hers.

Sherry and her husband Chef Wang provide a Chinese menu that is above most others.

Chef Wang was a professional chef in China. He also won a top 10 chef competition in China. The food demonstrates his ability. Their motto is “Let the food talk.”

China Chef of South Milwaukee used to be named Great Shanghai.

The name was changed when they purchased their own building and move a few block to their present location on Milwaukee Avenue in South Milwaukee,

Wisconsin. They did a great job of decorating the new location. Bamboo plants are everywhere in the dining room.

The prices are very reasonable.

You will get your money’s worth. You will also probably be taking some home as the plates are served full. The lunch buffet is also well priced.

I have been to Chinese restaurants where all the food tastes the same.

At China Chef, you will be able to taste the difference between Mongolian Beef and Hunan Beef. Both are delicious also. The appetizers are also wonderful.

Restaurant hours:

• Monday-Thursday 11:00am-9:30pm
• Friday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm
• Sunday 12:00 noon-9:00pm

Lunch Buffet Hours

• Monday-Friday 11:00am-2:00pm

Phone numbers for China Chef South Milwaukee, WI

• 414-764-1966
• 414-764-2148

Address for China Chef Chinese Restaurant

• 1224 Milwaukee Avenue
• South Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53172

Map for China Chef South Milwaukee, Wisconsn

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China Chef has a Website that is currently under construction.

• smchinachef.com

Let the food talk at China Chef!