It really is. My parents were both imperfect people doing their best who managed to put a pretty good act together for me and my siblings. Dad came from a very troubled family and didn’t finish high school. He dodged Vietnam by enlisting at age 17 in '64, becoming the youngest E-5 sergeant in his battalion at age 19 before finishing his enlistment in '67.
It was never clear to any of us during our childhood exactly how dad ever ended up working at Frenchy’s, but we also never started pondering it until we were all well into adulthood.
More information started trickling in as we grew up and went camping with dad, his buddies and other family members. Whiskey was the lubricant that allowed this information to flow. Even with that, we could never really piece together what dad was up to in between the Army and Frenchy’s.
I’m glad to know this and it makes me even happier to share it here to remind us of what kind of restaurant experiences are possible. Is there anything in 2024 that rivals Frenchy’s menu?
This is interesting to me as well. I could only begin to guess at the ways of working that were possible during that time that simply aren’t today.
I would speculate that the location of Milwaukee is part of what made it possible. It is a major Great Lakes port and was deeply corrupt at the time, controlled by the Italian Mafia and a transportation crossroad of North America. Chicago was a major worldwide air hub and only two hours by automobile with lots of rail lines running in every direction.
What are the main obstacles to a menu like that today? What sort of prices would it entail?
First off, it’s a huge menu. Sourcing all those proteins and storing them while rotating product would be an industrial level effort.
Second, labor. I can drag anyone off the street and make them a competent line cook in two weeks, but someone comfortable cooking venison and dover sole? That takes more skill.
Third, demographics. With the emphasis on local/farm to table/new term tbd, this all-over-the-world menu was a flex back in the day, but I don’t think you’d be able to find someone who will eat raccoon and abalone in the same bite. (Chef mode activated - make this happen. Canapés.)
I’d say $60-$120 per entree on average in a restaurant. I’d charge $240-$650 per head as a private chef.
I’ve learned everything I can about the place online and from my parents’ friends. It is hard to discern how much is nostalgic remembrances of yesteryear, how much is exaggerated braggadocio and how much is stone-cold facts, but the consensus seems to be that it was quite the place. That’s why we started wondering how dad got the job there.
Mom always said she didn’t work at a French restaurant. She worked at THE French restaurant.
Hah! “My disease my infection” Look at me being an influencer. But also: deviled egg sliders sound like an awesome party favor. And if you used a sausage patty, it’s almost like a breakfast slider.
Amazingly, this was probably the LEAST offensive title you could give it. But the cuteness of your presentation makes the inclusion of beans forgivable.
I actually like how the plating of this turned out, despite being leftovers.
2 beef bone in chuck short ribs, 3 slices of brisket, 4 hardboiled eggs with some grassfed sour cream and some grassfed cottage cheese.
Me too! In fact, no plating required. I’ll snatch those right off the grill.
Legend has it that I used to do that when I was a toddler. We had one of those indestructible Coleman camping stoves, and I’d eat the trout right off of it while it was cooking.
Well, it’s Cajun-seasoned, so the rice feels needed for the tomatoes and onions. Otherwise it would be like a salad with steamed broccoli and cauliflower randomly thrown in. Which in fact they are. I cook a big steamer pot full of them every week and add it to whatever dinner because I eat like a linebacker, quantity-wise.
But the shrimp were good, and I could absolutely have eaten a bucket of them alone if I’d had more.
I’ll snatch those right off the grill.
