The Times They are A-Changin'

Here in Wisconsin, there is a burger and 'custard' shop that is a source of Wisconsin pride. It's Culvers. Towns define themselves by whether or not they have a Culver's. It is the popular summer evening place to go throughout the state. The items on the menu are pure Wisconsin with fried cheese curds and Culver's-own Butterburger. My own favorite is the lemon cooler, a frozen lemon ice that is whipped in a blender. And you will be spitting out pieces of lemon peel occasionally if you have one. It is completely different that a Sonic slush, which is a somewhat liquid sno-cone, in my opinion.

The Espousa and I stopped in for a quick bite the other day, which was our first time inside in almost a year. The drive through is more than adequate to secure a lemon cooler on the way home from work. We were surprised to notice on every table a bottle of Mexican hot sauce. They don't even have ketchup on the tables, but they do have hot sauce. This is even more surprising that it is the town in which I live. This town is known as a Norwegian epicenter. It hosts the largest Norwegian Independence day celebration in the world outside of Norway. I have been told you could have heard Norwegian spoken on the street 20 years ago. Why am I focusing on the town's Norwegian heritage? Because of their food. The Progeny and I went to a fund raising dinner at the Sons of Norway lodge (yes, there is such a thing) for a dinner. It consisted of boiled white fish with no batter, boiled skinned potatoes and boiled whole onions. The only thing you could add to this boiled extravaganza was melted butter. Given this bland type of food, having Mexican hot sauce at the local Culver's is a stunner and shows how the demographics of this town and possibly area are changing.