Local Cafes with Character
The caramel latte I had at Wrap It Up was one of the best coffees I have ever tasted. It was sweet, soft, like luxurious liquid silk with that warm, earthy, flavorsome bitterness of coffee. Wrap It Up is a local cafe in Manitowoc that uses Colectivo coffee, a brand that is considered to be one of the best, most flavorsome coffees in the world. In fact, it can compete with Ralph’s and Blue Mountain.
The food is absolutely delectable. They have a signature hot sauce that is a tantalizing mix of spicy and sweet. I thoroughly enjoy their quesadilla. Furthermore, the location is quite quaint. It gives a bit of a chic, big-city vibe in a rural area. The only thing that is not necessarily great is that the staff is incredibly slow and sometimes forgetful. Once, they forgot my quesadilla, so I waited for like an hour and a half to get my food. And when I asked about it, they charged me, even though they’d forgotten to write the order down. Most restaurants would provide it complimentary given the circumstances.
However, the food and coffee is so good that I still recommend it. That is how superb the quality of their products are. Normally, I cannot stand slow service, but in this case, I make an exception. Wrap It Up is truly the place to be.
The Grapevine Cafe
The Grapevine Cafe is one of the greatest restaurants in Wisconsin. The atmosphere is one of quaint elegance, and the quality of the coffee is absolutely amazing. They have heavenly, fluffy, luxurious, and sweet French toast, as well as completely mouthwatering, and flavorsome quesadillas.
Aside from serving delicious food and coffee, the cafe is also a shop. Yes, the cafe has its own shop connected to the restaurant. So while waiting for the food, I would go and explore the shop. They sell a variety of goods including cute, artistic clothes, the likes of which even strongly resemble pieces from Dior and Chanel at half the price. Furthermore, they have several eye-capturing trinkets, ornaments, and cooking materials. The picture on the right is a photo I actually took during the holidays. I thought their Christmas display was absolutely gorgeous and I needed to take a photo. I have genuinely bought so many amazing gifts for people while there, it’s shocking. So if you not only want an amazing meal but to also find the perfect gift for someone’s birthday or for an upcoming holiday, you need to visit The Grapevine Cafe.
Tlazo Cafe
I was in Algoma a while ago to take care of business. And while there I stopped at Tlazo Cafe. The interior had this relaxed yet welcoming decore vibe with inviting sofas and chairs. The dining area was very beautiful and was decorated like an aristocratic, mature Michelin restaurant in Paris with pearl-like flooring, and artistic chairs and tables.
The coffee was amazing. I ordered a mocha and it was as sweet, soft and delicious as love itself. I also got a chicken bacon ranch which that was mouthwatering. I could not believe such a niche a business was they were providing such very delicious food at such an affordable price. This cafe definitely made me wish I could go to Algoma more often.
Unfortunately, the town is quite far from where I live and, aside from Tlazo Cafe, doesn’t have much to offer. I have been attempting to arrange something to go back in order to recreate that memory. That is how exemplary and extraordinary this place is. It is a hidden gem.
The Chats are a punk band hailing all the way from Queensland, Australia. They have been making waves in the music scene with their electrifying energy. Their raw and unapologetic approach to music has garnered a devoted fan base. With intense vocals, blistering guitar riffs and catchy bass lines, the Chats’ music packs a punch that is hard to ignore.
Glass Candy is a synth-pop band from Portland, Oregon, that consists of vocalist Ida No, and instrumentalist Johnny Jewel. Their second studio album, B/E/A/T/B/O/X, is 41 minutes and combines many genres including synth-waves, groove, Italo Disco, house, and electronic dance music. The two artists have a long history and friendship that sparked from their shared interests in creating and writing electronic music. As they started releasing music in 2002, B/E/A/T/B/O/X is their most popular work with a refined sound that includes a decade of inspiration as they met in 1996. Today, Glass Candy is an underground band with only about 85k listeners on Spotify, yet they have been well known for making music for more than 20 years. Glass Candy uses their history to their advantage as they blend many synth-based instruments with the smooth, relaxing sound of Ida No’s vocals.
Okay, so I’m kind of cheating here. As of the writing of this piece, there are eight albums in this series. No, no, wait! Come back! They’re good, I promise! In its nearly 40-year history, the Japanese game series that taught countless millennials how to read Roman numerals, Final Fantasy, has churned out banger after banger with its soundtracks, the brunt of them composed by Japanese music legend Nobuo Uematsu. Unfortunately, due to the technological and artistic limitations of Final Fantasy’s earlier entries, high-quality recordings of these soundtracks can be hard to come by. On top of that, while the original chiptune arrangements of these tracks are delightful, they don’t make for the easiest listening.
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina stars a young woman, but it is not a girly show. A wide majority of the important characters are women, but it is not a girly show. Too often do people write off shows once they see a girl as its star, and this is a show that should not be ignored by anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure series. It is a show about a young witch, as has been a popular theme in anime since Kiki’s Delivery Service in 1989. But this witch doesn’t deliver packages; Elaina just wants to travel and see the world. She travels to several cities where she learns about and participates in their unique customs, often imparting a lesson. It’s a simple, universal concept. In
The comedy-drama television series Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (2020-2021) was created by Australian comedian Josh Thomas, who plays the protagonist Nicholas. This impactful show is a great example of representation for LGBTQIA+ individuals, in addition to showcasing multiple characters that are on the autism spectrum, and exploring relationships that are romantic, familial, or simply friendship. Despite the heartfelt pilot that is 45 minutes long, every subsequent episode is roughly only about 20 minutes and is named after a different insect as a tribute to Nicholas’ career as an entomologist.
During a horrible storm on the planet Mars, a crew of astronauts must escape back to Earth. In the struggle back to their ship, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is struck by flying debris and presumed to be dead. Though they are reluctant to do so, the crew has to leave him and take off for Earth. Surprisingly, Mark survives the storm and has been left stranded on Mars alone with minimal supplies and no way to return home. He is able to contact both the crew he was on the mission with and NASA back on Earth and both groups start developing plans to save Mark. With help contacted and nothing to do but wait, Mark now has to figure out how he will survive as he runs out of food and other necessities. How will he avoid running out of supplies before help comes and will he ever see Earth again? Available on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Vudu.
Spirit is an old western-inspired animated movie that is great for a family movie night or, for most of us 2000s kids, something to watch to get some good old nostalgia. The story, which is narrated by Matt Damon, follows a wild stallion whose only goal is to keep his herd safe from danger. One day, he is captured out of the wild by soldiers in the U.S. Army. They take him back to their Army base where many of the soldiers attempt to tame him, but his spirit cannot be broken.
March 16th: the Marinette Recreation Center will be holding a Spring Fling Craft Show in their Activity Hall from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
March 23rd: Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary located at 151 North Broadway in Green Bay will be presenting Yoga with Kitties at 9:30 a.m. This class will be open to anyone and bring guests up close and personal with adorable rescue cats that are available for adoption. Tickets are required and cost $15.00.