Winston Churchill loved the stuff. Pol Roger Champagne from France has been in the same family for five generations, and it is one of the few champagne houses still privately owned.
Three different Pol Rogers will be served at a special five-course dinner Friday night at Fleming's Steakhouse in Brookfield. The meal will begin with oysters on the half shell accompanied by Pol Roger "White Foil" Brut Reserve.
A salad of spring mix, fresh raspberries, goat cheese, crisped potatoes and lemon balsamic vinaigrette will also have a "White Foil" accompaniment.
Pol Roger Brut Rose champagne will be served with angel hair shrimp scampi and the main course of seared Arctic char over ratatouille with roasted red pepper and lime sauce. The dessert of sweet and savory mini-tart with fresh peaches and herbs will be paired with Pol Roger Pure Brut champagne.
The dinner is priced at $125, excluding tax and gratuity. Call (262) 782-9463 for reservations.
Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.
During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.
Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.
