I recently went to Solly's for the first time.  I might get a big "duh" here, but that place is not child-friendly at all.  I was warned before we went that it is small inside, so I knew that our group of six adults and two children would probably not be able to eat together.  It doesn't help that we went during lunch on a Saturday.  They do have a sizable waiting area, so that was good.  As we sat there I couldn't help redesigning the place in my head, because it seems like they could have accomodated more people if things were arranged a little differently.  Anyway, I took our son to the bathroom to change him, but they had no baby changing station (though I think there would be room for one), so I changed him on the bathroom floor.  When we were seated we were lucky enough that three of our group got to sit together at the counter, and the other three (and the two kids) at the one table they have next to the waiting area.  When I asked about a high chair I got a "No, sorry,"  so I went out to the car and got Henry's infant car seat for him to sit in.  (We switched to a convertible car seat last week, so that wouldn't even be an option now.)  I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a hot fudge shake.  Apparently it was a good thing that I sat at the lone table, because my friends who sat at the counter said they could see the blocks of butter by the grill and watch just how much the cooks were using on each order, and that it was a little disturbing.  I'm more in the 'you can't have too much butter' camp, though, so maybe I wouldn't have been bothered by it. Our food arrived, and the (in)famous butter burger was pretty good, but I can't say it was worth almost $5.00.  And the small plate of crinkle cut fries was - What?  Really? - an extra $2.50.  The shake, also pricey at $4.50, was so delicious it was worth every penny, and so large that I couldn't even finish it.  And my friend said that her onion rings were really good.  Overall, I thought that Solly's was overcrowded, overpriced, and overrated.  But I know that it's a beloved Milwaukee institution, and I will probably give it another shot sometime.  Maybe when Henry's old enough not to need a dang high chair.  It would be awfully hard to hold a kid and eat a butter burger at the same time.

I grew up in a smallish town up north, then went to college in Green Bay.  Soon after I graduated I moved to Milwaukee, and I remember driving down Wisconsin Avenue one night and saying out loud to myself, "I live in Milwaukee!"  That might make people laugh, but seriously, it felt very exciting and surreal.

That was over nine years ago now, and I'm still excited to live here.  There have been so many changes and developments.  Of course, the Milwaukee Art Museum expansion.  Shortly after moving here I was walking around down there with a friend who had moved here at the same time, and a woman was attempting to explain to us what it was going to look like when it was done, and we had to just do the nod and smile.  "Wings?  Uh, yeah, sounds cool."  It was hard to image the finished product, which is, of course, awesome.  And I love how lively the downtown has become.  Even though it's not personally a regular destination, it's great that downtown Milwaukee has a night life now.  And can I take this opportunity to mention how fabulous the new Marquette Interchange looks?

My point is, I'm proud to live here.  Amongst my own changes and developments I bought a house in Stallis with a guy I'm still crazy about after almost 12 years, and we had a kid.  And now I'm proud to be raising my son here, too.  It's funny because sometimes when I'm out and about I hear somebody say that Milwaukee's too small or, OMG, it's soooo boring here.  I'd like them to ship them up to my home town for a while.  (Though northern Wisconsin certainly has its merits, and I always feel nostalgic when I go back up there.)  It's going to be so fun to show my son around as he gets older.  The zoo, the art and public museums, Discovery World, Betty Brinn, Organ Piper Pizza Palace, etc....  He's definitely going to have a different childhood from mine.  Not better or worse, just different.  I grew up running around in the woods, and he's going to be a city kid.  I hope he feels as lucky to live here as I do.