Safe House

Sunday’s dinner was with my friend and old college room mate Michael and his wife at the Safe House, a well-known spy-theme restaurant in Milwaukee. Unlike the B-52 place I reviewed earlier, The Safe House really goes all out on the decor.

Those who do not know the pass phrase have to do some silly thing before being allowed entry, the fun being the hidden camera that allows the diners inside to watch you.

The place is hard to describe. The walls, and some ceilings, are covered with all manner of stuff. There are strange doorways and a “secret” passage to exit through. The entrance is fairly anonymous on an alley, the secret exit leads to an even more obscure alley. They have a major collection of James Bond stuff. Doors that lead to nowhere. Motorized sliding doors. You just have to see it.

I can’t say that I was particularly impressed by the food, which was adequate but not too impressive at the price, but the ambiance is truly unique. I’d lived in Milwaukee for nine years before trying the place, but I’d say that if you live here you ought to eat there at least once. It is a good place to take visitors, if you have the kind of visitors who would appreciate this sort of thing.

Music

I’ve been away from the instruments too much recently, first two weeks in Arizona and then a week at Oshkosh. I’d had some of the tricky bits of Bach’s Fugue in G minor (BWV 578) learned to the point that they just happened on the flute, as if by magic, and then somehow lost them, which was frustrating. They are back now, more or less, which is very nice. There is still plenty to work on, but on the last session some of those bits just came out effortlessly.

I’ve also got a filk song in the works that I think will turn out nicely.