Wisconsin supper clubs explored in filmmaker's lecture

Ron Faiola never set out to be famous, but a combination of film, food and flair has allowed this former KFC fry cook, turned author, to cook up more than a little excitement.

As part of the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum's Sampler Lecture Series, Faiola will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, April 4, at the museum, 6422 Main St., Union. Tickets are $10.

Faiola's newest book, "Wisconsin Supper Club - Another Round," is due out this summer. Within, the creator of the documentary and book titled "Wisconsin Supper Clubs - An Old Fashioned Experience," highlights 50 more of the state's finest establishments - including Fitzgerald's in Genoa City and Colony House Restaurant in Trevor.

"Apparently it was in my DNA. I was in fast food," Faiola said. "In film school (at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) one of the first films I made was called "Wieners," about trying to find cocktail wieners."

The quirky short film, which premiered at the International Student Film Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1987, was a hit. So much so that it prompted Faiola to do food documentaries in the style of Rick Sebak's "Sandwiches That You Will Like" or George Motz's "Hamburger America."

But when the economy collapsed in 2009, so did the market for commercial films. Faiola had to get creative.

"I picked up my camera and realized that no one had looked at Milwaukee fish frys."

"Fish Fry Night Milwaukee," which aired on the Milwaukee and Madison PBS stations in 2009, soon sparked a look at the other part of the equation: the venues that put on these fabulous feasts.

"While doing that movie, I realized that supper clubs was a whole other topic that no one had tackled before. Then the next thing you know I'm writing a book," Faiola said with a laugh. "It's pretty wild; it's like lemons in the lemonade and other food lessons."

So in addition to being president and founder of Push Button Gadget Inc., which specializes in multimedia and business theater productions, the 53-year-old added author to his resume in 2013.

"When I was a kid we used to go to them," Faiola said. "I have memories of going to supper clubs and enjoying them. They are only open for supper. Fridays are for fish frys, Saturday prime rib.

"Now that I've been to well over 120 supper clubs and had an opportunity to talk with so many of the owners, now they are picking my brain when I go on the road. 'Are we doing this good or this bad?' I had a manager come up to me and give me a brandy old-fashioned sweet, and ask: 'Am I doing this right?'"

Equally valuable are the conversations he's had with patrons.

"I love traveling around the state and I love meeting people," Faiola said. "I like that kind of honesty; people being themselves. And in Wisconsin everybody is friendly up there. It's a culture and it is a way of life … and there is a lot of good food."

Upcoming

The last in the historical society's four-part lecture series, "The History of Mexican Railroad Boxcar Communities in the Chicago Area and the Midwest," featuring speaker Antonio Delgado, will be at 3 p.m. Monday, April 18, at the museum.

Between 1910 and the 1950s in the United States, particularly the Midwest, railroads employed a large number of Mexican immigrants to lay track. These immigrant railroad workers and their families literally lived on railroad property, in railroad boxcars and "section houses," year-round.

The program not only underscores the important contributions these laborers made to the area - with the use of photos, maps, political cartoon and other period images - but it also compares anti-immigrant practices employed then with the current climate.

A $10 donation is requested for individual programs. For information or to buy tickets, call (815) 923-2267 or visit www.gothistory.org.

What defines a Wisconsin-style supper club?

• Prime rib or surf and turf specials every Saturday night

• Pre-supper relish trays (preferably served on stainless steel)

• Christmas lights strung across log structures year-round

• Manhattans and old-fashioned cocktails automatically served with brandy

• Waitresses that call you "Hon"

• Jell-O served as a salad option

• Walleye is a regular menu item

• No cappuccino, ever

• All-you-can-eat fried fish on Fridays

• Grasshopper and pink Cadillac cocktails that are large enough to share

• Bonus: A musical trio in the bar that knows how to play "The Girl from Ipanema"

- Ron Faiola