Foodie rule: When you choke on your own tooth, it's time to go home.

Good afternoon!  

How can it be almost a month since I blogged last?  Oh yes, I've been SICK!  How sick?  Well, I managed to binge watch 6 seasons of "House MD" without once thinking I had any of the ailments on the show.  THAT'S plenty sick enough for me.  And this disease I did have, this massive cough, congestion, loss of appetite, loss of voice, loss of will to move...I'm still getting over it.  I went two weeks without putting on eyeliner or shoes.  (I'm actually amazed at how far I devolved during my time of illness!)

But I've recovered now, at least well enough to go on a little bit of a winter get away with Hubby.  (I realize it's April, but up here in Wisconsin, winter get aways can happen deep into May.)  We headed up to Door County, a touristy place north of Green Bay, for a couple days.

Door County is one of those places that has an off season. Like the Wisconsin Dells, or Paris. (At least I'm told Paris sort of shuts down in August.  And since someone who lives and works in Paris told me that, I guess I take it as truth.)  Typically this means that the things you're going up to see and do aren't going to be open.   But in the last few years, Door County, like many other places that rely on tourism, has figured out a way to draw people up there no matter what the weather.

One word:  alcohol.

It's become quite stylish to hit the wineries of Door County (and there are MANY) to taste and enjoy local wines, and distilled beverages while staying in a hotel room and watching lousy weather roll by.  This is exactly what Hubby and I planned.  Although, being foodies, we added that in as well.

We managed two wineries, Door 44 and Door Penninsula Winery.  We did a wine tasting at Door 44 (and subsequently spent way too much money on wine).  I enjoyed both, but I think the edge has to go to Door Penninsula Winery.  Why?  Well, bottle prices were lower, they offered distilled beverages in addition to wine, there was a larger selection and...most importantly...their strawberry zin took me back to my college days of drinking Boones Farm Tickle Pink.

Ahhhhh, the memories.

Hubby outdid himself with booking a room.  I mean, if I'm booking a room I start with the mantra "I'm not paying more than $50 a night." and work from there.  Hubby booked with an eye towards...romance...and comfort.  We stayed at the Edgewater Resort in Ephraim/Sister Bay.  This wasn't a hotel room...no, this was a place I wanted to move in and live for the rest of my life!  Full kitchen, double sided fireplace, TWO TVs!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, and a giant whirlpool tub!  All of the rooms

face the water, but if you're going to book, ask for room 216.  Best of all, the ICE MAKER in the freezer worked so well I was never without ICE!  (Well done Hubby!)

The weather cooperated well enough. We had sunshine two of three days up there, so we were able to hike in the state park, which was lovely.  (And good for my fit bit).

Food is always a big part of our trips (Duh...look at us) and Door County did not disappoint.  Since we had a kitchen, we stopped at a local grocery store and got fixings for a rustic cheese and sausage dinner for both nights, which saved a ton of money.  Breakfast and lunch was out and about.  And boy, did we find some off season gems!

It started with soup.  I love soup.  Seriously...if there's such a thing as a soup addiction, I have it.  So when I checked out the lunch menu at Shipwrecked Brew Pub in Egg Harbor and I saw "seafood chowder" I was all about it!  And I WAS NOT disappointed!  ( I also recommend the cheese curds and the cherry/berry crumble. Portions are huge, service is fast, and the place is CUTE!  

Breakfast both mornings in Door County was at the one place open near our hotel:  Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant and Butik.  This place has it all!  Swedish pancakes to die for, Swedish meatballs FOR BREAKFAST, a super cute little gift shop, and, in the summer months, GOATS ON
THE ROOF!  You read that right.  Goats.  On the grassy roof of the restaurant.  While it's hard to miss in the summer, you have to keep a slightly sharper eye out in the winter months. Well, not really.  Just look for the cars.  I love Swedish pancakes, but I've never really had them until now, and I'll probably only ever eat them here from now on!  Al Johnson's is a place where the regulars gather, so you know the food is good, and eavesdropping on conversations is fun and informative. Probably better than a local newspaper.  

But the gold star place that took it all was Czarnuszka Soup Bar in Ephraim.  After a day of hiking, we were overjoyed to find this little place tucked just off the main road.  The menu is limited to, you guessed it, soup and maybe a sandwich, whatever Mr. Czarnuszka feels like making.  Personally, I recommend the kielbasa and cabbage. Sounds weird, I know, but it's quite possibly the best soup I've ever eaten!


( I should mention that the little shack next door to the soup bar is currently for sale. Someone needs to send me $75K so I can live the dream of living next door to never ending soup!)

We hit the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, because that's what you do when you're on your way home from Door County.  Exhausted and loaded down with possibly a couple too many bottles of wine, we made one more foodie stop.

Il Ritrovo is a personal favorite for Hubby and me.  Wood fired pizza, unbelievable appetizers, and a tiramisu that makes all other tiramisus want to run away and hide.  Seriously delicious, fresh, and not too pricey.  I'd been looking forward to biting

into a lovely piece of that pizza since the day Hubby told me he was planning this weekend.

So imagine my surprise, after everything we'd eaten, when, while taking one small bite of a not at all hard piece of pizza, I started choking on something very hard.

Yes, it was one of my teeth.

Well, actually it was a part of a tooth.  See, several years ago I had a crown put on my back upper molar on the right.  The crown slipped off a couple times, and my dentist (who did not make the original crown) sealed it back on. When it fell off a third time, my dentist told me that he couldn't make a proper seal and that I should either get a new crown ($700) or get the tooth pulled ($180)  or do nothing.  ($0)  We've been in a holding pattern for a number of years. Last time I was in, a year ago, I told him to pull it.  He said there was still quite a bit of tooth left and if it wasn't causing problems I still had plenty of time on it before we had to pull it.

NOT NO MORE I DON'T!

In a true, "It can only happen to Sarah" moment, the whole center of the tooth stub broke off and nearly killed me.

Okay, that might be a little dramatic.

Still.  That was my signal it was time to get home and stay home for a while.  And I think that's a good rule of thumb:  When you choke on your own tooth, it's time to go home.

The tooth isn't causing any pain.  But I figured I should call my dentist and get this looked at.  Funny thing is, he was at a conference all day Monday. So If I can't get in on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm stuck with a tooth rim in my face because on Thursday...wait for it...I go in for what I like to call the GUT AND BUTT SCOPE SPECIAL.

That's right. I'm getting an endoscopy AND a colonoscopy all in one day.  Watch for the blog on THAT!

#donthatemebecauseImawesome