127 FCM COVER - Fox Cities Magazine

himself means “a drifter who roams around and
sells ridiculously delicious burgers.”
Gorges sees the success of Valley food trucks
as indicative of the kind of business connection
that many consumers crave.
“I love the vibe food trucks add to a
community,” Gorges says. “It’s a totally different
interaction with customers than a brick and
mortar restaurant. Depending on social media
keeps it really grassroots.”
Farron agrees that the real draw of the food
truck movement is the community it creates.
“[Food trucks] have a way of bringing people
together,” she says. “It gives people a chance to
socialize over food.”
A DOCK OF ONE’S OWN
When the weather warms and the water
calls, some Fox River rats may notice a couple
new additions to the shores, if they haven’t
already.
As a way to encourage use of our abundant
waterways, the Fox River Navigational System
Authority (FRNSA) installed two new floating
docks on a trial basis this past July, one in
Appleton and one in Little Chute.
“We’d been operating Appleton locks on the
weekends over the summer, but there was not
a lot of usage at that
point,” says Harlan
Kiesow, CEO at
FRNSA. “There
wasn’t a place to get
out of the boat
when you’re going
through the system.”
The commercial
quality docks are
intended for principle
use by boaters, but
kayakers and canoers
are encouraged to
partake as well. The
40-foot-long dock in
Little Chute is located at the base of Mill Street
and the 100-foot-long dock in Appleton is
situated upstream of the Old Oneida Street
bridge.
“We looked at creating destinations so folks
can not only go through the systems, but
also stop and see what communities
have to offer,” says Bob Stark,
administrative assistant at FRNSA, who
points out the Downtown Trolley stops
near the Appleton dock for easy College
Avenue access during the summer.
Stark is pleased with the use the
docks have already seen and hopes to see
more area residents take advantage of
them this summer for “fishing,
boating, canoeing, kayaking
or just plain relaxation.”
APPLETON ROOTS
In February 2010, four
Appleton area residents with
a passion for the past formed
what would eventually become
the Appleton Historical
Society. Appleton native Mark
Moderson, who sits on the
board of directors, approached
several people he knew with an
interest in Appleton history and
discovered the desire for a formal
group to preserve the city’s history and
make it accessible to the public.
“I knew of the Outagamie County Historical
Society, but I thought it would be nice to have
things going on month to month with interested
people,” Moderson says.
The group meets on the third Wednesday of
every month (expect December) at 7 p.m. in
Atlas Coffee Mill. At the January 18 meeting,
Chloe Siamof, a senior at Appleton West High
School and founder of Appleton West History
Club, will discuss the history of the school. On
December 3 and again on March 3, 2012, the
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Society will host a History Fair to coincide with
the Downtown Appleton Indoor Farm Market.
Community members are invited to set up their
own Appleton collections for others to view.
Stop by the main floor of the Zuleke
Building on College Avenue to view a
sampling of the Appleton Historical
Society’s collection in the lobby
display case.
COFFEE FOUR WAYS
At Seth’s Coffee in Little Chute,
coffee lovers can take their pick from
an array of four different brewing
methods: the popular pour-over bar,
traditional French press, the Chemex or
siphon brew. Each method has its place, as
well as its advantages. Possibly the least
known of the four brewing methods is
the siphon brew.
Maybe it does look like a device
that would go unnoticed in the
background of a “Breaking Bad”
episode, but at a coffee shop it kind of
sticks out. A lower glass globe is attached
to a stand that sits hovering above a
butane gas burner that when lit, brings
the water to a boil. Working like a
French press, the grounds in the brew
chamber above are fully immersed in
the water, and as it cools, the globe
creates a vacuum effect to suck the coffee
through the filter.
“It’s a full immersion brew, so there’s lots of
flavor, but the coffee runs through a cloth filter
instead of a metal filter. Cloth filters let more
flavor through than paper, but not as much
sediment as a metal filter,” owner Seth Lenz
explains. “The result is an incredibly clean cup
with lots of flavor.”
While the contraption may look
intimidating at first, one sip of the delicate
coffee it produces will have you swooning (and
craving more of that natural caffeine buzz).