Summer Heirloom Tomato
Salad with shaved Sarvecchio Parmesan and 18-year balsamic
pesto.
Photo by Dan Bishop
|
 |
They know how to
make diners feel special at Odd Duck. We had excellent service despite
a crowd, and the small-plate dining restaurant in Bay View is full of
palate-pleasing surprises.
They play with
flavors here. Even the bar snacks listed on a chalkboard piqued
curiosity, especially the Bacon-Almond-Caramel-Corn. According to our
server, "They use bacon fat to pop the corn. That way it has it
all: salty, sweet, savory." Or diners could start with a
Beet-Pickled Egg and some Haus Marinated Olives.
A second
chalkboard lists suppliers, including Braise RSA or "restaurant
supported (local) agriculture." It’s all local here, especially
the herbs growing in window boxes in front of the restaurant and the
salad greens thriving in the back.
Odd Duck
features small plates, both animal and vegetable, and a short list of
large plates including the Seared Duck Breast my friend ordered. Her
rare duck breast came with swiss chard, bacon and potato hash, studded
with brandied cherries. She loved it. "I don’t need the
duck," she says. "The hash with the cherries is
amazing."
Because I’m a
passionate bacon-lover, I ordered the Pork Belly and Black Bean Chili
and found many fat chunks of belly in a generous bowl big enough for a
light meal with some bread and, of course, dessert. We sampled the
Wild Mushroom Ragout, mushroom stems in dense, rich-flavored
"jus" with an unadvertised hot chili surprise.
The coffee we
ordered with dessert came with its own French press. It was
accompanied by an old-fashioned timer so when the sand ran out, we
knew it was time to press. The coffee was a good match for dessert, a
delicious lavender-scented crème brulée. Or, we could have ordered
coconut cake with Purple Door ice cream, a second almost irresistible
choice.
You have to grab
it when you can at Odd Duck because the menu changes daily, the carpe
diem of great food. Owner Melissa Buchholz says, "I have an
amazing pastry chef. Last week she made crème brulée with
curry."
Buchholz co-owns
Odd Duck — her sister’s nickname inspired the name — with
executive chef Ross Bachhuber, whose culinary credits include
executive chef posts at Piano Blu, the Lowlands Restaurant Group and
Milwaukee Art Museum.
