RECENT
FEATURES |
 Chef
Speak/Tyler Mader
Tyler Mader
has a vision. Scion of the fabled Milwaukee restaurant family, Mader
is focused on building his Trad to Rad brand, which reflects his
cooking style of adding unique flair to traditional recipes. |
 Farmers
Markets
Old Man
Winter has finally taken the snow back to his chilly man cave. Now is
the time for daffodils, with lettuce and Swiss chard not far behind.
Fresh produce and cut flower fans eagerly anticipate the pending
growing season, with the value-added factor of sociability at farmers
markets. |
 Jazz
cafe, Mexican fusion and a Milwaukee Carson's
There seems
to be new eateries almost everywhere you turn in greater Milwaukee,
from downtown’s hopping East Wisconsin Avenue to the outer reaches
of Waukesha County. Obviously, there is no boundary for good times and
good beverage. Here are a few of the newest places around town. |
 Chef
Speak/Ross Bachhuber
Odd Duck
has made a splash on the city’s culinary scene ever since it opened
in 2012. The Bay View restaurant, 2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is noted
for an ever-changing menu that emphasizes fresh local produce, meats
and dairy products. Innovative dishes vary almost day-to-day in small
plates or standard entrées. |
 Fiesta
Mexicana
Mexican
fare is Milwaukee’s latest hot "in-food," where Hispanic
influences can be found almost everywhere. When it comes to eateries
and menus, the new seamlessly blends with the old. Here’s a mix of
places to consider when a South of the Border fix is needed. |
 Casual
eats and a North Woods retreat
A new
collection of casual-eats restaurants opened in late winter and early
spring, ensuring there wasn’t an awkward pause in the flurry of new
restaurant openings. |
 Chef
Speak: Thomas Peschong - Executive Chef, Turner Hall
From 1990
to 2011, chef Tom Peschong was a familiar face at the Riversite
Restaurant, where his dishes consistently earned kudos. Among his
honors was being named a James Beard Best Midwestern Chef nominee.
Relishing Peschong’s experimental menus and solid presentations,
local food critics regularly placed the Riversite in their Top 25
ranks for fine dining. |
 Wine
bars, sushi and 'cue
With spring’s
warmer temps on the horizon, several new restaurants, coffee shops and
bars debuted — even during the cold snaps of winter. |
 The
Dish: Nines at the River Club of Mequon
I ordered
the Crouching Tuna, Hidden Shrimp Roll, a toss of the dice from a menu
that suggested unexpected flavor combinations on every line. The menu
deconstructed the roll by listing tuna, avocado, shrimp, soy glaze,
wasabi cream and caviar, but I chose to let the roll surprise me and
let the flavors speak for themselves. |
 Chef
Speak: Scott Pampuch - The Iron Horse Hotel
Scott
Pampuch, top chef and beverage director at The Iron Horse Hotel and
founder of the award-winning Corner Table restaurant in the Twin
Cities, grew up in Winona, Minn., where his culinary training really
began. |
 The
Dish/What's new in city dining: Wild Earth Cucina Italiana
Wild Earth
Cucina Italiana — the name suggests a sensory feast on Italy’s
coast looking down from an oversized window to a raging sea, or
perhaps a view of a rolling hillside in Tuscany. |
 The
dish/What's new in city dining:
Joey Gerard's
Rave reviews of
Joey Gerard’s preceded our visit to the latest addition to the
Bartolotta Restaurants roster. Joe Bartolotta’s two namesake
restaurants, one in Greendale and one in Mequon, harken back to a time
before we counted calories; a time when menus featured liver and
onions, meatloaf and beef stroganoff. |
 Cruisin'
for cuisine
Hop on
board the bus for culinary adventures — and leave the driving to
Milwaukee Food Tours. Theresa Nemetz and husband Wade will ensure a
good time, grand fun and an exciting peek into the city’s history,
all rolled into one jolly excursion. |
 The
gift of feed
For the
Balistreri siblings, Tony, Theresa and Peter, running Sala da Pranzo
Italian restaurant is an extension of their family experience. Even
before their grandfather came to America as a young boy from St. Elia,
Silicy in the early 1900s the Balistreris have been a cooking family. |
 Just
Dessert
Sarah
Mironczuk had a pet tarantula named "Pablo," calls herself
"Zombie Girl," was born a week before Halloween and her
2-year old daughter, Bernadette, entered the world on a Friday the
13th. |
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|
 The
Milwaukee Pantry
Milwaukeeans
love their food and drink during the holidays. A well-stocked pantry
in preparation for the party season should include a goodly supply of
the following locally produced goodies. |
 Wheel
of fortune
It began
with a cheese curds conundrum. Bob Wills, owner of Cedar Grove Cheese
in Plain, Wis., struggled to deliver fresh curds — so fresh, they
squeak — to Milwaukee retailers by early afternoon each day. The
240-mile round trip posed a challenge. |
 Sweet
stuff
For the
sweet-toothed person in your life, a sugar-coated treat with
Milwaukee-area ties is the perfect gift for the holidays. |
 The
art of food
Remember
that chocolate bar you adored as a child? First introduced by the
Hershey Co. in 1978, it’s comprised of peanut-flavored crisps with
layers of milk chocolate and peanut butter. c.1880, a
less-than-year-old restaurant in Walker’s Point, has gone to town on
deconstructing its caramel, peanut and chocolate ingredients. |
 Wine
city
In
Milwaukee, where 19th century beer barons like Joseph Schlitz and
Capt. Frederick Pabst put Brew City on the map as a drinking town,
wine has at last caught up. Wine bars are sprinkled throughout
neighborhoods from Bay View to Brookfield. |
 The
year in dining
Returning
to his native Wisconsin after cooking with Michel Richard at
Citronelle in Washington, D.C., was never a question — he always
intended on it. |
 Chef
Speak>>William Doyle
InterContinental-Milwaukee
Executive Chef William Doyle has enough Irish in him to truly
appreciate green. That love affair certainly spills over to garden
greens … in fact, anything fresh and seasonal is fantastic. |
 The
dish/What's new in city dining - C. 1880
I wish I
could guarantee future diners at c.1880 the same dinner we enthused
over, but since chef and owner Thomas Hauck features regional/seasonal
products, the menu is never the same. |
 Chef
club
Chefs at country
clubs have a tall order — to satisfy pickiest of palates. After all,
members at these exclusive clubs eat artisan ingredients in far-flung
nations and often host multicourse gourmet meals in their homes. |
 Giving
thanks, Wisconsin style
Mark the
national holiday and celebrate our Wisconsin bounty by cooking a
Thanksgiving dinner made almost entirely from local ingredients. |
 The
dish/What's new in city dining
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. |
 Sweet
suites
At several new local
bakeries the charm lies not only inside the pastry case. Enter
through Café Perrin’s brick-red door and into a mirage of color: original
art depicting bright flowers hung on seafoam-green walls. |
 The
dish/What's new in city dining
At Mozzaluna, the
Margherita, the classic Italian pizza made with tomato sauce, mozzarella,
basil, olive oil and oregano, comes in one size, medium.
|
 Design
course
Three new Walker’s
Point eateries embrace late-1800s décor with cutting-edge design that
relies upon craftsmanship using mostly salvaged materials. Flashy,
showy accents akin to many urban dining rooms are discarded in favor
of a cozy ambiance that’s in perfect pitch with its farm-to-table
approach.
|
 Chef de Physique
Clean
eating and fitness guru Sarah Dusseau opened her Brookfield restaurant
with partner Renee Scheterie earlier this year, laughing that now her
daily workout is running a restaurant, a constant task with very few
breaks. Her delightfully trendy wine bar and up-tempo eatery is called
CafeOne24, named after the street where it’s located.
|
Chef Speak
- Roberto
Reyes - Chef/Owner Revolucion Restaurant
Coming
from a long line of restaurateurs, Roberto Reyes, 41, strives to mix
innovative techniques with traditional Mexican recipes at his first
eatery: Revolucion Restaurant, near 29th Street and Morgan Avenue
on the South Side. Open since last fall, each menu item is labeled
with its origin state in Mexico.
|
 Chef speak
- Michael
Engel - Chef/owner
- Pastiche Bistro & Wine Bar
Having
done his time in kitchens across metro Milwaukee, including The
Bartolotta Restaurant Group and Hotel Metro, Michael Engel at last
opened his own restaurant in March 2010. French flair at Pastiche
Bistro & Wine Bar is in every detail, from the cooking methods to
the wine selections.
|
 Cheese at
its best
Sometimes you
feel like merely dining from a small plate with an accompanying wine.
Combine delicious meats, a touch of cheese and a good pour. What more
does one need on an almost-spring eve? |
 Out of the
zone
Sometimes, to get
out of a rut, you have to think outside of the plate and detour from
familiar foods. Two years ago, TIME Magazine coined the phrase "discomfort
dining" to describe it, and a new
adventurous approach to eating out. |
 Food for
thought
The season’s
open houses, potlucks and parties are the perfect excuse for home
cooks to challenge themselves with new recipes, exotic ingredients and
savvy techniques. What better place to acquire these skills than from
the master, a chef? |
 The dish on
dining
Milwaukee’s
restaurant scene is always in a flux, whether due to the economy,
desire for something new or to update with the times. So what’s
happening these days in the local world of pots and pans? |
 Chef
speak - Peter
Sandroni - Chef/owner La Merenda
Opening
in 2007, Peter Sandroni’s awarding-winning La Merenda is a charming,
always bustling Walker’s Point tapas restaurant. La Merenda name
means "early snack," referring to the custom of early
evening socializing over small-plate dining and exquisite beverages.
|
 Flippin' for
flapjacks
Whether
one prefers George Webb’s classically simple buttermilk wheatcakes or
going all the way with International House of Pancakes’ Rooty Tooty
Fresh ‘n Fruity (done up with two eggs, two bacon strips, two pork
sausage links and two buttermilk pancakes knighted with strawberry
topping, warm blueberry or cinnamon apple compote and whipped dairy),
area breakfast lovers have a range of choices featuring this traditional
morning delight. |
 Soupe du
Jour
What can be said
about French onion soup that hasn’t been said before? Well, lots.
Especially since versions of this great dish have been around since
the ancient Romans, so there is always more to add to the story. The
soup started humbly, because onions were easy to grow and subsequently
plentiful in the good old days.
|
 Chef Speak
Chef
Kurt Fogle, the new pastry chef of the SURG Restaurant Group, has had
a charmed culinary career. Merely five years ago, he decided to pursue
his dream of being a pastry chef and enrolled in classes at the
renowned French Pastry School in Chicago.
|
 Decadent
confections
February is the
month of romance. Passionate pairs will opt for a secluded table for
two at a favorite restaurant, soft candlelight, a marvelous meal and,
of course, chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Here’s a look at some of
the most decadent cocoa offerings in the city — St. Valentine
approved.
|
 Chef speak
Chef Brent Perszyk,
executive chef and general manager of Mr. B’s — A Bartolotta Steakhouse,
always loved to cook, but didn’t realize it was his calling until after
college. After receiving a degree in communications from UW-Milwaukee, Perszyk
enrolled in the Hotel and Restaurant program at MATC to confirm his hunch that
cooking was his forte. |
 Savory
sensations
Add a bit more spice
to your life, and you may improve your quality of life — or, at the very
least, look forward to eating your vegetables. |
 Winning
whites
Looking
for a wine to impress, but don't want to break the bank? Four
Milwaukee-area wine experts offer some great white wine finds, all
priced at less than $20 per bottle.
|
 From plain
to gourmet
Steak, chops,
fish, chicken, pasta: If you’re stuck in a rut in the kitchen, take
some advice from the experts. Milwaukee’s creative chefs have
numerous techniques to transform the mundane into the gourmet, when it
comes to dishes that might appear pedantic at first but have the
potential for gourmet status. It’s not merely culinary magic, but
imagination that counts. |
Chef
speak/Recipe
Suzzette
Metcalfe fell in love with The Pasta Tree more than 25 years ago when
she and her family visited the iconic East Side restaurant to
celebrate her sister Tonia’s birthday.
|
 Bountiful
breakfasts
A
hearty breakfast is the best way to kick off one’s day, fueling both
the mind and body. Between comfort food at any of George Webb’s
multiple locations and a high-end weekend buffet, Milwaukee’s
eateries offer a range of options, whether for leisurely lattes or on
the gallop. Here are some of our faves:
|
 Chef speak
Chef
Thi Cao, executive chef at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s trendy Café
Calatrava, began his new job in April and hit the ground running. He
immediately needed to give the menu his own personal touch, showcasing
his love of French, Asian, Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine. |
 Fruit
Infusions
The
lazy, crazy daze of June, July and August means cocktail time on a
favorite restaurant terrace or hanging out with pals near a pub’s
open window. Breeze-catching and conversation is always easier over a
margarita and fresh lime wedge. |
 Cheese,
please
Summer
partying in Wisconsin means cheese, whether a platter of sliced
selections, a creamy spread, a crumble in salads, an ingredient
integral for sandwich-making or a simple bite-sized snack. Hunker back
on a patio or porch, flop on a couch for a Brewers game or perch under
a tree with a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, a significant other and a
picnic basket. |
 The organic
debate
After
watching the Oscar-nominated "Food, Inc." documentary
showing tomatoes blasted with ethylene gas to spur natural ripening
for faster sales; chickens living in squalor and never seeing
daylight; corn syrup-infused foods; and salmonella scares and e-coli
scandals, it’s no wonder consumers are concerned about their food.
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