 Paramount
Grille and Bakehouse
I
first heard about Paramount Grille and Bakehouse from a friend. A chef
friend.
|
 SMYTH
I’ll start with the valet parking attendants at The Iron Horse
Hotel. Two young men who welcomed us as if we were visiting royalty,
despite the fact that this frugal writer chose to park on the street.
|
 Brick 3 Pizza
Listen
up, pizza lovers: There’s a new place to satisfy your cravings.
|
 Top eats
Three
Milwaukee restaurants are the toast of the town. Sanford, Dream Dance
Steak and Bacchus are part of an elite group of eateries to receive
the AAA Four Diamond restaurant designation for 2009.
|
The
dish/What's new in city dining
The
writing is quite literally on the wall at Charro. The name "Charro" comes from a movie of the same name
(minus the exclamation point) — a western starring Elvis Presley.
And the written words covering the walls are the lyrics from the title
song of that movie.
|
The
Black Trumpet
The
Black Trumpet, located in Waukesha’s Clark Hotel, has an elegant
patina. The well-trained staff will park your car, take your coat,
pull out your chair and give you an informed tour of the menu.
|
The dish
On
a chilly Wednesday at Ginger, we appreciated the bartender’s
suggestion to dine on the upper level. "It’s warmer up
there," he said. And he was right. We settled into a booth in the
corner, grateful for the warm rush, and checked out the surroundings
— especially the colorful light fixtures.
|
Cheap eats
In
this economy, we’re all cutting corners — even if that means
cutting out things we usually enjoy cutting, like steaks, chops and
crusty breads at our favorite dining destinations. But don’t break
out your apron just yet.
|
Berkeley's
Cafe
Someone
at Berkeley’s Café likes green. The new owners transformed the
former liquor store in the heart of Whitefish Bay into a cozy café.
The east wall, with three oversized windows, and bold green hue makes
a sunny statement on a frigid winter afternoon.
|
Cafe
Centraal
Café
Centraal dominates the intersection of KK, Howell and Lincoln avenues
in Bay View. On an icy winter afternoon sunshine flooded the
restaurant, adding an extra warm glow to hardwood floors brought from
a tavern in northern Wisconsin.
|
Wild
Earth
The
recent $240 million expansion of Potawatomi Bingo & Casino is good
news for two kinds of people: those who like to play the odds and
those who prefer not to, particularly when it comes to dining.
|
Cafe
Racer and Motor
The
buzz in the valley is a deep growl coming from bikes at the
Harley-Davidson Museum. Riders show up for the tour, then stick around
for a meal at one of the two side-by-side restaurants.
|
Haute Taco
The
menu at Haute Taco in Sendik’s Towne Center needs a few explanatory
words. I’ll do my best.
|
Fratellos
The
owners of Fratellos, a Wisconsin-based franchise, are committed to
"living green," and that means the freshest ingredients and
local products. Your server will send you home with a take-out menu
made from recycled paper and manufactured with wind-generated energy,
and you won’t find any antibiotics in the bird on your plate.
|
|
Le R ve. Three
In
my restaurant peregrinations, I’m occasionally underwhelmed, seldom
overwhelmed.
|
McCormick
& Schmick's
When
we arrived at McCormick & Schmick’s, we noticed diners leaving
with doggie bags. Now we know why. They weren’t for the dogs.
Servers dressed in black and white and white tablecloths add elegance
to this franchise restaurant that started in Portland.
|
Karma
Bar & Grill
Karma
Bar & Grill occupies a space somewhere between a sports bar and a
restaurant. Located in the former John Ernst Café and the recent Vivo
Urban Bar and Grill, Karma’s owners kept the original fireplace and
the lovely hand-carved door from John Ernst. Look for the door above
the hearth.
|
The dish:
What's new in city dining
It’s
trendy and that’s good when you’re a downtown Milwaukee
restaurant. We had only kudos after a lunch at Tutto. It’s a rave: a
combination of good food, attentive service and great ambiance.
Because this is Milwaukee — where we want good value for our
restaurant dollars — I’ll add, generous portions.
|
The dish:
what's new in city dining
Don’t panic when you see napkin-wrapped chopsticks on the tables
at Umami Moto, because you’ll find knives, forks and spoons hidden
inside.
|
The
dish/What's new in city dining
I could barely get my mouth around the triple-layer Garden
Vegetable Sandwich at Café Manna in the Brookfield Town Center.
|
the dish |
what’s new in city dining
Maybe the reason Roast Coffee Co. displays funky art is because it’s
the former location of the East Side Gallery. At any rate, the Cream
City walls tastefully show off contemporary art, including a framed
display of used artists’ brushes that they’ll sell you for $350.
Patrons can also check out the postcard collection from past and
present customers.
|
The
dish/what's new in city dining
Our lunch at Flipside Café and Grill
in Grafton met our expectations, i.e. "grill." There’s no
false advertising at Flipside. We loved the burgers, not frozen
prepackaged perfect round hockey pucks, but instead real patties,
hand-formed, char-grilled and prepared medium well.
|
