Merkay recommended Odd Duck here, and I will have to agree that it was great food for a great price. I'm not sure why I didn't post about my meal back in early July when it took place, but I'll try to remember some of the details.

Bourbon Cocktail

Don't recall the specifics other than it was bourbon based, but with a little sweetness added - perfect for the Summer.

Duck Confit Flautas Guajillo Mole, Guacamole, Queso Fresco, Chihuahua Cheese, Crema, Cilantro

Very good. I was hesitant to order these as it reminded of my pretty abysmal meal at Hota in Evanston, but that would not be the case. Duck was nice and moist.

Fried Green Tomatoes Black Pepper Goat Cheese, Tabasco Hollandaise, Pickled Sweet Corn Relish


Gazpacho

I'm missing details on this dish, but very refreshing on a 90 degree day. If I remember correctly, it did have a slight kick that turned my wife away but i found it fantastic.

Honey Drizzled Eggplant Fries Turmeric, Fresh Mint, Sesame Seeds

I'm going to assume that this may be one of their favorite dishes as it still remains on their constantly-changing menu today. My wife, a notorious eggplant-hater almost left nothing for me.

Korean Pancake Scallion, Squash, Mushroom, Kimchee, Red Chili, Wonton Crisp, Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce, Sambal Cucumber


Gouda Stuffed Medjool Dates Smoky Bacon, Aged Balsamic


Pork & Lamb Meatballs Porcini Gnocchi, Roasted Garlic Sabayon, Fried Herbs


Hong Kong Tofu Sweet Chili Glaze, Scallion, Peanut, Cilantro

Favorite dish of the meal. Still very hot when it hit the table, we didn't allow the tofu a chance to cool.

And because it was my wife's birthday, the kitchen sent out a very nice (and rich) chocolate cake


Total for the whole meal was just short of a hundred dollars without tax or tip. Not pictures are several beers from their fantastic selection and this dish which I remember being very good but not knowing any of the details of.

Maybe curried artichokes with raita?

boudreaulicious wrote:Maybe curried artichokes with raita?

That's a good guess, but I believe it was actually pulled chicken. I've reached out to Odd Duck for the assist and will update accordingly.

Too bad...curried artichokes with raita sounds kinda good right now. Maybe they should add it to the menu

itshissong wrote:... West Allis Farmer's Market - Really cool/strange market. Lots of great produce, especially the brussels sprouts, apples (these two older women were selling only heritage apples and they had an unbelievable selection, chock full of varieties I'd never seen before - and I love apples), and mushrooms.

The apple ladies are Weston's Antique Apples, mushroom people are River Valley Ranch.

phaseolus wrote:

itshissong wrote:... West Allis Farmer's Market - Really cool/strange market. Lots of great produce, especially the brussels sprouts, apples (these two older women were selling only heritage apples and they had an unbelievable selection, chock full of varieties I'd never seen before - and I love apples), and mushrooms.

The apple ladies are Weston's Antique Apples, mushroom people are River Valley Ranch.

Thanks for the info.

If you are by the Klemets outlet on the south side, the $50 for three lb Allen Brother Italian sausages are $1.50 per 1lb package. Not sure how long they will last.

Sorry, I thought I posted things, not seeing them right now.
The "Allen brothers" $50 for three pounds of Italian sausage that is on their website is $1.50 per Klemets outlet.

Well I finally found the much vaunted Taqueria Arandas Taco Truck.
The truck had been given a good sanitation grading by the City of Milwaukee and should not be confused with the Restaurant of the same name that was given a poor rating by WTMJ's 'Dirty Dining'.
When in the area I usually stop at Tacqueria Jalisco for for Lengua Taco's.
I have found them to uniformly good and sufficient filling.
But this truck received such good reviews that I finally found it close to Bombay Sweets when picking up some Indian vegetarian to go.
The Tacos are good but the fillings are very small, that's really all I can say and that I had no health issues after.-Dick

Will be driving south from Elkhart Lake to Milwaukee. Stuff in Milwaukee, I can find; what I'm interested in is small town stuff along the way. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

budrichard wrote:Well I finally found the much vaunted Taqueria Arandas Taco Truck.
The truck had been given a good sanitation grading by the City of Milwaukee and should not be confused with the Restaurant of the same name that was given a poor rating by WTMJ's 'Dirty Dining'.
When in the area I usually stop at Tacqueria Jalisco for for Lengua Taco's.
I have found them to uniformly good and sufficient filling.
But this truck received such good reviews that I finally found it close to Bombay Sweets when picking up some Indian vegetarian to go.
The Tacos are good but the fillings are very small, that's really all I can say and that I had no health issues after.-Dick

I was a huge Arandas truck fan for a long time, then I discovered the truck by Pete's Fruit Stand on 16th(ish) and Greenfield and haven't been to Arandas since. There are actually usually 3 trucks that set up near Pete's. There is Cielito Lindo, which I have not tried (but I like the food at their restaurant), then across the street near the bank is a stand that sells Elote (outstanding!), then there is (or should I say was) a truck that I don't even think had a name that always parked on Union Street by Pete's parking lot. I called it the Tacos y Quesidillas truck because that's what is on the front of it. Their tacos had a ton of meat and were some of the best I have had anywhere. They also did killer Sonoran Hot Dogs.

Sadly about 2 weeks ago the truck caught fire and the owner is trying to raise money to rebuild it.

eatwisconsin wrote:(snip)

Got an opinion on the El Charrito trucks? Having tried one or two others I wasn't impressed with, El Charrito is my choice for good, solid, tasty, cheap tacos, and I'm curious where general opinion ranks them.

Also if anyone knows where the Milwaukee Pupusa truck usually is and when they're typically open for business, please let me know. I saw it *once*, forgot where, and since then it's eluded me. Supposedly it operates around 25th & National but I never see it there when I look for it.


Tacos El Charrito trucks:
7th & Becher, a block from I-43
W. Lincoln, between Forest Home & S. 23rd Street
two or three other locations

Has anyone been to Ardent? I've heard good things, looking to try it next time I'm in Milwaukee.

Since we had a wedding reception to attend in Milwaukee on Saturday evening, we decided to make a weekend out of it.

Saturday lunch:
Fantastic meal at Bavette La Boucherie in the Third Ward. If I was living nearby this would be a regular stop to eat in or for take out charcuterie. We had the great lamb paté with beets, pickled asian pear, & aleppo aioli, a large bowl of grass fed beef chili with sour cream & cheddar, and a wonderful mixed baby greens salad with burrata cheese, awesome house cured ham, roasted heirloom squash & pistachio pesto. Cocktails were a refreshing Rehorst gin & house made tangerine & lemon tonic and one of the best negronis I have had, an amaro negroni. Generous and reasonably priced cocktails.

Since the no alcohol reception ended early, we headed over to Bryant’s for cocktails. Overall an OK experience, but we enjoyed the cocktails early at Bavette’s more. My big issue is while they claim to have over 600 cocktails, there is no menu and even though I tried to get the waiter to offer suggestions for various liquors and drinks we liked, it was like pulling teeth. There should at least be some house favorites and/or seasonal suggestions. For my drink, I explained that I enjoy Manhattan’s and Boulevardier’s, but would like something a bit different. I forget the name of the drink he said was one of their signature cocktails (Lonesome Highway?). I had one straight up and a second on the rocks. When I asked what bourbon they used, the waiter said he wasn’t sure what bourbon they had on the rail. When I requested a premium bourbon, he said he would request it, but never found out what they used. I would expect more from a lounge with the following that it has.

Sunday brunch:
Great time at Honeypie. My wife had the ham biscuit (scratch made buttermilk biscuit with house cured pulled ham, egg, and cheddar cheese) with potatoes. The ham and biscuit were awesome. I had a special, duck confit hash with Brussels sprouts, eggs and a muffin (orange bourbon butter and house made blackberry jam). Another winner and the biscuits are even better with the butter and jam. I also had a very nice brunch cocktail, the Bees Knees (honey, lemon juice and gin). The Anodyne coffee was great.

After some shopping and antiquing, we stopped at Purple Door Ice Cream on our way out of town. We had two mixed single cups, lemon cardamon/juniper berry-lime, and salted caramel/whiskey. Really nice flavors.

Bavette La Boucherie
330 E. Menomonee St., Milwaukee, WI 53202, 414.273.3375

HoneyPie
2643 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, 414.489.7437

Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge (at the corner of 9th and Lapham)
1579 S. 9th Street, Milwaukee, WI, 53204, 414.383.2620

Purple Door Ice Cream
205 S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204, 414.988.2521

exvaxman- we are kindred spirits:) every post I've read of yours is spot on.

Have you tried Ardent? We went over the weekend and were very underwhelmed.

Another vote for Honeypie. Cabbagehead and I had a late Saturday brunch there after a visit to the wonderful Milwaukee Museum of Art. Honeypie serves its brunch on both Saturday and Sunday until 3. We arrive at 2:20 and found a line but were seated fairly quickly at the bar. My so-called traditional eggs benedict had the usual two poached eggs and English muffins with good hollandaise, accompanied by a very large helping of delicious house-smoked pork over terrific crispy potatoes. Mixing the pork, egg, hollandaise, and potato together yielded some amazing bites. Cabbagehead had the biscuit with ham, which also seemed more like pulled smoked pork. It was also excellent and very generously sized. The coffee was very good as well. Prices were more than reasonable for what we had.

Just had ribs, chicken, and large turkey legs brought in for Holiday lunch from Mister BBQ on North 76th in Milwaukee. Excellent smoke flavor. You can almost taste the oak in the meat. A big hit with the crew. Thumbs up.

always a good time up in Milwaukee - if a person cant find a meal and some fun up here they have issues(turds syndrome)

was glad to hit a newer BBQ spot Ive had my eye on this past weekend -

Iron Grate BBQ

smoker -



3 meats - Milwaukee rib, brisket, sausage -


liked their brisket a bit - im no expert, but this tender and properly sliced version was nice. better than any ive had in Chicago.

Also dug the sausages - as for the Milwaukee ribs- fatty and succulent, but not enough meat for me.

No alcohol, which is odd(specially for Milwaukee) - but a cool spot -

Iron Grate BBQ
4177 S. Howell
Milwaukee, WI.

Also have enjoyed Old Fasahioned's at the 5'oclock Club in Pewaukee -



been a round for a while(1929) on Lake Pawaukee - Ive also had dinner hear as well -

5'Oclock Club
N 28 Peterson Dr.
Pewaukee, WI.

http://www.the5oclockclubpewaukee.com/default.asp

A word about Grasch's Grocery in Brookfield.
Purchased by Sendick's, Grasch's is gone!
Captain John in Seafood is gone.
I haven't been in the store yet but I suspect that the Brookfield location will use the same suppliers as the other Sendick's location which means, no fresh fish, only what Sendick's calls 'Fresh Frozen', readily identifiable as the flesh has that 'slumped' look.
No soft shells when I called today and the Seafood person had no idea what Shad Roe was. Captain John would order it for me every spring.
Well things change and not always for the better!-Richard

Looking for a great dinner recommendation for Milwaukee.

Read some reviews for Morel and am intrigued. Has anyone from LTH dined here and wouldn't mind commenting?

Great choice, right up the street is Crazy Water, can't go wrong either way.

Going to be in Milwaukee Sunday morning.

Trying desperately to find a diner or pub style place for a family of 8. I really thought the Brat house would fill the bill but it just looks too cramped for a large party of people and a bit too dark looking.

Any recommendations for something German or burger centric with a nice atmosphere would be much appreciated.

I was in Wisconsin for the State Fair Friday and stayed overnight in Pewaukee. For lunch we had the Machine Shed which has a big stand at the fair serving things like Deep Fried PB&J, Chocolate covered thick bacon, and a Kripsy Kreme Cheeseburger. None of these things are available at their restaurant which is kind of hidden from the road. They like to say they make a lot of things from scratch - think Cracker Barrel on a more local level including country knick knacks for sale (but there are now 6 locations in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois). I had a very good chicken fried steak with the proper milk pepper gravy and mashed potatoes. The made in house bread was great too. My girlfriend order creamed chicken and biscuits which she thought was pretty good, but the biscuit could have been better. We shared a piece of chocolate ganache cake which was really good. I heard if you go for breakfast and tell them you love eggs, you get an extra egg free.

Machine Shed
N14 W24145 Tower Place
(I-94 & WIS 164 Exit 294)
Pewaukee, WI 53072
262-523-1322

Just thought I'd chime back in to say we ended up at Cafe Bavaria.

Excellent and would not hesitate to go again.

Anyone been to Supper? I'm heading back up in a week or two and it looks very interesting...
http://supper.restaurant/

Another great weekend in Milwaukee. Drove up Friday night after work for cocktails at my brothers and his son who recently started as a mail carried decided to join us for dinner so we headed out.

We decided to try Movida for Tapas. We started with the Burrata board ($13 |Jamon Serrano | Cantaloupe | Mache | Pickled Grape | Spanish Balsamic | Pistachio | Grilled Bread) and it was quite good, really enjoyed the pickled grapes more than I thought I would.

Moved on to the tartare ($13 |Beef Tenderloin | Shallot | Truffle Oil | Dijon | Quail Yolk | Crostini), the Patatas Bravas, and Pork Belly ($13 |Ramp Pesto | Roasted Blackberry | Quinoa | Watercress). All were very good and I was having a good time but apparently a kid in his early 20’s who’s been lugging around a mail bag all day expects something more substantial for dinner.

So after a few calls a friend of the brother turned us on to Butch’s Red Mill. Turns out...Yes!...it’s Butch of Butch’s Old Casino! This explains why the steaks, although dirt cheap, were exceptional. Make no mistake though, this is very simple food, this is not a supper club - no relish tray, really no vegetables to speak of at all…
The kid and I both had the 8 oz. filet ($14.95), bro opted for the 12 oz. strip ($18.95). All three steaks hit it out of the ballpark. The steaks come very simple with fries, Texas toast, and coleslaw – no other options. The menu is TINY and really the only thing you should be looking at are the steaks (and maybe the pork chop), but if you’re hungry it would be very tough to get more bang for your buck, especially for a very good steak (they make a decent brandy old fashioned too).

Breakfast Sunday was coffee and pastries at Rocket Baby. Local coffee from Anodyne Coffee Roasting is really great and the pastries are all superb (the cheddar and bacon croissant is my go-to).

After spending the day walking around and seeing the sights, which included an insane number of people wandering around the park playing Pokemon in what can only be described as a scene straight of a George Romero flick, and a really wonderful visit to the Shrine and walk in the woods around Holy Hill, we hit one last stop before I had to head back…

I’m not going to take back all the bad things I’ve said about Milwaukee pizza (Wells Brother’s ain’t Milwaukee after all) but I feel a lot better about it after trying Pizza Man. This is a quite respectable thin crust pizza. Very much like cracker crust Chicago tavern style. I almost don't regret not making it to McBobs, almost...

Movida
524 S. 2nd Street
Milwaukee, WI 53204

Butch's Red Mill
1005 S Elm Grove Rd
Brookfield, WI 53005

Rocket Baby
2434 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53207
6822 W. North Avenue, Wauwatosa, WI 53213

Pizza Man
2597 N. Downer Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Have you tried Zaffiro's on Farwell just north of Brady, or Ballistreri's on 68th, or Maria's at Forest Home and 51st? Three outstanding pizza joints.

A crew of 12 embarked on our first "Wing Fling" in Milwaukee. Hit in order and a brief overview.

1) Points East Pub - This is a well known wing spot. Well done on their part. One flavor only here and it is dry, meat is cooked to nice tenderness, a bit smoky and a bit hot. Tasty.
2) Camino - We had three types, Sweet, Angry, and Green. These are all wet sauced. Sweet was good, but I would have liked some heat. Angry was basic and not so angry. Green was a ground sauce of roasted jalapeno, honey, garlic, cilantro. Pretty good sauce. The meat on all three was dry. Need to re-examine the process.
3) Steny's - Had the jerk and medium wings. These are dry and very good. Meat and spices were dead on.
4) Tomkens - We got the fried versions here with one batch being their famous Buffalo Bleu, and the other the garlic parm. These are wet with very good texture and spices.

Well worth trying if you like wings.

Puckjam wrote:Have you tried Zaffiro's on Farwell just north of Brady, or Ballistreri's on 68th, or Maria's at Forest Home and 51st? Three outstanding pizza joints.

I haven't been to Ballistreri's yet, but Zaffiro's is my usual stop for pizza in Milwaukee, although I prefer Maria's quirky pizza and atmosphere. The advantage to Zaffiro's is the bar, which is why I stop there more often. Maria's is nowhere as near as crackery as Zaffiro's, which for me defines a true cracker crust. But it's a fantastic, "rustically shaped," ultra-thin pizza. No tour of Milwaukee pizza would be complete without those two.

Much-Loved Milwaukee Tearoom Prepares for Its Last Pour

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/dinin ... -ipad&_r=0