We had a lovely trip to Milwaukee back in 2018. Back then we enjoyed an anniversary dinner at Ardent (now sadly gone), German food at Mader’s, various treats at the Milwaukee Public Market, a fish fry at Lakefront Brewery, a kringle at Larsen Bakery, ice cream at Purple Door, and frozen custard at Kopp’s, Leon’s, and Gillies. We made a return trip this fall for a conference and focused mostly on different places, although we revisited a few.
First on the list was a return to the Milwaukee Public Market. We tried several lattes at Anodyne: the classic Honey Bee (honey and vanilla), the mocha, and a special with rose and cardamom. All were very good, not overly sweet the way many coffee drinks can be. They went well with a moist German chocolate cake (my wife’s idea of a breakfast starter) from C. Adam’s Bakery.
Desiring some local freshwater fish, we tried St. Paul’s Fish Company. We were very impressed by the fried lake perch sandwich, featuring perfectly fried fillets, lettuce, tomato, onion, and tartar sauce on a soft bun, with a bag of chips (original sea salt Great Lakes) and a pickle. Almost as good were the Buffalo walleye cheeks, which were breaded and fried, tossed in Buffalo sauce and served with a side of celery and terrific tangy blue cheese dressing.
Having had fried curds and various other things last time at West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shoppe, this time we just opted for one of their ridiculous Bloody Marys. Naturally, we went with the Milwaukeean, festooned with 5 fried cheese curds, a Bratwurst slider, a sweet and cheesy hot beef stick, mozzarella string cheese, pickle, olive, celery and (because why not?) a mini beer chaser. Surprisingly not too strong and thus manageable in the morning.
Needing a quick lunch while at the conference, Real Chili happened to be just a couple of blocks away. Despite being a bit salty, the meat chili was tasty and had good kick. It went nicely over the (very overcooked) spaghetti noodles and beans.
For a moderately-priced group dinner with colleagues, I picked Lakefront Brewery for their Friday night fish fry. We had quite enjoyed this last time and our only disappointment this time was that they were out of walleye. The cod was perfectly fried - just-done fish that was moist and flakey, with a crisp and not very oily batter. We had ordered a family pack that came with fine fried curds, good potato pancakes with applesauce, decent fries, creamy coleslaw, and OK chocolate chunk cookies for dessert. To supplement this, we ordered a lovely pretzel with mustard and cheese sauce and some kielbassa with mac ‘n’ cheese. I washed this down with their great Fruit Wagon and then a pumpkin IPA.
For another breakfast, we tried Story Hill BKC, which was conveniently close to where we were staying. We were very pleased with their breakfast-brunch menu that was a bit more elevated, while maintaining a very casual and relaxed setting.
Their Quark and Bread featured toasted bread, buried under Clock Shadow Quark, a housemade jam that mainly tasted of strawberries, local honey, and spice-roasted nuts. Sweet and fun.
The Mushroom & Spinach Waffle appealed because of the savoury take on this dish. It did not disappoint. The waffle was made from a mix of wild mushroom and spinach and served with poached eggs, mushroom duxelles, roasted broccolini, feta, truffle oil, smoked shallot marmalade, and a small green salad (100 Acre Greens). Excellent combo, with the truffle flavour distinctly coming through.
Pipp Pipp Cassoulet Confit featured Rohan duck leg stew, Great Northern beans, pork sausage, smoked ham, buttered herb panko, Sunny Pipp Farms duck egg, parsley, more of that delicious toast, and the same side salad. Rich, delcious, with some sage notes coming through.
When they found out it was our anniversary, they gave us a lovely cinnamon bun to go.
We met a friend for dinner at Birch. The feel of the place was casual and a bit noisy. The food was very enjoyable, with lots of emphasis on what was in-season (early fall at the time) and local producers. Our server was friendly, helpful, and unobtrusive. We ordered a bottle of Verduno Pelaverga, DOCG Gian Luca Colombo, 2024 - tasted of earth and cranberries.
We started with deeply flavoured orange and yellow tomatoes, over birch yoghurt, with some sweet peach chunks and other fresh herbs - really allowed the quality of the produce to shine.
Also wonderful was sugar cube melon (similar to cantaloupe), with lemon cucumber, slices of pickled pepper, with some kind of yellow sauce, and huacatay (Peruvian chili and black mint sauce) - gentle contrast of the sweet melon and more neutral cucumber, with flavour hits from the other components.
The garlic focaccia is also a must - huge pieces of crispy, salty, oiled bread made from Rye Revival rye and served with This Morning’s Ricotta and sweet roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers.
The ravioli were filled with creamy eggplant and bathed in an excellent and straightforward sauce of Sungold tomatoes and fresh basil.
We ordered two items from their wood-fired menu. A slow-roasted pork chop, moist and tender on the inside, crusty on the outside, came with a tangy charred tomatillo sauce and a salad-ish mix of avocado squash, Jimmy Nardello peppers, plums, peaches, pickled onions, and mint.
Their “Contramar-Inspired Fish” was rainbow trout this time, just done and served with a mild cucumber salsa, charred jalapeño aioli, many herbs (cilantro, dill, parsley, shiso), and blue corn tortillas.
All three desserts were great:
- Buttermilk-soaked buckwheat cake, with plum and coriander ganache, and a somewhat savoury-tasting meringue.
- Chocolate financier featured a tangy goat cheese mousse, topped with salted sunflower granola.
- Corn husk semifreddo came with sweet peach pieces and maple crumble.
Our other fancy dinner was at Sanford, a quieter, cushier, white-tablecloth space. Everyone else there also seemed to be celebrating their anniversary. We weren’t able to book the 7-course tasting menu, so we created our own by ordering 8 dishes and splitting all of them. The food was generally excellent, with a few minor execution missteps. Their pairings were great and often really interesting. Because we ordered à la carte, they gave us very small pairings with each dish. The servers provided little detail on the dishes and less on the pairings, even when asked questions, so our notes are less comprehensive than they could be.
Our table was set with long rosemary breadsticks that had a good kick from black pepper. They started us with a lovely amuse of pickled wax bean, cured black olive, candied orange peel, mint oil and hazelnut. We also had a warm wheat sourdough bun, served with butter.
Char-grilled and sweet Stanley plums came with fennel, candied orange, pine nuts, deliciously creamy sheep cheese from Hidden Springs, and burnt orange gastrique. It was paired with Avinyó Cava Brut Reserva, 60% Macabeo, 25% Xarel-lo, 15% Parellada, Penedes, Catalonia, Spain, 2022 - lovely peach notes to go with the plums in the dish..
Caraway-dusted heirloom carrots were just a bit too salty, which is too bad because the accompanying smoked trout custard, Scarlet apple slices, toasted caraway vinaigrette, and baby dills were all great. This was paired with Crazy Alive “amber wine” from Tevza, made with Chinuri grapes, Kartli, Georgia, 2022 - gorgeously smooth, sherry-like.
Next up was a chilled green almond and tomatillo bread soup, with pickled sweet peppers and creme fraiche - nicely blended flavours with a gentle kick. This came with the more intriguing pairing of the evening: a Chenin Blanc from Sula Vineyards, Nashik, India, 2024. The nose was of sweaty armpits and mushrooms, but it had a very light and fruity taste, maybe apple and apricot.
Moist molasses-glazed quail came with kohlrabi chunks, scalded chicory, a delicious blueberry-tamarind barbeque sauce, cilantro, arugula, and sesame seeds - neat combo of sweet and bitter. This came with a 2022 Solis Malbec from Cosse et Maisonneuve, Cabors, France - all wet leaves and mud, with peppered cherries and a bit of green pepper.
Smokey and perfectly done swordfish came with a masa dumpling stuffed with more delicious swordfish, avocado squash (chunks and purée), corn, sweet pickled habanada peppers, and pumpkin seeds. This came with Ball Buster Shiraz from Tait Family Winery, Barossa Valley, Australia, 2021 - tanniny, but lots of chocolate and espresso.
Beautifully cooked elk loin came with slices of tasty elk sausage, grilled endive, maple mascarpone polenta sauce, tart cherry reduction - the tartness of the cherries, sweetness of the maple, and the bitterness from the endive worked well with the richness of the meat. It was paired with a 2022 Husch Carbernet Sauvignon from Mendocino, California, which had nice black fruits but tannins that were a bit too angular for our liking.
Shifting to dessert, we had a wonderful black tea cake (moist on the inside and crisp on the outside) with citrus marmalade, poached figs, and burnt lemon ice cream. This was paired with Moscatel Dorado, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Bodegas César Florido, Chipiona, Spain, which had echoing citrus notes.
Tart cherry clafoutis (more like a butter tart than a clafoutis) came with tangy cherry ice cream and gastrique. It came with Lustau East India Solera Cream sherry, Jerez - lots of candied and dried fruits.
We finished with a few cookies:
- Shortbread
- Dark chocolate pistachio biscotti - more shortbread-like, but still delicious.
- Caramel cashew, like brittle but not nearly as sweet.
For our one chance at cocktails, we slipped over to Bryant’s Cocktail Bar mid-afternoon, as we understood it to be Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail bar. The decor was wonderfully old-school. We had to try the iconic Pink Squirrel, one of their ice cream drinks made with vanilla ice cream, white crème de cacao, and crème de noyaux (a reddish, almond-flavored liqueur made from stone fruit pits), garnished with whipped cream, and a cherry. Basically a boozy milkshake and lots of fun. We wanted another historical drink and our bartender suggested Frisco. This was created in 1942 and includes cherry-orange bitters and bourbon (the recipe is a secret) - more on the sweet side, which is apparently consistent with the period but not as much to our tastes.
We resampled the frozen custard at Kopp’s, Leon’s, and Gillies. We still can’t decide which ones we prefer.
