Photo via The Starling
The Starling
Illinois-based Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria will open its fifth Milwaukee area location in Oak Creek, at 8171 S. Howell Ave., Suite 300, near Drexel Town Square. The restaurant specializes in Chicago deep dish-style pizza and currently has a full-service restaurant in Brookfield, along with carryout and delivery stores in Fox Point, Greenfield and Waukesha.
The Starling pier garden will open by Aug. 1 at 102 N. Water St., along Milwaukee’s Riverwalk. The Starling will offer a limited food menu with charcuterie boards from Tall Guy and a Grill catering, and wood-fired pizzas by Flour Girl & Flame. The full bar will have craft cocktails, local beer and a wine selection. The Starling is the newest venue concept from Two Birds Event Group.
Mae Velma’s Corned Beef is adding a second location at 7276 N. Teutonia Ave. Like its original drive-thru stand, the new spot will be mostly carryout, but it will also have counter service with eight seats for those that want to eat in. The new space is expected to open Aug. 1 with a menu of corned beef, Rueben sandwiches, fried catfish and chicken wings.
Henry Flach's, steakhouse (9140 W. National Ave., West Allis) opened in the former Butch’s Pub & Eatery. Called a “a blue-collar steakhouse” by owner John Roots, the restaurant features steaks cooked in cast iron skillets, along with chicken, pork and salmon entrées. Roots also co-owns and operates Natty Oaks Pub and Eatery, also in West Allis.
New Menus and Accolades
Proof Pizza
Proof Pizza is the first restaurant to fully open associated with Saint Kate, the new arts hotel by Marcus Hotels & Resorts.
Giggly, inside Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel, is now offering Bubbles + Brunch each Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The exclusive brunch menu has buffet options and dishes such as eggs, avocado toast and the Greek Yogurt Bowl.
Also at Saint Kate, Proof Pizza has a new, expanded menu featuring Bianca pizzas with white sauce. Varieties include Artichoke & Chicken, Prosciutto & Mozzarella or build your own. In addition, there are more antipasti selections such as warm marinated olives, honey-giardiniera chicken wings and provoleta.
Odd Duck restaurant has settled into its new space and will resume events such as an inaugural Harvest Mushroom Dinner on Thursday, Sept. 29, and the popular Halloween Feast on Monday, Oct. 31. Both dinners will be multi-course meals with paired beverages.
Move over, beer—Milwaukee continues to earn acclaim in the wine world. Bacchus, Carnevor, Lake Park Bistro and Story Hill BKC recently earned the Wine Spectator Best Award of Excellence, which honors restaurants with wine lists of 350 or more selections that excel in vintage depth or a superior range in one or more wine regions.
Sixteen other Milwaukee area restaurants also earned the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Ash (inside Iron Horse Hotel), Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails, Eddie Martini’s, Harbor House, i.d., Jake’s, Johnny Manhattan’s, Lago Su Bella, Mason Street Grill, Mr. B’s, A Bartolotta Steakhouse (Brookfield and Mequon), Palmer’s Steakhouse, Ristorante Bartolotta, Sanford, The Capital Grille and Ward’s House of Prime. This award recognizes diverse wine lists that are well-presented and thematically pair with the restaurant's cuisine. Several other restaurants throughout Wisconsin also earned the accolade.
The Wisconsin State Fair will this year offer more than 80 new food options. Fairgoers can try the Chicken Bacon Ranch Waffle Stick or Gummy Bear Brats. The Food Finder app lets you search for food and beverage items at Wisconsin State Fair; the tool is available on WiStateFair.com. In addition, the Sporkies Food Competition takes place before the Fair on Aug. 2.
Closings
Photo by Sandy Reitman
Fool's Errand
Fool's Errand restaurant (316 N. Milwaukee St.) in the Third Ward will close July 31. Owners Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite, who also operate Dandan Chinese American restaurant, and the tasting menu restaurant EsterEv, cited a slowdown in business and competition from summer festivals and activities as reason for closing. The Dans opened Fool's Errand in March 2021in the space that formerly housed Fauntleroy, their French restaurant that closed early in the pandemic.
Riverwest Co-op Grocery and Cafe announced July 11 that the cafe portion of the business is closed for the foreseeable future. “We’re sad to announce that the cafe at the Riverwest Co-op is closing today after 18 years of serving our neighbors and the greater Milwaukee area,” said Grocery Coordinator Nick Baran in a press release. “We want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the cafe over the years, especially in the last few months. Unfortunately, after looking hard at the numbers, the board of directors determined it was impossible to continue regular cafe service.”
The grocery store remains open for now but its future is uncertain. Sales at the grocery store and at the cafe have lagged since the start of the pandemic and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Bay View restaurant Palomino (2491 S. Superior St.) is taking a pause until next year due to staffing shortages, per a statement on the website. Palomino is owned by Valeri Lucks’ PIE Inc., which also operates Honeypie, Smallpie, Comet and the Honeypie Bakeshop. Those all remain open. Private events and dinner parties at Palomino will continue as planned.
