Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
84th Classic Café, (1650 S. 84th St., West Allis) opened in March in the former Johnny V’s space. The café features an expansive breakfast menu of Belgian waffles, French toast, pancakes, crepes, scramblers and creative skillet meals such as Irish skillet with corned beef and green peppers. Dinner options include cabbage rolls, beef stir fry, salads and ribs. Bread, cake, pies and eclairs are baked fresh daily.
Jazz musician Sam Ed Belton opened Sam’s Place Jazz Café at 3338 N. Martin Luther King Drive. The café serves coffee and coffee drinks made from Abyssinnia, Belton’s own micro coffee roasting company. Breakfast options include egg dishes, chicken and waffles, omelets and pastries. For lunch, look for SAMiches including paninis and wraps, along with salads and soups. There’s a Friday fish fry and a Saturday night dinner menu. Belton and other musicians regularly perform live jazz.
The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that the Restaurant to Be Named Later, inside American Family Field, reopens May 3. Executive Chef Adam Miller’s culinary creations include the Double Play Burger, a double stack angus beef and Johnsonville Brat patty, served up with Havarti cheese, ale mustard and cherry compote on a brioche bun. Fans can enjoy sharable appetizers like Korean Cauliflower and Crispy Fried Brussels Sprouts. The Restaurant to Be Named Later is open on game days and non-game days.
Also this season, the Brewers are partnering with EatStreet to finalize a program where restaurant operators in the Milwaukee-area would make items from a ballpark-inspired menu and EatStreet would deliver. More info to come as those operators are finalized.
The former Birch + Butcher (459 E. Pleasant St.) will reopen in June as Birch, a partnership among New York City Chef Kyle Knall, Birch + Butcher founder Becca Zwiefelhofer and wine merchant Ben Christiansen. Birch will feature a menu that celebrates Wisconsin ingredients. A large, renovated bar will serve cocktails based on seasonal ingredients and an extensive wine list curated by Christiansen.
Pat’s Ribs will open a second location this summer in the Milwaukee Public Market. Look for signature smoked barbecue ribs, chicken wings, beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked pastrami, sauces and sides such as cornbread, smoked baked beans and potato salad. Pat’s meats are smoked daily and often served with homemade sauces, which will also be sold by the jar.
Destination Kohler announced the launch of a weekend brunch at Taverne at Woodlake. Led by new head chef Thomas Hauck, the elevated comfort food restaurant offers Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Playful takes on brunch staples include beet and horseradish cured smoked salmon and potato pancakes, served with dill sour cream, or blueberry pancakes topped with ginger mascarpone, candied lemon and blueberry syrup.
Beer garden season is approaching, and our favorite watering holes throughout the Milwaukee County Parks are either open already or will open soon. Look for a new beer garden this year at Bayshore shopping center: The Tap opens May 12 and promises a lively beer garden experience featuring 36 craft beers from local and regional brewers, as well as a variety of wines and hard seltzers. The Tap will be operated by veteran tavern owner Nick Marking.
Two new beer gardens, also to be operated by Marking, are on deck for underused sites in Milwaukee and Waukesha.
F Street Hospitality, owner of the Brewery District’s restaurant Glass and Griddle, and venue space Venue42, will be rebranding both spaces and combining them under the name Bottle House 42. Look for a new food menu featuring signature dishes such as a Tito’s Vodka and Milwaukee Brewing’s Golden Lager battered fish fry, ranch seasoned cheese curd and a diverse beer list with 42 options.
Closures:
Tenuta’s To Go, the takeout arm of the popular Tenuta’s Italian Restaurant in Bay View, closed March 28. Tenuta’s Italian Restaurant is still open.
The Soup Market will close its location at the Milwaukee Public Market at the end of June. The Soup Market’s other locations will stay open.
Milwaukee bar and restaurant entrepreneur Mike Eitel will not reopen The Tavern at Turner Hall (1040 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave), which has been closed since last March. The Milwaukee Turners state on their website that they are looking for a new group to fill the space in the near future.
Kudos to . . .
Milwaukee’s own La Pavia Beverage, LLC, better known as Top Note Tonic beverage mixers, for their recent success in the Spirits Business 2021 Global Spirits Masters blind tasting competition. Top Note earned gold in the Ginger Beer and Bitter Lemon categories. Top Note’s Indian Tonic Water won silver in the Tonic Water- Other category.
