Photo by Sandy Reitman
Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen Exterior
Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen in Walker's Point
Walker’s Point has added another banger to its list of restaurants. This time, with Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen at 704 S. Second Street, where The Noble once was. It features Japanese home cooking—comfort food you might not know already.
Chef and owner Janet Boettner works alongside her husband Marc Boettner and brother Michael O’Boyle to bring Japanese kitchen cooking to the Milwaukee food scene. How did she come up with the concept? Her father was based in Okinawa in the 1970s, where he met their mother. Janet and her three brothers were raised in Okinawa until they moved to the United States. As a teenager, she returned to Okinawa, and it has been on her mind ever since. While Milwaukee has plenty of sushi and teriyaki, it was missing what she’s now cooking.
Walking into the space, it’s reminiscent of the Japanese street style most of us only experience on Instagram. It’s cozy and inviting, with a few tables downstairs and a newly redone upstairs with a bar (perfect for private parties). It looks like they also have a lot of potential for outdoor space once the weather finally warms up. Like many Milwaukee restaurants, you’re in an old home that only adds to the appeal of the food served.
Japanese Street Food
Photo by Sandy Reitman
Chicken Katsu Sando at Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen
The chicken katsu sando at Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen
My friend Newby joined me again, who rarely hasn’t been somewhere around town before I have. So, we were both excited to see what the buzz was about. We started with the Goma-Ae (Japanese spinach salad with sesame dressing), Miso soup and a variety of pickled vegetables – perfect palate cleansers. We opted to split the Chicken Katsu Sando (prepared on Japanese milk bread, topped with a cabbage salad slathered with your choice of a zingy tonkatsu sauce or a zesty yoshoku sauce … or both), which comes with a side of Japanese Street Fries (crispy fries mixed with our specially made umami seasoning and topped with sriracha mayo, okonomi sauce and Kewpie mayo) and the Pork Curry Rice (tender pieces of pork, carrots, potatoes and onions cooked in our rich, savory curry sauce. Served with rice and Japanese pickles). This was the perfect split for two people having a workday lunch.
Looking around, we saw some dishes we wished we had more room to try, like the Tamaga Sando (Japanese-style egg salad on Japanese milk bread) and the Omelette Rice (Known as “Omurice” in Japan, this classic dish consists of tangy tomato-based chicken fried rice wrapped in a thin omelet). I could devoir anything on that delicious milk bread! Alas, they will have to wait until the next meal … and there certainly will be one.
Chef Janet sat down with us after eating to talk about the concept and how she got here. We discussed how Millennials like us are genuinely obsessed with Japanese culture and can’t get enough of its food. It felt like we were guests in Janet’s at-home kitchen on an otherwise dreary Hump Day, cozying up to Japanese comfort food that will surely become another go-to on my list.
