A shiny, new beer hall has opened in Downtown Milwaukee, just in time for foot traffic from the shiny, new Fiserv Forum. The East Side gets a new chicken wing spot and a massive arcade bar, while Wauwatosa gets a new breakfast spot. Plus, a West Allis restaurant is giving back to the community through charity.
Glass + Griddle
Photo Credit: Nick Kudrys
1130 N. Ninth St.
414-988-1551
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A new beer hall-style restaurant has opened in a former Pabst Brewery distribution center next to the new Milwaukee Brewing space. Glass + Griddle is an expansive, bright space that includes an outdoor beer garden. Both executive chef Kyle Toner and chef de cuisine Dan Pope worked at the recently closed Wolf Peach. The menu focuses on snacks, sandwiches and burgers and incorporates byproducts from the brewery next door whenever possible. Brewery granola ($3), for instance, uses spent beer grain along with nuts and dried cranberries. Pretzel pierogi ($10) are stuffed with either brat or cheese curds; disco fries ($11) are topped with Italian beef. Falafel ($10), Italian roast pork with broccoli rabe, and a G + G fancy burger ($12) with beer cheese round out the sandwiches. Besides MKE Brewing beer, there are also cocktails, sparkling Rishi iced tea and kombucha on tap.
Good Land Wing Co.
facebook.com/GoodLandWingCo
2911 N. Oakland Ave.
414-563-7174
A new chicken wing restaurant has opened in the former Cold Stone Creamery space on Oakland Avenue. The way Good Land Wing Co. plans to stand out in a sea of wing competitors is with a cooking process that involves no frying. All wings and sides are baked, and, indeed the restaurant’s tagline is “no fryers allowed.” Wings are available in bone-in, boneless and naked boneless, which is essentially a chicken breast. Sides include white cheddar mac and cheese, waffle fries and onion rings. Skillets, like a tater tot version topped with boneless chicken, and salads and wraps like the bourbon fire chicken with sriracha bourbon wing sauce, bacon and pineapple are also available.
Public Table
facebook.com/PublicTable1
5835 W. National Ave.
414-488-2948
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A new pub located in a former storefront has opened in West Allis. Public Table is named after the restaurant’s main, communal table, which, along with the bar and other tables, is made from cypress reclaimed from brewery’s mash. The food menu is small and changes often based on what’s fresh and in season. Salads, sandwiches, flat breads and sliders make regular appearances. A Wisconsin cheese and cured meat board ($15) is designed for sharing, while an open-face flank steak sandwich ($14) with garlic aioli is meant for a single diner. Flat breads come with ingredients like roasted brie and mushroom ($12) or three cheese and tomato ($9). Braised pork belly tacos ($7.50) are topped with red cabbage slaw and sweet corn relish. Local beers, cold brew coffee, kombucha and cocktails are all on tap. According to the menu, each meal served results in a donation being made to Wisconsin’s Hunger Task Force.
MidTown Grill
facebook.com/MTGTOSA
8913 W. North Ave.
414-837-6400
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A breakfast-and-lunch spot has opened in the former John’s Sandwich Shop in Wauwatosa. MidTown Grill is owned by Mike Topolovich, who also owns popular nearby North Avenue Grill. The space will be familiar to many customers. It has a dining counter and a row of booths in a very similar layout to the North Ave Grill before it expanded. The menu focuses on breakfast, including crème brûlée French toast ($9) with macerated berries and crème anglaise, Southern turkey sliders ($9) with deep-fried turkey, over-easy eggs and cranberry sage relish on biscuits and a chorizo and avocado skillet ($11). For lunch, there’s an ahi tuna salad ($12), burgers ($9+), and a yard bird sandwich ($11) with fried chicken, Korean sweet chili gochujang and pickles. For dessert, try a milkshake ($6) like the s’mores made with graham crackers, chocolate sauce and marshmallow whip.
Up-Down Milwaukee
Photo Credit: Betsy Rudicil
615 E. Brady St.
414-585-0880
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A new arcade bar and pizza joint has opened in the former Comedy Cafe space on Brady Street. This is the fourth location for Up-Down, with the other locations in Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, Mo., and Minneapolis. The arcade bar concept plays on nostalgia with more than 60 arcade games, plus skee-ball, pinball machines and patio games on the expansive double patio. A simple menu of pizza is sold by the slice ($4-$5) or whole ($20-$25) and includes options like mac and cheese with bacon, Mona Lisa, vegetarian with spinach and artichokes and Philly beef. A few salads ($6) are also available. There are two bars (one on each floor) that serve almost 60 tap beers.
