New restaurant openings slowed down around the New Year, but the ones that did open recently are notable. A new snack bar concept comes to busy Second Street, soul food is served up out of the back of a grocery store and traditional Sichuan food comes to West Allis.
Snack Boys
814 S. Second St.
414-509-5975
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A Toronto-style snack bar has opened in the space that formerly housed All Purpose Bar & Kitchen. Snack Boys is an irreverent, fun-loving restaurant serving up a menu of snacks at all hours of the day. It’s headed up by a powerhouse group of Milwaukee restaurant and bar owners: Mitch Ciohon of Gypsy Taco, John Revord of Boone & Crockett and Shay Linkus formerly of The Vanguard. The centerpiece of the remodeled space is a mural of a naked Burt Reynolds reclining on a bearskin rug, showing customers immediately that this is a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The menu will consist of around a dozen small snacks that will allow diners to order a couple or many to make a full meal. Options might include noodle soufflé, fried brussels sprouts, and items like fresh oysters from a small raw bar. A full bar will include draft cocktails, stir drinks, a wine menu with a focus on rosé and a frozen alcoholic slushie complete with sparkles.
Shake N’ Bake American Soul Kitchen
3432 W. Silver Spring Drive
414-323-4900
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A new Southern food spot has opened in the Thurston Woods neighborhood. Shake N’ Bake is a takeout-only restaurant located inside Hibo Foods on Silver Spring Drive. Owners Danicha Brown and Vishalla Davis learned to cook from family members and had hoped to open their own restaurant for years. The daily menu features Soul food and American favorites. Appetizers include mozzarella sticks ($4.99), cheese fries ($4.99) and whole chicken wings ($2.99 for 3 pieces to $38.99 for 50 pieces). Catfish ($10.99) and porkchop dinners ($8.99), burgers ($2.99-$3.49), and breakfast items like chicken and waffles ($4.99) are available. On Sunday, a Soul food buffet is offered with a rotating menu of items like smothered pork chops, collard greens and yams for $10.99, including one meat, two sides and cornbread.
Sze Chuan
11102 W. National Ave.
414-885-0856
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A new Chinese restaurant has opened in West Allis. Chefs and owners of Sze Chuan, Sun Yin and Luo Shungui, are both from Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China. The full-service restaurant joins a strip mall that also houses a Chinese grocer and bakery, making it a destination for Chinese in the city. The menu is large and spans from Chinese-American favorites like crab rangoon ($5.95 for 6 pieces) to more traditional dishes like map tofu with ground pork ($10.95). Dry pot and stone pot dishes, which encompass stews and stir fries, include duck wing dry pot ($13.95) and squid dry pot ($15.95). Cumin pork knuckle ($13.95) and fish in chili bean sauce ($23.95) can be found on the Sichuan special section of the menu. Hot pots with spicy or herb broth are available a la carte ($8-$10 for the broth) or as an all-you-can-eat option ($23.95). A full menu of meats such as homemade beef meatballs, seafood and vegetables can be ordered to cook in the boiling broth at the table. The flavor of the broth changes throughout the meal as diners add more items.
Closings
While openings slowed down around the New Year, many restaurants unfortunately closed. Hello Falafel in Bay View has closed but may pop up in the future in another form. The location will be used by the owners, who also own Odd Duck, as an event space. Quiote, a Mexican restaurant on Bluemound has closed, as well as Peking House Downtown. John’s Sandwich Shop in Wauwatosa is closed after 50-plus years in business. Izumi’s on the East Side also closed and will be replaced by a second Kanpai location early this year.
