The Diplomat: A Star on Brady Street

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It was a perfect fall evening in Milwaukee and I was meeting an old friend for dinner. We chose The Diplomat at 815 E Brady Street because of all that we’ve read about it and because we had both only been there for drinks in pre-Covid times. 

We were eating considerably early for two people under 40 on a Thursday night, but we certainly weren’t the only ones there. Frankly, I love eating an early dinner these days and am unapologetic about it. And, for a popular spot like The Diplomat, it helps to dine early so you don’t have to wait during primetime. 

I’d studied the menu for years and heard the hype about the cheeseburger and whole chicken, so one of those needed to be on the table. The “Knife and Fork Chicken” has bacon roasted tomato beans, ranch and radish salad, mustard roasted Yukon gold potatoes and a biscuit with honey butter. Since it was a whole chicken, it was meant to be shared between two-three people. And since it was just the two of us, we weren’t ready for the commitment. Next time! Before deciding on what was next, we agreed on roasted beet salad with ricotta labneh, golden raisins, and everything spice. We figured this would satisfy our healthy dish requirements in case we went overboard with the entrees.

We went with The Diplomac—a prime beef burger with tomato, lettuce, American cheese, “1000 Island” dressing, pickles and red onion with a side of fries. Let’s just say it lives up to its stellar reviews. My one warning is not to share this dish with someone else to avoid the mess of splitting it and you’re going to want it all to yourself. Then, to get our chicken fix without the whole shebang, we ordered the chicken leg confit which came with roasted garlic puree, grilled market vegetables and demi sec tomatoes. It certainly did the trick.

At the end of our meal and while we were finishing our bottle of rose and catching up on each other’s lives, Chef Dane Baldwin came out to greet us and to thank us for coming in for dinner. Meeting the chef is always the cherry on top of a wonderfully delicious meal. If you’ve been meaning to go here, it’s time to go. If you’re already a fan, you know what’s up and I don’t need to be the one to tell you that The Diplomat lives up to its great reputation.