Cream City Chow

Sardine- Madison WI

2006-08-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sardine
617 Williamson Ave
Madison WI 53703
608-441-1600
by Foie Gras

It's true, it is good! It opened in July and it's still packed by 6 p.m. This restaurant is from the geniuses that brought you Marigold Kitchen! If you like rustic yet contemporary French decor, this is for you. The bar overlooks the lake and there is outdoor seating. The bar area is HUGE! In fact, the entire restaurant is very large! They have used the windows to really bring light into the room. The tables are dark wood and no table linen( you will see more of this trend- hot right now on the west coast).

Service is very casual and the mood of the room is lively. The menu is your placemat- you have been warned. The server station is in the middle of the room (this is where they cut the table bread) and the kitchen is off to the side. Kudos on the white tile for the kitchen area! Water comes in carafes that look like flower vases, but I really liked the water glasses. Don't come looking for an extensive wine list. This is not the place for that. The focus is on the food- and it's very affordable!

The menu is well thought out and there is something for everyone! Madisonians must love oysters right now, this is another restaurant with daily oyster selections. The appetizers looked appealing. The mussels looked perfect and they do have sardines for an appetizer selection. We selected the Chevre Crostini. It was wonderful, not to filling, but a perfect starter course. I wanted to try the warm duck confit salad, but my date had to be somewhere.

I had the Steak Frites. The dish was cooked perfectly and the frites (french fries) were perfect. Horseradish Mustard sauce-who knew it could be so good? I also selected the broccoli rabe for a side. The onions were a bit much on them, but it was still tasty. My date had the Seared Skatewing with fingerling potatoes and a light sauce. If you ever wanted to try skatewing, this is the place to go.

We did not stick around for dessert, but we will return again! If you are going to Madison, call on Tuesdays after 1 p.m. to get a reservation. It will be a few months before you can "walk-in" to dine!

p.s. They have brunch on Sundays!
photos to be added later. blogspot.com is having issues as I post!

OJ's Midtown Restaurant

2006-06-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

by the Pu Pu Platters

OJ's Midtown Restaurant
128 West Main Street
Gillett, WI 54124
920-855-6395

Are you looking for some true Wisconsin cuisine? Are you driving to exotic destinations like Mountain, Wisconsin? Do you want some cheap eats? Do you like homemade pie??? If the answer to any of these questions is, “yes,” you need to plan a stop on Main Street in Gillett, Wisconsin and have a meal at OJ’s Midtown Restaurant.

We accidentally stumbled upon OJ’s because one of our team has an eye for signs that say “Pies.” OJ’s not only has a sign that says, “Pies,” but it says “Voted Best Pies in the State.” This “vote,” as far as we can tell, was granted by Wisconsin Trails Magazine. As dubiously undemocratic as that “vote” may sound, we have tirelessly tried to find better pies in the state, and have yet to see reason to overturn the “vote.” The pies are homemade and magnificent. Anybody can make decent pie filling, but only a true artist can make good pie crust. The crusts at OJ’s are light and flaky with good flavor. There are usually 5-10 flavors of pie available at any time, and also other desserts like shortcakes and ice cream sundaes. Our favorite is the Dutch Apple, which contains a delicious apple filling sandwiched between the flaky pastry crust below and a sweet crumbly crust on top. Other pie flavors we have had are rhubarb, blueberry, pecan, chocolate cream, lemon meringue, and apple. Flavors change all the time. A slice of pie costs under $2. A whole pie “to go” costs around $12. There are also pies of the month, which are even better bargains.

Come for the pies, but enjoy the rest of the food and service too. You can get a great meal at OJ’s for $3-10. Their menu includes burgers, club sandwiches, dinner platters, salads, and pizza. On a recent visit, we tried a mushroom swiss burger with onion rings. The burger was fantastic and juicy, served on a hefty, flavorful bun with generous portions of mushrooms in sauce. The onion rings were tasty (but not fantastic) and graciously served with some Newman’s Own blue cheese dressing at no extra charge.

The service and atmosphere at OJ’s is great. The servers are all welcoming and helpful. The clientele ranges from retired guys in feedcaps nursing cups of coffee and reading the paper, to families with kids on their way to/from swimming, to grimy tourists like us.

In summary: OJ’s has great service, great food, and fantastic pies. Meals for two plus a pie to go costs under $25. You can’t go wrong!!! (OK, you can only go wrong if you try to go on Sunday when they are closed).

blog note: photos are by Cham Cham. There are two more photos but blogspot is having some issues right now.

Custom House, Chicago, IL

2006-05-25T00:09:00.000-07:00

by Foie Gras

Custom House
500 S Dearborn
Chicago IL (312) 523-0200

What a new surprise in Chicago! Custom House offers New American cooking with a focus on artisinal meats... locally raised foods such as lamb, organic chicken, and grass-fed beef- a sheer delight. Yes, dear readers, I brought out the camera phone!
The bar decor was flawless.Very simplistic, but impressive! Lots of windows (it's on the corner-perfect city life views) and very airy. The bar area has several flat screen televisions showcasing video art. Great wine selection and the signature cocktails are unforgettable. The Custom House (muddled ginger, vodka, Calvados, Moscato d’asti) is the best drink I've had all year.

The main dining room has several window tables and a raised booth area. there was one table off to the east of the dining room that was a curved booth with it's back facing the dining room and it looked out to the street. It looked like the table to be seated at! When we sat down, a simple piece of silver sculpture was placed in the middle of the table. Very cool. Every table had one and we thought this was a great design addition to the room. You can see the rush of the kitchen by peering through the glass part of the river rock wall.

The dinner! Let me just say that the presentation of each dish was completely stunning. Just when I thought they could not top off the last dish presentation, they did something even better. Our server, Jim, did a wonderful job of explaining the dishes and the concept of the menu. He was extremely helpful with suggesting wines when we requested. Started off with a beef tartare with sourdough croutons and poached egg. This was the best tartare I've EVER had. Everything was mixed perfectly and seasoned to perfection. My guests has the Maine Crab with Cesar/Charred Pimento and Parmesan crisp. Our second courses were the Wild Watercress with port vinaigrette, hazelnuts and what tasted like it was slightly toasted, ricotta cheese. My other guest had the Organic Bibb Lettuce with black currants, Fuji apples and goat cheese. She said it was "pure perfection". For our main courses, one guest had the Gunthorp Farm Organinc Chicken with baby fennel, herbs, braised greens and hazelnuts. This was presented in it's own cast iron pot on bone white china with an additional plate for eating/placing of bones. The aroma of the dish was comforting. Another guest had the NY strip (which was the special) with huge, flavorful onion rings. It came with a Bernaise sauce in which the server poured it on the steak when they presented it at the table. Very classy! I had the Prime Bone In Rib Eye that came with a red onion tarte tatin. I'vee had prime here in Milwaukee and have not been impressed. Let me just say that this was what I EXPECTED in prime meat. My first bite brought a slight tear to my eye. They even cut the bone off the meat and presented it to the side of the dish. Speaking of sides, we had the Gratin with Sheep's milk cheese, fingerling that were truffle-roasted (extreme bliss!) and the English peas with fennel and herbs (which I will attempt to make one day). Our desserts were Mascarpone Panna Cotta Carrot cake, Bittersweet Chocolate Pave and Bananas and Cream Graham cake. Pastry Chef Elissa Narow is definitely another chef to watch. They were wonderful , not overpowering desserts. Throughout the dinner, each staff member was attentive to our every need and were really energetic and friendly. The tableware was clean-lined and simple. My favorite detail was the napkin being used when water was poured and the silver container for your water at the table. I'm running out ofadjectivess so I'll wrap this up. You need to get down to this place for lunch(yes!, they serve that too!) or dinner before it gains popularity( like Charlie Trotters, Alinea or Tru), you'll never get in if that happens!
BTW: The Chef/Owner, ShawnMcClain was just named the 2006 James Beard Best Chef of the Midwest (he signed my menu too, sigh!).

The Grand Ole Creamery, St. Paul MN

2006-05-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

By the Pupu Platters

The Grand Ole Creamery, St. Paul MN
750 Grand Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55105
(651) 665-0094

Nestled amongst the yuppie-filled shoppes along St. Paul’s Grand Avenue stands a true St. Paul treasure, The Grand Ole Creamery. The Grand Ole Creamery, a classic ice cream shop, has been a landmark along Grand Avenue for over 25 years, and a destination point for 1/2 of team Pupu Platters for almost that long. While the business has expanded and the prices at the Creamery have increased over those years, the most important aspect has not changed… the ice cream! Yes, all you frozen custard lovers of Milwaukee, your neighbor state to the west is still in love with ice cream. And nobody does it better than the Grand Ole Creamery.
When you walk in, the shop smells great because they make their own waffle cones. The ice cream flavors constantly change with approximately 30 flavors on scoop at all times. For our latest adventure this weekend, we each had a “single split.” The single split is one of the best deals at the Creamery. There are two “half-scoops” of different flavors for a little bit more $ than a single cone and a little bit less $ than a double cone, pricing around $3 with tax. But the ice cream quantity in the single split is rarely much less than a double cone at other establishments. For today’s flavors, we had 1) apple pie and cookie dough single split and 2) Mexican chocolate praline and Irish cream single split. The apple pie, true to its name, had chunks of cooked apple with a cinnamon kick. The cookie dough was a nice creamy vanilla base with chunks of cookie dough in it. The Irish cream was sweetly refreshing. The Mexican chocolate praline had layers of flavor with rich chocolate and cinnamon melding well with the pralines. Other favorite flavors at the Creamery (some of which may be available on any particular visit) include eggnog, cinnamon, chocolate peanut butter, Black Hills Gold (containing gold nuggets), and green tea. If you can’t decide on a flavor, the staff is always willing to let you try a taster, and service is always done with a smile. How they find high school students who are that pleasant is a mystery.
So if you make your way to the capital city of the Gopher State, make sure to schedule a trip to the Grand Ole Creamery. All of the flavors at the Creamery are grand. Don’t limit yourself to just one. Mmmm mmmm….. good ice cream!

Bangkok House

2006-05-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

By Pupu Platters

Bangkok House
4698 S. Whitnall Ave. (Whitnall Square Shopping Center)
St. Francis, WI 53235
Phone: (414) 482-9838

You Fashionable East-siders may not think that one of the best meals around can be had at a strip mall in St. Francis, but that is where we trendsetters in the SE corridor can help you out. Many Milwaukee publications claim that the best Thai food in town is downtown, but we have eaten at those establishments and find our strip-mall store-front Thai spot to beat the competition, hands down. Bangkok House is located in the same strip-mall as a Pick-n-Save, dollar store, tobacco shop, and other fine St. Francis businesses, but as you enter the restaurant and are greeted by the gracious owner of Bangkok House, the strip-mall flavors melt away.
We have found that many Thai restaurants in the area douse their droopy meats and vegetables with heavy, sticky sauces and cap off the meal with a fortune cookie. In comparison, Bangkok House stays truer to the Thai way with fresh ingredients, sharp flavors, and crisp textures (plus no “Chinese” fortune cookie, thank you). We have been to Bangkok House at least thirty times over the past two years and can’t think of a single bad meal.
Bangkok’s menu is extensive with many vegetarian options. While everything that we have tried has been good, we tend to order a few favorites most often. For an appetizer, you must try the Yum Woon Sen, which true to billing on the menu is a “must for noodle lovers.” It has the lovable noodles, cooked ground pork, shrimp, peanuts, onion, chili peppers, and a clear sweet and spicy sauce. We also enjoy the fresh spring rolls, larb (beef, spiced with chili, lime juice, mint leaves and onions, served with tender cabbage), and Tom Yum Goong (hot and sour soup with shrimp and straw mushrooms, specially seasoned with lime juice, lemon grass and hot pepper). They have many refreshing soups, and you can order them in a hotpot that comes to your table. It would serve two for a meal and four for an appetizer. For entrées, our favorites are 1) sweet basil with squid and 2) panang curry with chicken. The squid is always well cooked, not rubbery. It makes for a healthy dish accompanied by peppers, onions, and of course lots of the Thai basil, tossed with a garlic chili sauce. The panang curry has tenderly cooked meat, bold flavorful curry sauce, and an assortment of vegetables including carrots and peppers. While not shy to a little bit of heat, in most cases, we like to order the heat level at medium to enjoy the chilis, but still be able to finish our meals. The “medium” at Bangkok House is higher than many “mediums” in the Midwest, but the levels vary a bit. Once you go to Bangkok House more than twice, the staff starts knowing you and makes the food and drinks to your taste.
Bangkok House has a full bar, and when the usual bartender works, the drinks will be served up tasty and potent. One of our team usually orders a Patpong Scorpion, one of their “specialty drinks” which comes in a fun tikki glass (we never said the place was completely authentic old world Thai!). The other team Pupu member usually gets a Singha beer. There are many other specialty drinks, beers, and a fairly extensive wine list.
In the interest of being hard-ass reporters, we tried to think of some negative aspects of Bangkok House. The only two minor points we could come up with were 1) the music is fairly annoying, bordering on kitschy and amusing (kind of a Thai Musak with tweeting birds sometimes thrown in!) and 2) while the restaurant is smoke-free, the bar isn’t and the occasional (very infrequent) smoker at the bar can be detected throughout the restaurant. But obviously, those are both minor points. We love the Bangkok House. It is a family-run restaurant with great food and pleasant service. The entrees are more than reasonably priced, our bill is easily half that of what you might spend at one of those downtown Thai places. Give them some of your business! We hope to see you there- we’ll be the noodle lovers drinking the Patpong Scporpion and the Singha beer.

Palomino

2006-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

by Foie Gras

Palomino
2491 S Superior St, Milwaukee - (414) 747-1007. From the bartenders to the servers and chefs, this is a great place. If you like your food comfort style and don't mind the smoke (oh, yeah, LOTS of smoke), you have to go. There is a wonderfully decorated bar as well. The bloody marys do not disappoint. Be sure to get them during Packer season- it's called a "bloody mess" and they are the BEST! They have some other great drinks too, but I'm stuck on the 'marys and bottles of Pabst.

The menu is packed with great dishes. They have a nightly special (go on Sunday nights- the fried chicken reminds me of my southern roots) and many vegan dishes. Clam strips were added this winter and they are the best I've had in the Midwest so far. There are an amazing amount of sides and sauces to choose from. The only sad note is that they deleted the Jack Daniels Cheese sauce- that was my favorite.

Today was Mother's day (less smoking than normal today...hmmmm) and there were a few hipsters who had their mommies in tow. We had the steak benedict with haystack onion rings & remoulade sauce and a breakfast burritto with rice & Cajun cream sauce. Everything was hot and cooked to perfection. They have a small kitchen and it is amazing to see how much food they churn out during each visit. Bravo!

Our server was a complete delight. She even called me "hon", which scored major points with the hubby. Some of the servers are on the Milwaukee Rollerderby team, which makes two men I know all squirrelly when we dine there. The decor is divey with a little C&W meets Hipster for good measure. The jukebox, forgive the pun, rocks and they have a pool table. In the spring and summer, they have outdoor dining. It is a perfect view, in Bayview.

p.s. I'm a loser, the pic was lifted from Mr. Mario Martin. I forgot to take a photo with my camera phone. Blame it on the bloodies.

Madison, WI: Roman Candle

2006-05-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

By Foie Gras
orginally printed on my other blog Jan. 2006

Before the show at High Noon Saloon, we went to the Roman Candle for pizza. What a great place! The design reminds me of the 70's. Lots of browns, blues, oranges and yellows. Tons of wood. They have gelato, pizza, pizza by the slice, salads and pasta. Everything as REALLY affordable! The pizzas are thin crusted and very crunchy. My pizza reminded me of true east coast pizza. All the diners seemed to be having a wonderful dinner as well.

Wine comes in tall juice glasses, beers in frosty mugs. Since I was the driver, I had a grapefruit Izzy. Yummers! They do have Lake Louie and Capital Brewery beers on tap. Waitstaff was nice, a little surpised by please & thank yous by customers. Music was mostly reggae/dub (which was very good). They had copies of Mojo for those waiting in take out! If you are in Madison, you just have to go! I have spoken!

Cubanitas

2006-04-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

By The Pupu Platters
Cubanitas 728 N. Milwaukee Street
This was not the first time The Pupu Platters had dined at Cubanitas. It is a regular spot for our going out plans. They have the best mojitos in town. “What is a mojito?” you ask. It is a lovely combination of fresh lime juice, fresh mint and rum. There are other ingredients, but after rum, does it matter what they are? Cubanitas is a popular place on a Friday or Saturday night. Be prepared to wait (note: they don’t take reservations). When we got there at about 7:30 the wait was an hour minimum. We don’t mind waiting for a good dinner & drink.
They have a great service at Cubanitas: you can put your name on the waiting list and they will call your cell phone when your table is ready. We took the offer. We wandered in and around downtown. When we were called we were told our table would be ready in 5 minutes. We were seated at one of three two-tops in the front window. Our waiter asked if we wanted the famed plantain chips and guacamole. Our answer was a resounding “YES” (we love this appetizer!). A few minutes later we were informed that they were temporarily out of guacamole. How can a restaurant run out of its signature appetizer during peak dinner rush? The upside was that we decided to try the empanadas. We sampled the Picadillo con Queso (lean ground beef and cheese) and the Pollo. Both were very good, but the favorite was the pollo, chicken with olives and raisins. We also tried the Ceviche del Dia, which that night was composed of shrimp, scallops, green and red peppers and mango served with the plantain chips. Boy, was it good. The entrée’s were Bistec, the standard Cuban steak served with sautéed onions, rice and black beans, and Sandwich Cubano, which, as the name blatantly expresses, is Cubanita’s version of the Cuban sandwich. Both were standard Cuban fare, simple, yet elegant, and very tasty. I ordered a second mojito and, strangely, our waiter served it to the gentleman at the table next to me. He seemed surprised to get a drink he didn’t order. His wife and I exchanged humored glances as it was re-served to me. It tasted the same no matter who it was served to first. All in all it was another great meal and evening at Cubanitas. If you haven’t been there, you should. Overall rating 4 out of 5.

Pleasant Valley Inn

2006-04-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

By Foie Gras
This was originally blogged in Dec. 2005.
Went out to dine at the Pleasant Valley Inn last Friday. This was another classic "blink in the 'hood" Milwaukee eateries. The cars in the lot screamed supper club and it is tucked away over on 99th and Dakota. Lots of wood paneling, family photos and floral curtains. Did I just see a fire place? The bar looked inviting. They had a neat wine list, very unexpected for this place. What a great secret! Condunrum was consumed like it was going out of style with me. My date consumed Founders Ales. They have a huge selection of single malt whiskeys too. That was pretty cool. Anyway, started off with the Spinach Artichoke dip with thin crackers. The dip was good, but it should have came with bread. Speaking of bread, the bread basket was one of the best. It contained cheese bread (warm cheese in the middle *moan*), fresh loaf bread and mini muffins that were divine. I could have just had baskets of bread for dinner! The seafood bisque was ok- maybe it needed to be thicker? My crispy duck entree was very good. They managed to make sure it was not greasy- a must with duck. Travelin Man had the special- halibut, which was done to perfection. Both of our entrees came with rice and broccoli. We decided to check out the Tiramsu. It was served in a margarita glass. It was good, but the presentation was questionable. They even had a great selection of dessert wines! All this was very affordable!

We're gonna do it!

2006-04-23T00:43:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome! Here we are! Welcome to a new blog devoted to informing the masses about eating and drinking in Milwaukee! We will review some out of town places occasionally. Enjoy!