You Shall Serve No Wine With Pizza

This is Beer City, so maybe it makes sense that the past week’s dining scene was all about alcoholic refreshment. Who’s got it, who doesn’t and why.

Ian’s Pizza By the Slice

Ian’s doesn’t have it. The pizza parlor at 2035 E. North Ave. has no liquor but recently applied for a license to sell wine as a retailer, according to OnMilwaukee.com. But the East Side Business Improvement District didn’t support the idea and it is now on hold.

The Madison-based pizza chain has been operating in Milwaukee since 2009, so it’s hardly a newbie to the neighborhood. Ian’s also has a downtown location at 146 E. Juneau Ave. which also does not have a liquor license. Here’s hoping that application eventually gets the thumbs up.

Update 11:20 a.m. July 3: Andrea Rowe Richards, marketing director for the East Side BID, tells us the group has in fact taken “no formal position,” either for or against the wine license. It was actually a neighborhood residents’ group, which calls itself the North Avenue Task Force, which expressed objections to the permit.

Summerfest Beer Carts

Milwaukee hosts the annual self-appointed “World’s Largest Music Festival” and it’s in full swing right now, as you might have heard.  Maybe you’re even there right now. If so, you want to look out for new beer carts, which may allow you to avoid large tent crowds.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel there will be two Crispin American Craft Mixology carts, featuring Crispin American Craft Cider. Also a Steel Reserve cart with flavored malt drinks.

These carts will be serving other adult beverages along with a full line of beer.

Although Miller Lite is the official beer of Summerfest the options are limitless with the help of these carts and craft beers. A few of these beers are from Leinenkugel’s, Blue Moon, Lakefront and Water Street Brewery. They’ll also be serving Banrock Station and Yellow Tail wines. You know, wine, the stuff you can’t get at Ian’s.

Bass Bay Brewery

Muskego is getting a new brewery by mid-July. Ryan Oschmann has partnered with his mother, Laura,  Andy Meinen and Chef Kurt Fogle, their goal is to revive the Aud-Mar Supper Club, according to OnMilwaukee.com.

Bass Bay Brewery, S79-W15851 Aud Mar Drive is the site under renovation. Aud-Mar banquet hall is located above the brewhouse.

Oschmann is the former owner of The Eatery on Farwell. Meinen is a childhood friend of Oschmann and owns Jimmy John’s shops in Delafield and Muskego. Fogle is another friend of Oschmann and full-time MATC teacher and an executive pastry chef at SURG restaurant group.

“I want to help make sure that this style of food doesn’t fall to the wayside,” Fogle told On Milwaukee. “The idea of this kind of place, this kind of food, it’s Wisconsin. And it’s about transporting people back to that time when restaurants like this were the norm.”

Bass Bay Brewhouse will serve dinner Wednesday through Friday evenings and Sunday brunch.

They will continue to serve Friday fish fry as well as classics Aud-Mar has stood by like Oysters Rockefeller and Cod Oscar.

Renovations are expected to be completely by late August.