INdustri Cafe

With high ceilings, a richly stained wood interior and exposed brick walls adorned with artwork and quirky chalkboard displays, the atmosphere of  INdustri Café is warm and inviting.

Local hospitality veterans Robert Klemm and Chris Miller opened the restaurant in January to provide Milwaukee with a “shelter from the ordinary,” the concept being to provide a high-end dining experience in a casual atmosphere without a lot of pomp and circumstance. A unique American- style menu echoes that sentiment with complex and interesting dishes utilizing as many local ingredients as possible. The menu is updated seasonally to accommodate the changing variety of locally-available produce.

I stopped in on a hot and humid June evening to check out their new summer offerings.

INdustri Café hosts happy hour Monday through Friday from 2-6 p.m. and offers $2 off all beer, wine, cocktails and appetizers. To start, my party and I ordered a round of drinks to cool off: the 75, Cool as a Cucumber, and a New Glarus Moon Man Pale Ale.

Industri’s 75 ($10) is made with Rehorst gin, Blood Orange bitters, lemon juice, simple syrup and prosecco. The flavor is crisp and tart – perfect for a hot summer day.

The Cool as a Cucumber ($10) is cucumber-infused Rehorst vodka, cucumber juice, lime juice, ginger puree and simple syrups served on the rocks. The taste was certainly refreshing, but slightly more sweet than I would expect. The cucumber flavor was nice, but also a bit overwhelming.

New Glarus’ Moon Man ($5) is one of my new favorite summer beers. Not too bitter, but with a strong aroma of citrus. It would definitely go over great at a backyard cook out.

For appetizers, we ordered the Cucumber Sliders ($7.50) and the Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups ($8.95).

The sliders were tasty, with thinly sliced cucumbers, field greens, dill crème fraiche, and pickled red onions on toasted marble rye. The tart red onion was nicely balanced by the salty marble rye and creamy crème fraiche. The field greens rounded out the flavor profile with an earthy touch.

The lettuce cups were presented as a large mound of homemade pulled chicken salad with almonds, golden raisins and celery served with Belgian endive to scoop it up. The chicken salad had great flavor that offered perfect contrast between sweet and savory, crunchy and soft. I only wish they would have given us more endive cups — we ran out halfway through our chicken salad.

For entrées, we ordered the special, the INdustri Cheesesteak ($13.95), along with Roasted Airline Chicken Breast ($15.29), and the Blackened Duck Breast ($15.95).

The cheesesteak was served open-faced on wheat toast with sauteed mushrooms, onions and poblano peppers, topped with a poblano demi-glace and served with hearty fries.

The steak was moist and flavorful with a savory meat gravy, while the onions and peppers were still crisp and the cheese over the top was beautifully melted and creamy. The rustic wheat toast stood up well to the very juicy steak and added a bit of texture contrast. The fries were crisp on the outside and light on the inside, just as they should be.

The Roasted Airline Chicken Breast is a semi-boneless, skin-on chicken breast served with rice pilaf, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, capers, almond slivers, fragrant gremolada and extra virgin olive oil. The chicken was tender and tasty, but the skin could have been crispier. The vegetables were bright and fresh, accented by the tartness of the capers and the crunch of the almonds. The rice pilaf was simple, but just right – with all of the different flavors in this particular dish, the simple starch was a good choice.

The Blackened Duck Breast was served skin-on, prepared medium-rare and thinly sliced. On the side were polenta-bacon griddlecakes, sautéed garlic rainbow chard and a fig-balsamic reduction.

The duck breast was cooked well and the seasoning on the skin was delicious, although some of the skin pieces were too fatty for my taste. The griddlecake was my favorite part of the meal — crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside with smoky bacon flavor in every bite. The sautéed chard was wilted to a nice softness on the leaves while maintaining a satisfying crunch in the ribs. The fig and balsamic reduction added a just the right bit of sweetness.

This was not my first visit to INdustri, and my only complaint has ever been in regard to service. On this particular evening, our server was attentive, but there were issues with menu mistakes and additional charges to our bill, which is something I’ve experienced on other visits.

These things are easily fixed, but important nonetheless, as poor service can misrepresent the quality experience the owners are trying to offer. Overall, INdustri Café is a great spot to sip crafted cocktails, and I would definitely recommend sampling their ever-changing and impressive menu.

Industri is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, and offer brunch and dinner on weekends. Reservations are accepted, with the exception of Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday brunch.

INdustri Café
524 S. 2nd St.
(414) 224 -7777
Hours: Lunch/brunch 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Sun-Mon)
Dinner: 4-10 p.m. (Sun-Wed); 4-11 p.m. (Thurs); 4-1 a.m. (Fri & Sat)
www.industricafe.com

All major credit cards accepted