More Pizza for East Side

Old timers will remember when the Oriental Pharmacy was located on the corner of Ivanhoe and Farwell, just north of the Oriental Theater. Younger folks may remember the Twisted Fork, which lasted there a couple years. The newest occupant, Replay Sports Bar, is going to close, workers there disclosed, and Urban Milwaukee has learned a new pizza franchise operation is poised to move there. Rosati’s pizza, the Chicago-based chain that owns close to 200 locations in 17 states, says it plans to open a new place at this location, 2238 N. Farwell Ave., in Spring 2015, and it will be called Rosati’s Pizza Sports Pub.

Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s, told Urban Milwaukee the national franchising operation did have one location for some years on Milwaukee’s South Side on Oklahoma Ave., but it closed six or seven years ago. Rosati’s does have locations in Franklin, Fox Point and Brookfield, but this would mark the chain’s return to the city.

Rosati’s, Topliff notes, was started in 1964 by an Italian-American family with ten brothers and sisters and serves pasta, calzones, wings and sandwiches, but the big draw is five kinds of pizza, including classic Chicago deep dish and crispy thin-crust versions. “Most people prefer the thin crust in Chicago,” she says. Interesting. Thin crust has always been the most popular style in Milwaukee. Next, the Bears and Packers fans will be breaking bread together.

-As we reported last week, the new English pub and restaurant, the Red Lion, has purchased the Trocadero bar and restaurant. Red Lion’s owners and now will run the two places on this stretch of Water Street or “Tannery Row,” as they have dubbed it. Milwaukee Magazine reports that the new owners will retain Trocadero’s “French casual” menu and “Come summer… will host a European car rally featuring British and French autos.”

-A month ago, we reported that Ale Asylum Riverhouse is replacing the former Molly Cool’s Seafood Tavern at 1110 N. Old World 3rd St. It opens today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, with a menu offering sandwiches, salads, burgers and some main dishes, such as beer-steamed mussels or macaroni and cheese, at prices ranging from around $9 to $14.

Regular hours will be 3 p.m. to midnight or later Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. until bar time Friday, 10 a.m. to bar time Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. The kitchen will offer the full menu until 10 p.m. nightly and a late-night menu until 1 a.m. Thursday to Saturday. Call (414) 269-8700.

-Back in September, Restaurateur Charnjit Bolla, former partner of the East Side Indian restaurant Maharajah, announced he would be opening India Garden in Wauwatosa at 2930 N. 117th. The place opened Friday, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, and features a wide range of dishes from northern and southern India, including all those great Indian breads (naan, paratha, kulcha and roti) and even a pizza naan, and various curry (including goat curry), biryani and tandoori (including lobster tandoori) dishes. You can find their complete menu on their Facebook page.

India Garden offers a buffet lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily ($9.95 Monday to Friday, $11.95 Saturday and Sunday). Dinner is served 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

-As we reported in September, Chef Michael Feker, owner of Il Mito East on Milwaukee’s lower East Side (which recently closed) and Il Mito Enoteca in Tosa, plans to expand to Hartland with a restaurant called Zesti to be located at 130 E. Capitol Dr., Suite 300. The restaurant is easing into operation this week, the Journal Sentinel reports, and will have its grand opening January 17.

Zesti will serve also serve thin-crust pizza, mixing Italian (pastas) and Middle Eastern (lamb, eggplant) fare, much like the Il Meto restaurants. More information can be found at its Facebook page.

Zesti will be open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday for lunch, 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 5 to 11 Saturday and 5 to 9 Sunday for dinner, with brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Call (262) 367-3333.

-Finally, a new burger joint, the Crafty Cow, opened on December 12 in Oconomowoc, at 153 E. Wisconsin Ave., as the Journal Sentinel has reported. Journalists will want to know that the owner Devin Eichler is a former magazine editor. The place has 91 seats, five large TVs, 16 tap beers, 10 “Jucy Lucy”-style burgers, four kinds of sausages, various sandwiches and “home-cut” fries. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. You’ll find the complete menu here.