More Poke for East Side

Volcano Poke. Photo from Fusion Poke’s Facebook Page.

The 25-year-old Ristorante Bartolotta, one of Milwaukee’s venerable Italian restaurants, reopens today with a new-look dining room and a new kitchen. The restaurant, at 7616 W. State St. in Wauwatosa, was the first of the Bartolotta restaurants to open, and has since spawned an empire of restaurants owned by brothers Joe and Paul Bartolotta.

Carol Deptolla of the Journal Sentinel reported on the reopening, noting that Chef Juan Urbieta plans to will add more regional Italian dishes to the menu soon and offering details on the remodeling:

In the dining room, customers will see new tile, upholstery, lights and wallpaper, as well as new linens, plates and servers’ uniforms. The bathrooms were remodeled, partly to be more accessible for patrons with disabilities.

New “Campsite” in Third Ward

Camp Bar owners Paul and Natalia Hackbarth have begun plans for a new bar called Campsite 131. The bar will be located at 131 N. Jackson St. near their Camp Bar Third Ward location.

The plans are to make the spin-off location a bit more refined. The space is only 2,000 square feet and they are hoping to focus on wine and craft beer, but at the same time keeping a laid-back feeling.

OnMilwaukee’s Lori Fredrich offers a bit more detail:

Campsite 131 will also feature a slightly different menu of offerings, expanding from Camp’s selection of cocktails, beer and tap wine to include a curated selection of bottled wine and craft beer.

More Poke for the East Side

Poke spots seem to be popping up more often in Milwaukee and the Chicago-based restaurant Fusion Poke took notice. They have opened their second location on the East side at 1813 E. Kenilworth Pl. They opened on June 27th but will hold a grand opening on July 7th with 30 percent off all items.

Those include custom poke bowls, ramen and rolled ice cream. The casual eatery will have customers pay at the counter and wait for their number to be called.

Fredrich describes the menu’s many options:

…there are six signature bowls, available in two sizes for $9.59 and $12.59. Among the more unique offerings is the Tako Poke featuring octopus, edamame, cucumber, pickled ginger, pickled daikon, avocado, masago, seaweed salad, furikake, crunchy tempura and yuzu sauce.

Not in the mood for poke? Ramen comes in three varieties: tonkotsu, miso, shio and shoyu ($11.99 each).

Desserts include Thai rolled ice cream in a variety of flavors like strawberry, Oreo, mango, banana, wild berry, kiwi, s’mores and matcha ($5.75). Meanwhile, Taiwanese style shaved ice is available in flavors like matcha, taro, strawberry, mango, black sesame, milk tea, red bean, key lime pie, coconut and lychee ($5.75).

The restaurant will be open daily from 10:00 am to 10:00 p.m.

New Event Space in Walker’s Point

The Ivy House will open soon at 904 S. Barclay St. in Walker’s Point. The large open space will be available for weddings and events of any sort. The patio, called The Fernweh, will also be available to rent and open for the public to enjoy cocktails, sports or the pedal tavern. The building was formerly known as The Point and The Sangria bar. The space has been transformed from a dark nightclub to a bright and open room with lots of natural light.

OnMilwaukee’s Molly Snyder got a sneak peek:

They transformed it from a black-walled, dark nightclub with a massive disco ball hanging from the ceiling to a lush space with lots of plants, natural light and repurposed wood.

The exterior of the building is, aptly, painted a natural green. The massive attached patio, called Fernweh (pronounced “fernway,” which means “wanderlust” in German), is in the final stages of construction.

New Additions for Festa Italiana

Festa Italiana will take place on July 20th, 21st and 22nd at the Henry Maier Festival Park, the same location as Summerfest. The event will include showcases of Italian culture, Italian entertainers and lots of delicious Italian food. This year the festival has brought in plenty of new options to enjoy, according to a news release. Those will include:

• Albanese’s Road House will offer Italian sausage sandwiches, meatball sandwiches, deep fried gnocci, and spaghetti and meatball mozzarella sticks!
• Bartolotta Restaurant Group is serving up a brand-new menu of fresh Italian fare, including prosciutto and melon, caprese salad, fried polenta mushroom ragù, fried polenta and marinara, mussels marinara, cheese tortelloni with marinara and a porchetta sandwich;
• Dorsia will offer antipasti options of bruschetta and garlic cheese bread; it will also feature a variety of paninis, including meatball, chicken pesto, chicken parmesan and caprese.
• Trattoria Di Carlo will present the Pinsa – a new type of pizza crust featuring different topping combinations such as margherita, roasted eggplant, Italian sausage and chocolate Pinsa topped with warm Wisconsin caramel apples; and
• Vivere will offer Italian-style surf and turf special items, including calamari, crab cake, chicken Portofino, chicken cacciatore, baked lasagna and steak sandwiches.

To buy tickets or find out more information, visit the Festa Italiana website here.