New Mexican-Italian Place For East Side

Planned location for Tauro Cocina, a Mexican-Italian Fusion Restaurant. 1758 N. Water St. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Yet another fusion restaurant is being planned for Milwaukee’s East Side, as the former DiModa Pizza & Hotspot will soon become Tauro Cocina, a new family-owned restaurant specializing in Mexican and Italian cuisine. The restaurant is aiming to open by late March or early April. Husband-and-wi

fe team Alberto and Ahide Valdepena acquired the building for $985,000, as Urban Milwaukee reported. Alberto Valdepeña has built a career working in Milwaukee-area restaurants over the past 26 years, as Maredithe Meyer reports: 

Valdepeña is a native of Mexico but gained most of his culinary experience cooking Italian food. After starting as a young bus boy in California, Valdepeña, moved to Milwaukee where he began cooking. He got a job in 2000 at Italian restaurant Louise’s, working at its downtown Milwaukee and Brookfield locations until both restaurants closed in 2018. Currently, he oversees the kitchen staff at Water Street Brewery in Oak Creek….

On the menu, diners will find dishes such as cilantro risotto with spicy grilled shrimp, cheese boards with manchego, panela and meats like jamon Serrano, spanish chorizos and prosciutto. With a focus on tequilas and mezcal, cocktails will include palomas, margaritas, and sangrias, among others.

The restaurant seats 99 people, with outdoor seating for an additional 28. The Valdepeñas plan to update the space with new paint, art and furniture while preserving as much of the original architecture as possible.

Dead Bird Brewing Now Serving Plant-Based Brunch

Milwaukee’s only plant-based brewery has expanded its vegan offerings — now offering a plant-based brunch on Sundays. The brewery’s first brunch run occurred on January 16, and sold out in less than two hours. Eventually, the brunch menu and the hours that those menu items will be available will expand, but for now, Dead Bird Brewing Co.’s brunch is available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lori Fredrich reports: 

On that menu, you’ll find a host of brunchworthy items, including  a classic breakfast sandwich featuring a house biscuit topped with Just Egg, guajillo pepper aioli, pickled onions, greens and tomato ($9; add sausage for +$2); along with the already famed Rae’s Chicky & A Biscuit featuring a house biscuit with Just Egg, maple chicky, beer cheese and onion jam ($10; add sausage for +$2).

But guests can also dig into plates of housemade chilaquiles topped with salsa verde and Just egg ($12); house biscuits covered in mushroom gravy ($10) or a wet burrito stuffed with all the goods, from roasted potatoes and Cuban black beans to Just egg, onions and tomato and doused in salsa verde ($14).… there are also plenty of drinks to be enjoyed, from clever boozy concoctions including a wine-based bloody mary ($10), a refreshing beermosa made with Gotdambier ($7) or seasonal mimosa ($8) to a Cold Fashioned with Cappelletti and Pilcrow cold brew ($9).

Experimental Coffee Shop Comes to Crossroads Collective

A new coffee shop billing itself as a “liquid workshop” will bring its experimental coffee drinks to East Side food hall Crossroads Collective. Discourse, which operated as a pop-up in Door County and has roots in Sister Bay, will be making the move to Milwaukee on February 5, and operate daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The coffee pop-up will fill the vacant stall left behind by Mina, a European street food concept. Jeramey Jannene reports:

The initial menu calls for eight offerings that, according to a press release, “range from imaginative takes on coffee shop staples such as caramel and vanilla lattes, to completely novel, culinary-inspired experiences like Crenn, an exploding sphere filled with an assortment of coffees, teas, and juices.”

Those “craft” offerings will rotate quarterly. A series of “art” drinks will rotate monthly and have an emphasis on seasonable, sustainable ingredients. Discourse will also sell chocolate, biscotti and packaged coffee.

“Art series offerings will be the culmination of everything I’ve learned in my career as a drink maker, and feature wild ingredients, wild preparations, and wild ideas,” said (owner Ryan) Castelaz. “Our drinks strive to incorporate a balance of all five tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami,  as opposed to just the two most commonly associated with the coffee experience – sweet and bitter.”

Now Closing: Egg & Flour Pasta Bar in Tosa 

After just under a year of operation, the Egg & Flour Pasta Bar inside of Wauwatosa’s Metcalfe’s Market is slated to shut down operations in February. Egg & Flour’s Bay View and Crossroad Collective locations will remain open. Evan Casey reports: 

Chef-owner Adam Pawlak cited the coronavirus pandemic, inflation, and staffing shortages as the reasons for the closure. Egg & Flour isn’t alone in dealing with these issues. 

“It didn’t work for us and it’s okay,” Pawlak said, adding that he can now focus on the other two restaurants along with more private events and catering opportunities. 

Pawlak said another store in Wauwatosa might be in the cards sometime down the road.