Baking Classes Return to Honeypie
Plus: Four new restaurants. And small-format grocery will serve Brewery District residents.
Honeypie’s Bourbon Walnut Pecan pie. Photo courtesy of Sarah Poliak.
After an extended pie-atus, baking classes will return to Honeypie Bakeshop, offering aspiring confectioners the chance to create perfectly flaky pie crust, fluffy buttermilk biscuits, Instagram-worthy piping techniques and more under the watchful eye of the Honeypie baking team.
Upcoming classes include the Holiday Pie Workshop, scheduled for Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. and Biscuits Y’all, with two sessions set for Jan. 14 and Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. A social media post from Honeypie indicated that additional dates will be added in early 2023.
Classes will take place at Honeypie Bakeshop, 2491 S. Superior St., adjacent to Palomino.
Tickets, $65 each, are available for purchase online, and include ingredients, Honeypie recipes learned in the class, the finished baked treats and a drink ticket for the bar.
Not a baker? Honeypie still has you covered. Specialty pies, cookies and breads are available for pre-order and pickup between Dec. 22 and 24. Current pie offerings, according to the Honeypie website, include French Silk, Banana Hazelnut Cream, Eggnog Cream, Mint Chocolate Cream, Key Lime, Bourbon Walnut Pecan, Apple Brown Butter Crumb, Door County Cherry Crumb and Vegan Cherry Crumb.
Pies, priced between $36 to $40, are freshly made from scratch with locally sourced dairy, eggs, fruits and other ingredients.
Pies and other treats can be ordered online.
Go Grocer Adding Second Milwaukee Location
Go Grocer MKE, a small-format grocery chain, is planning to expand its Milwaukee footprint with a new location in The Brewery District. It would join a soon-to-open store in the Historic Third Ward.
“We want to become a household name for Milwaukee,” said co-owner Johnny Rivera in an interview. “We definitely want to pick out the spots that feel like they’ve kind of been pushed aside, that don’t have the daily necessities.”
The latest store would occupy a 2,430-square-foot retail space at Vigor Apartments, 926 W. Juneau Ave. Rivera said the hope is to open within the next six months.
Go Grocer aims to strike a balance between a high-end grocery and convenience store feel, offering the top 40 staple items as well as local brands and specialty items.
New Barbershop Will Serve Beers and Pedicures For Men
A new business in East Town is putting the “man” in manicure, with plans to pair men’s grooming services with a sports bar atmosphere, creating a judgment-free space for patrons to attend to their self-care needs.
Mancave Milwaukee, a grooming bar, would open at 706 N. Milwaukee St., next to Indulge wine bar.
Behind the concept is Jeffrey “Jay T” Taylor, whose goal is to provide a gathering place for men that evokes the feel of a classic man cave — complete with alcoholic beverages and entertainment, while partaking in grooming services such as haircuts, shaves, brow care, manicures and pedicures.
Taylor has long dreamed of opening a barber shop, he said, adding that he hopes to change the culture of men’s grooming and comfortability with self-care.
City Closes Mitchell Street Restaurant
Milwaukee Unified Soul, a soul food restaurant in the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood, is closed.
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously on Dec. 13 against license renewal for the establishment based on a second non-appearance for owner Andrell Howard.
The restaurant opened at 837 W. Historic Mitchell St. during the first half of 2021. Howard legally operated the restaurant until the following summer, when the food dealer license expired. Three months later, on Sept. 22, Howard filed an application for renewal.
The proposal for renewal was met with opposition from neighbors, as well as a report from the Milwaukee Police Department that could form the basis for nonrenewal, according to Common Council documents.
Comet Cafe Makes Happy Return
In 2019 I wrote a glowing review of the Comet Cafe. Because I live nearby, I was a regular at this neighborhood café on Farwell Avenue. Three years later, following their two-year closure, I returned to see what had stayed the same, and what, if anything had changed.
The two-year hiatus was unfortunate. There were issues in addition to the pandemic related closing and if you want to dig further into all this, look up Graham Kilmer’s article for Urban Milwaukee in August 2020. Meanwhile, when it comes it food, Comet had set the bar really high for a neighborhood joint that featured classic comfort food. What hasn’t changed are the lack of fussy food, the humongous portions, and yes, their tasty retro dishes.
You know you’re in a diner as soon as you step inside and the mouth-watering old-fashioned pie display hits you in the face. You can’t miss the line of stools straight out of the 40s in the front room, the vintage booths in the adjoining room, and the neon sign “the club is open” over the bar. This is the kind of full-on nostalgia where you know you will find Grandma’s meatloaf on the menu.
The menu is streamlined from the past. That could be due to those annoying supply issues, however, I’m happy to report Meatloaf with Beer Gravy and the extraordinary Compact Turkey Dinner made the cut. They still serve the meatloaf with a steak knife, a necessary tool when you need to slice through the bacon, the meatloaf, the mashed potatoes and the buttery salted rye. The bacon-wrapped meat was crisp on the bottom as if it had been sauteed and the beer gravy still tasted like grandma’s gravy with an additional hint of a dark brew.
Ninja Steakhouse Approaches Opening Date
A long-awaited sushi-hibachi restaurant is making progress towards opening in the East Town neighborhood.
The restaurant, Ninja MKE Japanese Steakhouse, was first proposed in 2019 when owner Li Chai Chen purchased the building with plans to renovate it and open a restaurant by June 2020.
Though the pandemic put those plans on hold, the restaurant is now in its final stages of preparation, with plans to open in late December or early January.
East Town’s Ninja MKE, 770 N. Milwaukee St., would be the third location for Chen, who also owns Ninja restaurants in West Bend and Menomonee Falls.
New Cafe Slated for Brady Street
When Marcia Joy‘s son was young, she used to drop him off at Tamarack Waldorf School on Brady Street, then walk a few blocks down the street to grab a coffee at Brewed Cafe. Five years have passed since then, and her son attends a different school, but Joy can still be found frequenting the little cafe — this time, as the owner.
The accomplished pastry chef, chocolatier and force behind the Sweet Joy Brigadeiro business is planning to open Sweet Joy Brazilian Cafe in the space, 1208 E. Brady St., bringing Brazilian sweets and baked goods, as well as smoothies and coffee to the Lower East Side neighborhood.
“To see that today, I’m the owner here, it’s like a dream come true,” she said.
A native of Brazil, Joy spent her 20s in Germany, where she developed a love of chocolate making while helping out in a friend’s shop.
New Mexican Restaurant For Walker’s Point
Fast-casual lunch options in Walker’s Point have dwindled within the previous months, as both Soup Bros and Boo Boo’s sandwich shop departed from their neighborhood locales.
La Chinampa, a new restaurant slated for the former Boo Boo’s space, 405 S. 2nd St., would begin to remedy that, bringing an additional Mexican option to the area as well as a small fleet of food trucks.
Behind the upcoming restaurant is chef and owner Oscar Vega-Aguilar, who first opened La Chinampa in Greenfield. Following the end of his lease, the chef and owner decided to relocate his business, along with his two food trucks, to Milwaukee.
La Chinampa is expected to open in early 2023, according to a license application.
J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard Coming To American Family Field
American Family Field is about to welcome a new “Brew Crew,” as the Milwaukee Brewers prepare for the March opening of J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard.
The new brewery, bar and restaurant is the result of a partnership between the Brewers and The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, a division of Molson Coors.
Representatives from both organizations hosted a press conference Monday afternoon to unveil plans for the upcoming brewpub. Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations, said the concept seemed like an obvious choice, given the team’s “long-standing relationship” with the 155-year-old brewing company.
“We are thrilled to reveal J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard at American Family Field, with our valued partners at Molson Coors,” he said. “We have worked closely to redesign the space and experience for our fans. What could be better than enjoying a beverage crafted right here at American Family Field and sampling an amazing menu of food options? The Barrel Yard will be a must-stop for fans on game day and also a popular non-game day destination.”
Bars & Recreation Announces NYE Events
Ready or not, 2023 is nearly here. Three Milwaukee bars are pulling out all the stops for the occasion, offering interactive entertainment and New Year’s-themed festivities leading up to the big countdown.
Start the new year on the right note, while hitting a high note, at Amped private suite karaoke bar. New Year’s Eve bookings will be among the first visitors to the newly-opened business, which is located at 910 W. Juneau Ave., in The Brewery District. Reservations for 2.5 hour sessions include microphones and props, as well as food and drink delivered to the suite. A standard suite costs $199 and holds up to 12 people, while a premiere suite is $299 for up to 20 people. Premiere suites are larger and feature outward-facing windows, as well as access to exclusive catering and beverage packages.
The cutting-edge festivities continue with AXE MKE, an East Side axe-throwing bar. Starting at 10 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.
Reservations for up to eight guests include 2.5 hours of throwing time, confetti balloons, hats and noisemakers and a bottle of Korbel Brut sparkling wine for $199. All instruction and equipment is included. AXE MKE is located at 1924 E. Kenilworth Pl.
Troublemakers’ Cocina Opens at Central Waters
Just in time for holiday mischief, Troublemakers’ Cocina hosted its grand opening at Central Waters Brewing Co. on Friday, Dec. 16.
The fast-growing Mexican concept has progressed from pop-up to private caterer over the past two years, and recently made its brick-and-mortar debut at The Brewery District brewery, 1037 W. Juneau Ave.
Though owners Martin Magaña, Arnie Gonzales and Dillon Knight were a seemingly overnight success, the business, in reality, is the culmination of several decades of combined industry experience.
Magaña’s career has spanned both Madison and Milwaukee, where he worked at a diverse range of restaurants alongside award-winning chefs while developing his own unique culinary style. Magaña was previously executive chef at Tess and co-owner of Frida at Crossroads Collective.
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