Dia Bom Opens For Takeout in Harbor District

Latin-Asian fusion restaurant is up and running, with big plans for 2024.

By Sophie Bolich - Oct 25th, 2023 01:57 pm

Ramsés Alvaréz. Photo courtesy of Dia Bom Latin Asian Fusion restaurant.

With more than two decades of experience in the Milwaukee restaurant industry, Ramsés Alvaréz has all the ingredients for culinary success. The technique is there, along with immense knowledge of global cuisines, flavor and presentation.

His newest venture will draw on that strong foundation while leaving room for his imagination to run free.

“It allows me to be creative in the most beautiful way, because I don’t have any restrictions,” he said.

Alvarez plans to open a brick-and-mortar location for his popular Latin-Asian fusion concept, Dia Bom, early next year at Lincoln Warehouse, 2018 S. 1st St. The future restaurant space is currently occupied by MOR Bakery & Cafe, which will continue operations through December.

For now, Alvarez and his team are offering a limited menu for takeout only, operating out of a third-floor production kitchen — previously used by Justin Carlisle as a prep space for Red Light Ramen. The kitchen has a hood, but no grill, which means menu items such as tacos, birria and rice bowls rely on braised meats and will be prepared on a smaller scale.

Alvarez said the current menu is similar to that of the original Dia Bom, which operated at Crossroads Collective for two years before its September departure.

The lineup of colorful, punchy dishes includes togarashi-crusted shishito pepper tacos with bright and citrusy avocado yuzu, birria ramen with smoky guajillo broth and gochujang tofu rice bowls. Street tacos filled with roasted broccoli, beer-braised pork belly, Jamaican jerk chicken and Korean beef are also available, along with rice bowls featuring pork belly confit, Korean beef and mole rojo chicken.

Dia Bom accepts online orders for pickup through CASHDROP or delivery through DoorDash or Ubereats. Orders open at 5 p.m. daily. Pick-up is located inside the warehouse, just north of Twisted Path Distillery.

After MOR Bakery & Cafe exits Lincoln Warehouse at the end of the year, Alvarez said he aims to open the restaurant “as soon as possible.”

Aside from adding a few pops of color and new furniture, he won’t change much within the space, which “has a lot of personality already,” he said.

Instead, the visual showstoppers will come from the kitchen, where Alvarez and his team will serve up an expanded selection of playful entrees, along with traditional Dia Bom appetizers.

Guests can expect tapas-style plates of kushiyaki and bao, as well as larger dinner plates that experiment with combining global cuisines.

“It’s going to showcase a lot of technique and flavors and colors,” Alvarez said. “Kind of the characteristics of me as a chef and of Dia Bom.”

The new restaurant will also feature a beverage program, with plans for a small bar where people can sit and eat while indulging in a glass of beer, wine or a cocktail.

With three breweries operating in the same building, beer selection was a no-brainer for Alvarez, who may partner with Lincoln Warehouse’s Component Brewing Company, Torzala Brewing Co. and New Barons Brewing Cooperative, as well as others in the neighborhood.

The cocktail list will include drinks with a hint of fusion, such as a soju margarita and other riffs on classic cocktails. “We’re just trying to make it a little fusion without disrespecting the ethnicity of each item,” Alvarez said.

The chef also has plans for a speakeasy-style Korean steakhouse, where up to eight guests can partake in cocktails and chef’s table grilled meats. The hidden lounge will be located within a large safe that was once used by workers in the historic building, which dealt in baking operations for the supermarket chain A&P.

Alvarez said the final speakeasy will likely open later in the year. In the interim, he plans to trial the concept in a closed-off room within the restaurant.

Alvarez said that he’s “very excited” to join the Harbor District at a time when the neighborhood is seeing such growth and development. He’s also looking forward to continuing to challenge himself as a chef. And that work is never finished.

“When it comes to creativity — how you can do better, how you can make things more presentable, how can this be on a higher level — it’s experimenting, trying and failing, of course,” he said. “And on and on.”

Photos

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