The Edison Delights With Extra Thick Bacon

Dining room at The Edison, 322 N. Broadway. Photo taken June 26, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

At The Edison, when you read the menu “bacon cut too thick,” you can believe it.

My brunch companions and I were delighted with every dish we ordered that included the memorable bacon. Not only was it cut thick, it was also crisp, but not crumbly crisp, says a bacon aficionada who is ridiculously fussy about said protein.

The Ricotta Scrambled Eggs had extra heft thanks to the ricotta, and the addition of home fries with truffle butter made this a unique brunch dish. The restaurant served the truffle butter on the side just in case you find the strong truffle flavor overpowers the crusty deep-fried potatoes. The stars on the plate were, again, two slabs of that thick-sliced bacon.

For the Crème Fraiche Pancakes, the chef set down a layer of lemon curd, then topped the curd with two pancakes, powdered sugar, and mixed berries. The pancakes were served with maple syrup, but that extra sweet gilded the lily. Sage-flavored sausage patties with caramelized onions balanced the sweet pancakes with their meaty salty porky flavor.

There are endless variations on the basic frittata and at The Edison the frittata is more like an open-faced omelet. It was filled with mushrooms, caramelized onions, asparagus, cheese, and topped with a small salad. My companion’s side, Home Fries with Black garlic aioli, is a dish that’s not to be missed. The crisp deep-fried potatoes were delicious on their own, but when they were dipped in the aioli, they achieved legendary status. I wanted to smear that aioli on everything on my plate, and I did, after our server, Fa, graciously delivered my very own dish of that amazing condiment.

After three entrees, I understood what Fa meant when she said, “They put a twist on the dishes so it’s hard or impossible to duplicate them at home.” That speaks to the house made sausage, the truffle butter, the delicious lemon curd, and of course, the black garlic aioli.

The Edison is the latest addition to Benson’s Restaurant Group, which includes AJ Bombers, Blue Bat Kitchen & Tequilaria, Smoke Shack, Onesto, and The Bridgewater Modern Grill. Its location on Broadway puts it close to the Skylight Music Theatre, the Milwaukee Public Market, and many shops to explore in the stylish Third Ward. If you prefer not to park in the area, it is close to The Hop and several bus routes.

The décor at The Edison is chic. Large windows face Broadway; a long bar includes a hook for people to hang their purses; exposed pipes and elegant pillars give it an industrial, clean look, and the vibe is warm and inviting.

You can order Fish and Chips every day, a bonus if you like your Alaskan Cod deep-fried in champagne batter and served with a remoulade that tastes like a fine aioli. There was a lot of batter on the cod that added extra flavor and crunch to the moist fish. Yes, fish and chips are ubiquitous in Wisconsin, but this was an excellent one, perhaps because the champagne batter added so much flavor to the cod. This time, the potatoes did not include the black garlic aioli, but you could request it if you wish.

The B.L.T. set the flavor bar high for this somewhat ordinary sandwich because it was filled with the “bacon cut too thick.” The healthful lettuce and thinly sliced tomatoes were lost somewhere between the bacon and the bread.

The aforementioned entrees were served during brunch/lunch hours that end at 3 p.m. Starting at 4 p.m., The Edison offers the dinner menu with a long list of starters, salads and mains. Here are four mains to whet your tastebuds: scallops with miso carrot puree, coal-fired mushrooms, snap peas and chive oil; Cacio E Pepe, American grana, white wine, truffle cream, thyme, lemon, peppercorn and house-made rigatoni; Coal-fired pork chop, and sage brown butter sauce; and cauliflower steak with pickled golden raisins, Serrano pepper aioli, black lentils, petite greens and curry vinaigrette.

The next time you are looking for a restaurant in the Third Ward, remember The Edison.

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• Location: 322 N. Broadway
• Phone: 414-269-6306
• Neighborhood: Historic Third Ward
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edisonmke/
• UM Rating: stars (average of Yelp, Trip Advisor and Zomato)