Check The Menus For Downtown Dining Week
Plus: Summerfest adds food vendors; new Japanese restaurant; 3rd Street Market Hall's changes.
Kataifi prawn from Avli, one of the participating restaurants in this year’s Downtown Dining Week. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
The countdown is on for Downtown Dining Week, which is set to begin on Thursday, May 30.
As the food-focused extravaganza draws closer, diners can preview the multi-course meals that will be featured by more than 30 participating restaurants — from steakhouses and barbecue joints to Italian restaurants and gastropubs.
Menus for the event, now in its 18th year, are available to view online. During the week, each featured restaurant plans to offer special, three-course lunches, dinners or both — all for a set price.
Smoke Shack, for example, will serve a $25, mix-and-match lunch with choices including fried green tomatoes, chicken wings, smoked portabella sandwiches, pulled chicken sandwiches, flourless chocolate cake and carrot cake, among other options.
At Mason Street Grill, diners can opt for soup or salad, followed by a main course of 64-hour braised short ribs, pan-seared salmon or oven-roasted cauliflower steak. The meal, priced at $45, finishes with a choice of carrot cake or dark chocolate cake.
The combinations are nearly endless, and would require much more than a week to experience in full.
Downtown Dining Week will continue through June 6, with additional deals and giveaways available to participating diners.
For more information, see Urban Milwaukee’s earlier coverage.
Full menus for Downtown Dining Week are available to view online.
Council Temporarily Bans Late-Night Dining at 27th Street Denny’s
Those in search of late-night pancakes, burgers and shakes will need to find an alternative to Denny’s — at least for the next two weeks.
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to suspend the extended hours license for the southside diner, 3801 S. 27th St.
The suspension, which went into effect May 21, was the result of a 27-item police report that detailed at least two fights, several robberies and other disturbances at the establishment.
Late-night service, which occurs between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m., is permitted to resume after June 5.
New Vendors Joining 3rd Street Market Hall
3rd Street Market Hall has been its usual, bustling self as of late, as events begin to ramp up ahead of the always-anticipated Milwaukee summer.
Amid all the action, however, three vendor stalls have been unusually quiet, following the recent departure of their occupants. It won’t stay that way for long, though.
A new concept, Goodland Greens, will set up shop in the coming weeks. It will fill the stalls last occupied by Make Waves and Greenhouse, both of which closed in early May.
As its name suggests, Goodland Greens will focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, offering a menu of salads, wraps, smoothies and juices.
See The 5 New Food Vendors Coming to Summerfest
An exuberant crowd of reporters, bloggers and notable Milwaukeeans made the rounds of the Miller Lite Brew House at Henry Maier Festival Park on Wednesday, where they admired this year’s spread of new food items for Summerfest.
The smell of warm tortillas and grilled burgers filled the air, while Pete’s Pops, with its signature rainbow umbrella, was clearly visible among the vendors. In fact, the room was filled with familiar faces, from Pizza Man to DanDan.
The latter, a Chinese-American restaurant operated by Dan Van Rite and current “Top Chef” competitor Dan Jacobs, is one of five new food vendors for this year’s festival. The others are Fazio’s Popping Bubbles, Los Mariachis, Pina Cocina & Cantina and Wokkin’ Roll.
The newcomers put a strong emphasis on East Asian and fusion cuisine, with offerings including Japanese yakisoba noodles with sliced beef short rib from Wokkin’ Roll; Danan noodles, sichuan pork dumplings and egg rolls from DanDan; birria bao from Pina Cocina & Cantina; and a variety of boba teas from Fazio’s Popping Bubbles.
Ouzo Café Is Classic Greek Fare
Romantic music playing in the background and scenic vistas of Greek coastlines will transport you to another place where the sun seems to always shine and life moves at a leisurely pace. This is Ouzo Café, a cozy café with dark wooden tables attractively set with white napkins and water goblets. As soon as you are seated you will be served a complimentary bread basket along with a small dish of olive oil. The warm crusty bread was a fine way for friends and I to start our meal in this small Milwaukee Street café that’s been serving food in Milwaukee’s East Town for some 20 years.
Old-Time Southside Tavern Closes
703 Club, a longstanding tavern on Milwaukee’s South Side, has quietly closed after more than a half-century in business.
During its tenure in the Mitchell West neighborhood, the tavern endured stock market crashes, a global pandemic and several cycles of fashion trends, not to mention more than five decades of marriage between its owners, Ron and Terri Sollazo.
Originally opened by Ron’s father, 703 Club went through a number of ownership changes before the Sollazos took over in 1971. The couple continued to lead the bar throughout their careers and into retirement. Along the way, they welcomed four children and seven grandchildren.
Sometime within the past 10 months, however, 703 Club went dark. The business’s phone has been disconnected and a call to the owners went unanswered.
Free Doughnuts, Coffee For Honeydip’s 50th Anniversary
At Honeydip, it’s always time to make doughnuts.
Twice a day — before dawn and in the afternoon — the restaurant’s kitchen is enveloped in the aromas of sugar and yeast as staff mix, knead and hand cut batches of fresh doughnuts.
The routine has been a pillar of the business at 805 S. Layton Blvd. since it opened in 1974 within a bustling, southside shopping center.
Now approaching its 50th anniversary, Honeydip plans to honor the milestone — and its loyal customers — by offering complimentary coffee and doughnuts each Saturday in June.
Another Vendor Exits 3rd Street Market
Paper Plane Pizza is taking its leave from 3rd Street Market Hall.
The slice shop, led by Dustin Drankiewicz and Milos Stevanovic, has closed after just under 18 months in business at the food hall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave.
The co-owners shared the news in a Tuesday morning social media post. “Our lease and time is up,” they wrote, adding that the food hall format is “tough and very expensive for small businesses,” making it difficult to thrive.
“We gotta shift gears and go back to what we know and do best.”
Humboldt Park Beer Garden Opens
The beer garden in Bay View‘s Humboldt Park opened for the season this week.
Milwaukee County Parks hosted an opening event for the beer garden, known as The Vine, with a short ceremony and 20 minutes of free beer and root beer at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 23.
The brewery sponsor at The Vine is Lakefront Brewery and Karol’s Kitchen and Catering is providing the food service this year.
“The Vine is a truly special space for neighbors around Bay View, and is enjoyed by folks across Milwaukee County,” said Sup. Jack Eckblad, who represents Humboldt Park on the county board. “Thanks so much to the Parks Staff who bring this wonderful space alive each year!”
Two Vendors Exit 3rd Street Market Hall
Make Waves, a plant-based restaurant serving smoothies, wraps, acai bowls and more, has shuttered its location at 3rd Street Market Hall. Its sibling vendor, Greenhouse, is also closed.
The restaurants, led by Peter Engel and Emily Ware, were known for their health-focused menus and emphasis on vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
Make Waves was the earlier of the two to open, welcoming its first guests in March 2022. It continued for just over two years in the space, located just inside the food hall’s main entrance at 275 W. Wisconsin Ave.
In addition to a wide variety of fruit-based smoothies, the restaurant offered several types of vegan boba tea and grilled wraps such as curry sweet potato, roasted red pepper tempeh and veggie pesto.
Japanese Restaurant For Walker’s Point
A new restaurant, Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen, is slated to open in Walker’s Point this summer.
And while its cyborg-themed name might ignite fears of world domination, the business only intends to occupy one location: 704 S. 2nd St., the former site of The Noble.
The previous restaurant, known for its eclectic menu and cozy atmosphere, quietly closed last August after 12 years in business.
In its place, industry veterans Janet Boettner and her husband, Marc, hope to create a new hub for Japanese-inspired dining, drinks and decor.
ID Checks No Longer Mandated at Emergency Food Pantries
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch and WPR.
Wisconsin’s emergency food pantries can now decide whether to check clients’ identification and verify their addresses. By October, the state will require them to stop asking.
The change will improve access to a key federal program, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. Some pantry coordinators support the changes, but others counter that it could complicate their work. They say the state has yet to answer important questions.
Several coordinators voiced concerns when the health department last month announced changes that affect 265 state food pantries that accept food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. The federally funded program provides healthy foods that pantry donations don’t always cover, including milk, eggs, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables. Most participating pantries rely on the program for a significant amount of their food.
Sugar Maple Hosting Joe Pera-Themed Pop-Up
“Perhaps there’s a school in Riverwest or Wauwatosa that could use a choir teacher. I’d get a new style of clothing and then all my new coworkers would say, ‘hey, would you want to meet us on Friday night for a beer on Kinnickinnic Avenue?'”
This is Joe Pera‘s inner monologue from an episode of “Joe Pera Talks With You,” in which he contemplates moving to Milwaukee.
And while you might not find him on Brady Street anytime soon, the Adult Swim comedian will likely make an appearance in Bay View come mid-June. Sugar Maple‘s latest pop-up, Warm Apple Nights, is an homage to Pera and coincides with his June 15 tour stop in Milwaukee.
Held in partnership with Milwaukee Record, Warm Apple Nights will take place June 13 through 16, promising an art show, vendor fair and other entertainment, as well as themed cocktails and several different food vendors.
S’Blendid Cancels Plans For Bay View Cafe
Last summer, S’Blendid Boba Tea began making preparations for a new cafe in Bay View. The business, formerly a tenant at North Avenue Market, was slated to open at 2229 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
As of May 17, the move is dead.
“After an entire year of waiting for construction to start our dream project, we were met with disappointment after disappointment,” owner Malee Thao shared in a Friday morning social media post. “As a result, we found ourselves in an unfeasible position to try to start the process over again.”
“It broke our hearts,” Thao wrote. “But despite the heartbreaking news, we know our community will be in support of our decision.”
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