Merriment Social, Third Coast Provisions Owners Plan Pizza Joint

722 N. Milwaukee St. Image from Google Maps.

Burgers, seafood, and now: pizza. Andrew Miller, Cameron Whyte and Samuel Emery, the owners of Merriment Social and Third Coast Provisions are bringing their unique take on scratch pizza downtown with a new restaurant called Flourchild, to be located in the former Distil space at 722 N. Milwaukee St. That’s right next door to Third Coast Provisions, the partners’ seafood restaurant. The restaurant is expected to open sometime this spring. Milwaukee Record’s Matt Wild reports:

(Owner Andrew) Miller explains: “I would characterize the style of pizza as a cross between New York, New Haven, and Detroit styles. It is uniquely our own. I am fanatical about how we are making these pizzas and couldn’t be more excited to share them with Milwaukee! We are using some of the best Wisconsin cheese producers for the restaurant including Belgioioso, Sartori, Carr Valley, Clock Shadow Creamery, and others. While we are not a vegetarian restaurant, we will feature many vegetable-forward pizzas and celebrate the midwestern growing season through preservation.”

And what about the drinks? “On the beverage side of things we are planning on featuring multiple wines on tap and offering a broad selection of natural wines,” Miller says. “We will also have beer on tap and a focused selection of craft cocktails.”

Upscale Bar and Restaurant coming to Brady St.

A new restaurant is coming to the East Side in the old Waterford Wine & Spirits space located at 1327 E. Brady St. The restaurant, Saint Bibiana, is named for the patron saint of hangovers and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The owner, Jeno Cataldo, also owns and operates Dorsia and his family runs Jo-Cats Pub – both are Brady St. staples. For further details, check out Urban Milwaukee’s own Graham Kilmer’s report.

A Taste of the Caribbean Coming to Walker’s Point

A new Caribbean-themed restaurant called Mobay Cafe aims to bring a diverse menu to Walker’s Point in the space previously home to Cocina 1022 at 1022 S. 1st St. Named after Jamaica’s Montego Bay, owner and operator Nadine Dixon hopes to highlight the cuisine of her native-country Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. OnMilwaukee’s Lori Fredrich reports:

Dixon says dishes on the Mobay Cafe menu are likely to include specialties from Barbados, the Bahamas, St. Thomas and the Grand Cayman Islands along with Panama, a locale where Dixon’s great grandfather was born.

That will include familiar entrees, including jerk chicken and pork, curried goat and oxtails (priced between $8.99 and $15.99). But it will also include appetizers like Bahamian conch fritters and codfish fritters.

On Sundays, Mobay Cafe will feature a variety of those dishes, plus items like brunch porridge, steamed snapper filets served with a choice of grits or johnny cakes, a deep fried dumpling popular in the Cayman Isles.

For dinner, there will be items like brown stew chicken, an aromatic (and often spicy) chicken stew that’s enjoyed throughout the Caribbean from Trinidad and Tobago to Belize and Grenada.

Mobay Cafe will be open for both lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday with brunch and dinner served on Sundays.

Splash Studio becomes Cupid Studio for Valentine’s Day

If you feel like switching it up this Valentine’s Day, then Splash Studio (1815 E. Kenilworth Pl.) might be just what you’re looking for. Starting on Jan 31. and running until Feb. 23, Splash Studio will be an “edgy-themed pop-up bar” called Cupid Studio. According to a press release:

Cupid Studio will be bursting with fun and flirty photo ops, love-inspired cocktails, mocktails, ice cream drinks, special events, date night “make & take” projects, and inspired decorations celebrating the love of couples, families, besties, and singles.

The Cupid Studio love-inspired menu will include the “Box of Chocolates” flight featuring a Chocolate Orange Bourbon Old Fashioned, Chocolate Martini, and Cinnamon Hot Chocolate; as well as cocktails with house-infused liquors such as “conversation heart-infused vodka”. Cupid Studio will also offer ice cream cocktails including a Bourbon Alexander topped with bourbon maple caramel corn from Lush Popcorn. Mocktails and snacks will also be available.

Guests can simply stop by to enjoy a cocktail and take photos in front of the Love Shack or in the Kissing Booth, or stay and get crafty. The project menu will include kids’ projects, sweet and saucy cross-stitch options, an all new string craft, and Splash Studio’s signature canvas and wood sign projects.

Cupid Studio will open Friday, January 31 and run through Sunday, February 23. Reservations will be available, and guests may also call ahead to be put on the waitlist for the project space. Additional information can be found online at CupidStudioMKE.com.

WMSE Raises Funds with Monthly Burger Promotion

What was previously exclusively a summer event has now become a monthly occurrence. Starting in February, Honeypie and Palomino will create a special burger each month to help raise funds for the WMSE radio station. For each burger sold, $2 will be donated to WMSE. Milwaukee Record’s Tyler Maas reports:

The series will start in February when Honeypie and Palomino offer the Rockabilly Chili Burger … which is said to feature “a double brisket burger, American cheese, fried onions, house made pickles, pork and beef chili, jalapeno aioli, sandwiched between two bacon beer cheese grilled cheese brioche buns. Served with fries.” That will be followed by the station’s Art & Music Burger in March.

Local musicians will also be getting in on the fun. The Klassik-themed “Klassik Burger” will be served throughout the month of April. Some other participating artists include GGOOLLDD, Platinum Boys, Lex Allen, Nineteen Thirteen, and Mark Waldoch. We’re also pleased to announce there will be a Milwaukee Record burger served during the month of September.

The official launch party for the Rockabilly Chili Burger will take place at Palomino Bar from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, February 6. DJ Johnny Z will spin and burgers will be eaten.

Mayfair Collection Gets New Breakfast and Lunch Spot

The owner of a new breakfast and lunch restaurant in Wauwatosa aims to open by the end of February. Located at 11250 W. Burleigh St. at the Mayfair Collection, Golden Nest Pancake & Café will offer organic and gluten-free options and include a full bar. Journal Sentinel’s Evan Casey reports:

The location, which is in a freestanding building between Osgood’s and Whole Foods, will have seating for 160, as well as a patio that will seat an additional 30 to 40 people. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The restaurant will also have a coffee bar, serving Colectivo Coffee, as well as freshly squeezed orange juice, a variety of pancakes, homemade potatoes, cinnamon swirl French toast and cage-free eggs, according to owner Kika Saliu. 

Saliu also owns Sunview Restaurant in Beaver Dam. He said Golden Nest will be a “high-end breakfast place.” He described the menu as being modern and healthy.