Purslane Adds Brunch Service
Plus: Easton's for East Side, an international lounge and the return of EE-Sane
Purslane, 1751 N. Farwell Ave. Photo courtesy of Mary Kastman.
Brunch has arrived at Purslane. After five months finding its footing at 1751 N. Farwell Ave., the Eastern Mediterranean-inspired restaurant held its first service Nov. 2, with monthly installments to follow.
The brunch pop-up offers a rotating selection of breakfast dishes from the region, along with creative cocktails from bar manager Kyle Yost.
Featured items include shareable snacks like deviled eggs, olives and a bacon-topped wedge salad; saucy shakshuka with egg, feta and warm pita for dipping; a falafel waffle topped with Persian fried chicken; and Purslane’s take on the classic breakfast sandwich, featuring Juusto cheese, bacon, fried egg, arugula and harissa aioli.
Pancakes, served with tahini, date molasses and banana, offer a sweeter start, along with desserts like olive oil cake and panna cotta.
Purslane, Chef Mary Kastman’s first Milwaukee venture, opened last June in the former Ardent space. The restaurant serves dinner five nights a week, offering a seasonal menu focused on Turkish flavors and dishes.
Current offerings include tuna naya with yuzu charmoula, strawberry and togarashi rice; beef kebabs with smoky eggplant yogurt and and crispy walleye falafel served with lavash, tahini remoulade and arugula.
Dates for future brunch pop-ups will be shared on the restaurant’s Instagram page. Reservations can be booked online.
City Launches Drive Ahead of Federal Cutoff of FoodShare Benefits
With FoodShare benefits set to pause at the end of the week, local leaders are launching a last-minute food drive to keep families fed amid the ongoing government shutdown.
The drive, held in collaboration with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and NourishMKE, will collect nonperishable food and monetary donations to support Milwaukee-area food pantries. It begins immediately and will continue until benefits are restored.
During a Tuesday afternoon press conference announcing the effort, Mayor Cavalier Johnson urged residents to contribute. “While things are not going the way that they should in Washington, Milwaukee refuses to wait,” he said. “We’re going to take care of our own.”
Donation boxes have been placed at more than 100 locations across Milwaukee, including all public schools, police department districts and public library branches in the city proper. Additional drop-off sites include Milwaukee City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.; Milwaukee County Courthouse, 901 N. 9th St.; Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building, 841 N. Broadway; Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center, 1230 W. Cherry St.; the Hillview Building, 1615 S. 22nd St.; Fiserv Forum, 1111 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.; and Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, 6098 N. 35th St.
Popular Drag Venue Could Return
Five Halloween Pop-Ups Offering Frights, Flights and Food
Think you nailed your Halloween costume? Wait until you see Honeypie Cafe.
The Midwestern comfort restaurant, known for its scratch-made pies and airline chicken, is dressing up as another homestyle spot for the holiday—one that’s decidedly more Southern.
From Friday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 2, Honeypie will become Biscuit Barrel, serving “home cookin’ specialties” like chicken-fried steak, chicken and dumplings, corn muffins and cheesy jalapeno grits.
The menu is meant to evoke Cracker Barrel, a restaurant and gift shop chain with more than 600 locations across 44 states. The brand, which recently came under fire for a logo redesign, originally drew inspiration from old-fashioned country stores—key spaces for community gathering. While Cracker Barrel inspired the temporary menu, Honeypie, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., puts a local spin on the concept.
International Style Lounge to Replace Allure
A new lounge proposed for downtown Milwaukee aims to transport visitors to new locales—no passport required.
Mosaic – International Bistro + Social, led by owner Sierra Pecor of Cross Culture Hospitality LLC, would feature diverse music, global sporting events and a tapas-style menu inspired by cuisines from around the world. The business is planned to open at 789 N. Jefferson St., the current site of Allure MKE.
Earlier this month, Pecor received key approval from the Milwaukee Licenses Committee; the proposal is now pending before the full Common Council.
But just last year, Pecor was planning to move away from Milwaukee. What changed? It started with a devastating hit-and-run.
Bar and Grill Proposed For East Side
More than a year after closing East Side Pub & Grill, co-owner Wanda Smith plans to return to the neighborhood with a new business and location.
Smith’s latest venture, Easton’s Bar & Grill, is proposed for 2028 E. North Ave., currently home to Taichi Bubble Tea. The new restaurant would serve casual meals such as chicken wings, smash burgers and pasta, along with vegetarian options and alcoholic beverages, according to a license application.
Smith also shared plans to renovate the dining room and kitchen in the 1,984-square-foot building, tapping Keith Schultz of SchultzWerk Architecture for the changes.
Taichi, part of a national boba chain, opened in July 2024 with a menu of teas, smoothies and savory foods including ramen and rice bowls. In her application, Smith said Taichi is set to close Dec. 1.
EE-Sane Reopens With New Look
New look, same EE-Sane.
The longtime Thai and Lao restaurant reopened Oct. 23 at 1806 N. Farwell Ave., returning to its original space after nearly a year of renovations.
The refreshed interior is bright and modern, with wood floors, glittering chandeliers and a reimagined bar area. Expanded seating options include low tables and floor cushions—a traditional arrangement throughout Southeast Asian cultures, including in Thailand and Laos. Outside, the building’s facade is freshly painted and features a new green awning, replacing the former red and white one.
Several new dishes are featured on the restaurant’s menu, though staples like chicken satay and pad Thai remain unchanged. EE-Sane also offers a lineup of rich curries, seafood, fried rice and fragrant pho, along with regional dishes like larb, lemongrass-marinated pork ribs and pad ka pow—a comforting mix of stir-fried vegetables and meat topped with a sunny side-up egg.
Merriment Social Offers Tasty Brunches
Merriment Social, located in a former industrial facility, has an urban chic that my companions and I found fascinating. High ceilings that retain signs of the building’s former life, tables made from aged wood, brick walls, and street-facing garage doors that open during the season, create a large spacious dining room that felt welcoming when friends and I came for Sunday brunch. Though we also found that the original concrete floor by the wall where we were seated sloped toward the center of the restaurant which led to a slight tendency for us to slide sideways on our slippery wooden chairs.
If you want to honor Sunday brunch with a bloody Mary, you have two choices: the spicy Maria made with jalapeno-infused tequila, or the one we ordered, the bloody Meri, a play on the restaurant’s name. It was a meal in a glass starting with the house-made Merriment mix.
The bloody was topped with a cheese cube, a sausage stick, a pickle and a potsticker. The drink was large, spicy, and tasted like Sunday.
Merriment Social has a tantalizing brunch menu. You could start with a shareable, breakfast sausage potstickers, fried Brussels sprouts, fried cheese curds, fries with garlic aioli, or our shareable, the freshly baked house-made pumpkin sourdough cinnamon roll. It came to the table straight from the oven. It was yeasty, soft, filled with buttery cinnamon sugar, and the best part, finished with a powdered sugar drizzle that permeated every bite of the roll. It was also large enough for two people to share.
New Brewery Will Replace 1840
Solemn Oath Brewery has issued a formal promise to Milwaukee: The Illinois-based business is coming to Bay View, with plans to open a taproom at 342 E. Ward St., the former site of 1840 Brewing Company.
What marks an expansion for the 13-year-old brewery will also be a homecoming for founder John Barley.
“Growing up in Wisconsin, this has always been personal,” Barley said in a statement, noting excitement to offer Solemn Oath’s “take on the modern American beer experience” in a new locale.
“We are proud to join the electric Bay View neighborhood, Milwaukee and the Wisconsin brewers who make some of the best beer in the country.”
Unfinished Legacy Founder Plans East Side Cafe
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