Duck in the View 

Some restaurant folk are resistant to categorizing their cuisine. I get it. Take this Bay View place called Odd Duck. New, busy, and changing all the time. The menu is divided into small and large plates – very mix-and-matchy. If you’re feeling carnivorous, they have a sausage platter of andouille, jalapeno-cheddar and Italian sausages served with savory accompaniments. (The sausage handiwork belongs to Paul Zerkel, a former Roots Restaurant chef now operating Butcher, Baker with his wife Lisa Kirkpatrick, also a former Roots chef.) As the days of cranking the windows down and wearing flip-flops have multiplied, the Duck has been rolling out more fish/seafood. Such as: seared scallops with smoked tomato vinaigrette and braised spinach and bacon; and miso-glazed prawns with cucumber-basil seed salad. But the fun has been starting at the bar, with Crispin cider-watermelon shandys and Thai basil mojitos made with house-infused jackfruit rum. The above photo? That speaks, naturally, of summer. The patio, in the rear of the building, has five tables and is available first-come, first-served. Kitchen hours: Mon-Sat 5-10 p.m. (2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., 414-763-5881)

Dawg in the Shore
Bun, meet Kobe beef. Kobe beef, meet Bun. On a recent trip to Dr. Dawg, Fox Point’s hot dog emporium, I stood at the counter, gazing at the regular menu. My attention was suddenly drawn to a sign advertising a Kobe beef hot dog. That’s a dog of a different stripe. Owner David Ross says these special dogs ($4.99 each) come from Imperial Wagyu Beef in Nebraska. (The cattle are fed a vegetarian diet devoid of hormones and antibiotics.) Ross is an enthusiastic proponent of Kobe dogs. The restaurant offers them with all the accoutrements offered on a Vienna dog – melted cheese to Chicago style. Ross recommends the Kobe dog topped with homemade slaw and a little sriracha sauce. One more thing: Each day, the Dawg crew bakes two-dozen chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting ($1.99 each). Sometimes, by the time 6:30 or 7p.m. rolls around, the cakes are, poof, gone. Get your dog-lovin’ self in there early. (6969 N. Port Washington Rd., 414-540-0400)

Course Load
If you’ve been looking at this website with any regularity, you have probably run across some mention of Downtown Dining Week. The wait is almost over. It starts this Thursday. The concept is this – more than 40 local restaurants are offering three-course lunches (for $10) and dinners (for $20 and in some cases, $30). The DDW restaurant crew includes Coquette Cafe, Carnevor, Mason Street Grill, Karl Ratzsch’s, Umami Moto and Zarletti. June 7-14. For more participating restaurants and the three-course menus they’re serving, click here.

Look for Dish on Dining on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

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If you spot a restaurant opening or closing, post it on the comments section of my column, or e-mail me directly: ann.christenson@milwaukeemagazine.com

The Medley of Bay View
Mike Engel is a name I haven’t mentioned in a long time. His chef-fing background is broad – stints in Milwaukee (as the executive chef when Hotel Metro opened in the late ’90s) and in Lake Country (places long in the grave – the Wooden Eagle and The Delafield House, for example). Of late, Engel was working for a country club. But the pull of cooking and running your own restaurant is a powerful thing. For the last half-year, Engel has been entrenched in making his own place happen – in a Bay View building close to where his family has roots. Engel’s father grew up a few blocks away from the soon-to-open Pastiche Bistro & Wine Bar (3001 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.). A synonym for “pastiche” is “hodgepodge,” which is an apt description for the menu. Engel plans to change the options seasonally and cook in the fresh, colorful way of Mediterranean chefs, his food influenced by Spanish, Southern French and Italian cuisines. Examples – though I cannot promise things are set in stone – are steak frites, cassoulet, osso buco, leg of lamb and various market-fresh seafood. I can’t tell you anything about the interior as yet, but once the restaurant is in full swing, Pastiche will be open for dinner: 4-9 p.m. on weekdays, 4-10 p.m. on weekends. More to follow.

One-letter Cafe 
The rotunda of the central Milwaukee Public Library (814 W. Wisconsin Ave.) has had a coffee seller of some kind for a while. So picture that for a moment – the rotunda and the cafe. Several blocks east of the library is an espresso bar and breakfast/lunch business called Mocais M Cafe (535 E. Wells St., near Jackson). The people who run it have opened a second M – in the rotunda of our own central library. There they’re doing panini, hot soup, pastries and all kinds of coffee drinks. If you happen by, on a quest for a copy of The Sun Also Rises, the library location of M is open Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Warning of the Day 
In the February issue – due to arrive at subscribers’ addresses in mere days – I mention a new diner in Wauwatosa called Daymaker Café (7225 W. North Ave., 414-774-1200). It’s not a place that draws a lot of attention to itself visually. The homey food – from corned beef hash to burgers and fries – is what hits you over the head. I’m telling you this now as a heads-up. Daymaker has received some press from other local media, which understandably has lured in a lot of hungry diners. Two people have since told me they’ve tried to eat at Daymaker and it’s been closed midday after “running out of food.” My advice for the time being: come early.

Eating for Haiti
Get thee to Sobelman’s Tall Grass Grill to help Haiti. This weekend – Jan. 16-17 – the East Side burger joint (1952 N. Farwell Ave., 414-273-4727) is donating one dollar from every burger sold to Haitian relief efforts. Tall Grass is a wee bit different from the iconic bar/restaurant Dave and Melanie Sobelman run in the Menomonee Valley. The burger patties at the East Side joint are made from grass- (not corn-) fed beef. Some people would argue that grass-fed beef has a more pronounced flavor, and the cattle from which it comes are treated more humanely. Besides the basic burger with or without cheese, the grill serves specialty burgers like mushroom Swiss and the Fresco (chipotle Jack cheese, avocado, tomato and onion). Hours: Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m; Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Big Love
For the last month, national food mags have been sharing their predictions about our tummies. What will be hot in 2010? Milwaukee is not the quickest to jump on the trendy train, but it’s still interesting to know what is taking off in other cities – as reported, in this case, by The James Beard Foundation. First up, meatballs. I guess NYC is awaiting the arrival of a meatball shop. Bon Appétit’s January cover was devoted to the ball of meat. On Bon Appétit’s Web site, this food was called “Dish of the Year.” The return of comfort food! (Personal aside: My Irish-American mother made amazing spaghetti and meatballs when I was a kid.) Next in trends: home-based food producers. So let’s say I start making meatballs out of my home, and sell small batches of them to people in my neigborhood. A Lilliputian food business. Other trends include Brussels sprouts, Korean cuisine (kimchee!), macaroons (supposedly stealing the thunder from cupcakes), and gourmet hot chocolate.  

Don’t miss this week’s Shopaholic to learn about new stores and events in the world of local retail.

If you spot any restaurant openings or closings, please post them on my column, or e-mail me directly: ann.christenson@milwaukeemagazine.com