Warm Coat
This week, co-owner Cameryne Roberts says the menu wheels will turn at Juniper 61 (6030 W. North Ave., 414-727-6161), and the food is going to feel heartier. To its menu, this sibling of Bay View’s LuLu Cafe & Cocktails has added flatbread pizzas (e.g., Greek chicken, pear and Gorgonzola, carbonara, $8.75-$9) and a pear-Gorgonzola salad ($8.75). New sandwiches: Cypress chicken pita, Sicilian meatball, and the half-pound Heart Attack burger ($8-$9). Entrées now include rosemary chicken mac and cheese ($11); linguini with chorizo and clams ($17); and an 8-ounce tenderloin filet with horseradish mashed potatoes ($21). Hours: Tues-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
China Blu
The bigwigs at the Pfister Hotel announced a few weeks ago that the 23rd-floor bar Blu is going smoke-free. (The space was also just renovated.) Starting Friday, Oct. 2, Blu is doing something, well, proper. Specifically, that’s afternoon tea. By afternoon, I mean Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 3-4:30 p.m. Along with your Japanese green, Ceylon black or Egyptian tisane, you can order a selection of artisan cheeses with crackers and sliced baguette ($24). The sweets assortment comes with chocolate-dipped strawberries; opera torte; scones with mascarpone cheese and lemon curd; and macaroons, madeleines and shortbread cookies ($18). There’s even a menu item made for kids 12 and younger that includes cider, hot cocoa, ham and cheddar finger sandwiches, herbed chicken salad tartlets, peanut butter and jelly scones, and madeleine cookies. Make that reservation, people. (424 E. Wisconsin Ave., 414-273-8222).
Julia and Pierre
In spring 2008, fire damage to Elliot’s Bistro put the East Side French restaurant out of business. Since then, owner/chef Pierre Briere has been north of Milwaukee, cooking at the Hartford Bistro (3461 High Road, Hartford). There he prepares some French dishes known to fans of Elliot’s – beef bourguignon and steak frites, to name a few. The other day, Monsieur Briere sent me an e-mail with details about a special dinner this weekend in honor of the famed Julia Child. The five-course meal is this Saturday night (Oct. 3) and features cream of asparagus soup; choice of frog legs Provençal, escargot or a cheese plate; beef bourguignon (if you prefer, grilled salmon with béarnaise sauce or lemon Parmesan chicken); and chocolate cake, chocolate mousse or crème brûlée. The cost is $19.50, plus tax and gratuity. Open 5-10 p.m. Reservation recommended: 262-670-9988.
Souper Saturday
Food is obviously something I write about all the time. It’s awful to think that the basic human necessity of food is not being met in many American cities, including ours. The nonprofit Milwaukee Empty Bowls works to push that issue to the front of our minds. Buy a handcrafted ceramic bowl at Milwaukee Empty Bowls 11th Annual event and you’ll help people in need. (This year’s proceeds will go to St. Ben’s Community Meal, St. Catherine Food Pantry and Hope House of Milwaukee Inc., among other food pantries.) Besides buying the bowl, you’ll sample soups prepared by 50 local restaurants and businesses. Participants include Beans and Barley, Bosley on Brady, Cempazuchi, Coquette Cafe, The Garden Room, Larry’s Brown Deer Market and Shully’s Cuisine and Events. The soups range from fried chicken gumbo to creamy tomato with four cheeses to roasted squash. The bowl you buy is yours to keep. The organization simply asks for a donation of $20 ($10 for a bowl make by a child). Sat. Oct. 10, 10:30-2 p.m. MATC – Oak Creek campus (6665 S. Howell Ave.) Click here for more.
Chili-cheese fries, burgers wrapped in paper, banana splits. Ahh, summer. It’s my melancholy duty to report that your last chance to visit Northpoint Custard – the lakefront burger-and-accoutrement stand near the intersection of St. Mary’s Hill and Lincoln Memorial Drive – is this Sunday, Oct. 4. But you will see it next summer – and for a few special events scattered through the year. Get there before 7 p.m. on Sunday night, when it officially says sayonara to the 2009 season. Northpoint opens at 11 a.m. daily. (414-727-4886)
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 out there, don’t hesitate to post it on my column, or e-mail me directly: ann.christenson@milwaukeemagazine.com
