More in the Ward
There’s no sign up yet, but the Third Ward’s Water Buffalo is ready for you (249 N. Water St., corner of Water and Buffalo). Joe and Angie Sorge (creators of Swig on Water Street) are the owners; Flux Design is the talented outfit that brought the split-level, loft-style space to fruition. It’s a “super-high-end space” serving casual food, Joe says. Affordable, too. Entrées are $12 to $17 (with one $25 dish, a 12-ounce steak). Starting tomorrow (Friday, April 13), the hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m, every day. Frank Ortleib, who functions as corporate chef for the Sorges’ restaurants, created the homey, classic American menu. From the entree side, there’s oven-roasted chicken, braised short ribs, smoked mozzarella tortellini, shrimp-stuffed shells and baked stuffed salmon. Sandwiches include pulled pork, Philly cheese steak, grilled ahi tuna and a build-your-own chicken sandwich or burger ($6.50-$12.50). Flux has worked on spaces like Eve, Vucciria (now called Coco Bella) and Roots Restaurant & Cellar and is known for using creatively using materials like steel, glass, concrete and wood. Parking shouldn’t be an issue. Water Buffalo has 51 parking spots (available after 5 p.m.) in a lot adjacent to Starbucks across the street. As for the location, it faces the Milwaukee River, just a few storefronts north of the Milwaukee Ale House.
Bubble Wrap
Visualize this with me. Looking out from the third floor windows inside the Artasia building (the west side of North Broadway in the Third Ward), you’ll see the Skylight Opera Theatre, Catalano Square and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. Not too shabby. The scene and the view come courtesy of Kris Gorski and designer/entrepreneur Kimberly Floyd, who are at work right now on Cuvée (181 N. Broadway), their champagne lounge and special events venue. (The French word, cuvée, refers to deluxe lots of wine produced from a specific grape variety.) They’re also having the bar built as you’re reading this. The look will be “rustic elegant,” combining the natural look of the space (exposed Cream City brick and beamed ceiling) and custom-made furniture. She plans to serve a full drink menu (including Champagne and sparking wines) in the lounge and have a retail area where people can buy bottled wine and bubbly. The special event room will host private parties, fundraisers, wedding receptions and the like. The projected opening is some time this summer.
Mommy Dearest
The slushy mess I drove home in on Wednesday didn’t put me in the mood for Earth Day, officially next Sunday, April 22. (Wisconsin connection? You bet. Former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson is considered the founder of Earth Day.) Braise on the Go, chef David Swanson’s culinary school, is doing an Earth Day Dinner a week later, Saturday April 28. The location is Fountain Prairie Inn & Farms in Fall River, Wisconsin. Mother Earth would be pleased with the four-course menu. Bresaola of Highland cattle beef with roasted quince and blue cheese (bresaola is a paper-thin sliced, cured meat), celery root tart with apple and bacon, balsamic poached halibut with Asian long beans, seared hanger steak and braised pork ravioli with ricotta and caramelized onion and mascarpone risotto with salted chocolate and red wine cherries. (Incidentally, the Highland cattle on the menu are raised – on a hormone and antibiotic-free diet – on Fountain Prairie Farms. The inn located on this 280-acre farm is an 1899 Victorian farmhouse.) Dinner: 6 p.m. Cost: $75 with wine pairings, $65 without. More info at www.braiseculinaryschool.com. Or 414-241-9577.
Pro Produce
According to the calendar, in a few months it’ll be summer. (I don’t believe it, either.). That means you can start dreaming about locally grown produce. I’ve never done this, but I’ve thought about subscribing to a weekly vegetable share program at a Wisconsin farm. The term for this is Community Supported Agriculture. One of several farms doing CSA is Rare Earth in Belgium, Wisconsin. The farm makes 21 weekly deliveries to locations in and around Milwaukee through a mid-June to November season. The selection and volume of veggies change in that cycle (you might imagine a lot of tomatoes in August, for example), and each box is packed with enough produce to feed two to four people for a week. Eggs are also available from Rare Earth – eggs from hens raised without antibiotics or growth hormones. It costs $490 to join this particular farm’s weekly share program. Pickup locations are in Shorewood, Bay View, Grafton, Brookfield, Germantown, Wauwatosa, Waukesha and other communities. Call 262-285-7070.
Can’t get enough dining? I chat about restaurants every Friday with Jane Matenaer and Kidd O’Shea on “The Mix.” Listen between 8 and 9 a.m. on April 13. That’s 99.1 WMYX-FM.
And check out our Events Editor Julie Sensat Waldren’s picks for the best events in arts and entertainment on This Weekend.
