Louis Prima’s Spirit
It’s the biggest thing to happen at the Summerfest grounds since, well, Summerfest a few weeks ago. Festa Italiana. Immediately, I’m hearing Rosemary Clooney sing “Mambo Italiano” in my head. If you’re feeling the love for Festa and plan to get down to the grounds in your green, white and red, you’ll want to know what to eat. Here are some restaurants – definitely not all – that’ll be keeping the masses fueled: Filippo’s Pizza & Broasted Chicken, Libiamo Restaurant, Palermo Villa, Pietro’s Pizza, Sala da Pranzo, Scardina Bakery, Sciortino Bakery and Mama Angie’s Italian Deli. Don’t eat too much mozzarella marinara, now. July 19-22. Thurs 2 p.m.-midnight; Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m.-midnight.
Socially Conscious
How’s your social life? Mine could use some help, but this isn’t about me. The Social, the Fifth Ward restaurant and bar, seems to work overtime at being social. There’s a weekday Social Hour and weekly ladies’ night. The latest doings at this stylish bar/restaurant is a new lunch menu. Until Friday – this Friday, July 20 – you can sample the food on the new lunch menu at a 25-percent discount. If you can get in there this week, it’s a nice little price break. The new menu oozes with variety. Sandwiches include a grilled Gruyère and mozzarella panini (it’s good, but I’d vote for a more assertive tasting cheese in the mix) and lamb pita with cucumber and tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt sauce). There’s also a number of grilled flatbread pizzas, salads like the wood-roasted salmon with blood-orange vinaigrette and a summer pasta of penne, basil pesto and seasonal veggies. The super-thin frites, available with sandwiches, are great. Prices $6.95-$12.95. (170 S. First St., 270-0438)
Cheese Trance
How much cheese does it take to fill a tent on Brady Street? I don’t know, and I want to find out. The Brady Street Festival is roughly a week away – Saturday, July 28. The one-day event is also known by another name – Cheesefest. (Last year, the fest was called the Brady Street Artisan Food Festival.) Whatever it is or was called, there’s one spot on the fest grounds that you should look for – the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe tent. Eleven Wisconsin cheesemakers are going to hang out there all day to offer samples, give lectures and just talk cheese. A few of the proud: Carr Valley, Roth Käse and Widmer’s Cheese Cellars. Outside the tent, there’s everything but cheese going on. An outdoor fashion show – clothes from Brady Street’s Detour, Aala Reed and Miss Groove, among other shops – starts at 3 p.m. The fashion drag show begins at 7 p.m. And from 11 a.m. on, live music – blues, jazz and folk – will be pouring out from four stages. The date again: Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Inspect Those Inspections
The City of Milwaukee, whose Web site offers links to useful things like garbage pickup and city home assessments, gives a dining critic what she most desires – easy access to those unappetizing but irresistible restaurant health inspections. But the city health department doesn’t do this just for my benefit. Anyone can see the inspections, and if you’re a voyeur like me, it will satisfy your need to know. You can search for a restaurant or browse a list of all dining establishment inspections. Clicking on the “inspection history” of a certain venue will bring up a copy of the food inspection report. If there are violations, you’ll see them and when they were corrected or if they weren’t. The link: http://itmdapps.ci.mil.wi.us/cehri/search.jsp
Can’t get enough dining? I chat about restaurants every week with Jane Matenaer and Kidd O’Shea on “The Mix.” Listen between 8 and 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 26. 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.
