Fuzing Elsewhere
Walker’s Point is no longer the home of Fuzion Cafe & Lounge (524 S. Second St., 414-455-3281). The restaurant, whose menu included Korean kalbi beef and crawfish étouffée, is moving to a location on the North Side. Owner Tara Ali says she hopes to reopen Fuzion – with a menu that will be “a bit different given the neighboring environment” – by the end of this year.
Late-Night Patties
Sure isn’t hard to find a burger in the city and its environs. The East Side will soon have a location of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, in the building formerly occupied by Chin’s Asia Fresh (2907 N. Oakland Ave.). And Dave Sobelman is doing patties from grass-fed beef at a little place he calls Sobelman’s Tallgrass Grill (1952 N. Farwell Ave.). Don’t forget a location of Bella’s Fat Cat (Oakland near Locust) and one Burger Joint on Brady Street. I’ll stop there. Well, one more. Stack’d Burger Bar (170 S. First St.), which opened last summer, has unveiled its fall menu. It’s not wildly different from the previous menu, which includes burgers made form grass-fed beef. The fall menu is simply more stacked. Of particular note, in light of Milwaukee Magazine’s November cover story (“Cheap Eats”), is the new late-night menu. It includes a trio of sliders, “loaded” potatoes (three-cheese sauce, sour cream, Nueske’s bacon), hummus with pita, and buttermilk onion rings. Each item is 5 bucks. The menu is offered Thurs-Sat 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Teutonic Inspiration
How often do I mention German food? Not a whole heckuva lot. But I mean to rectify that here, now. The Ambassador Hotel (2301 W. Wisconsin Ave.) is just a smidge west of the Pabst Mansion (20th and Wisconsin), which was once the home of beer baron Captain Frederick Pabst. In honor of Fred, the hotel’s Envoy Restaurant is doing something special on the dinner menu – a four-course German meal. That’s a consommé with porcini mushrooms and Calvados; winter greens with bacon, croutons and walnuts; filet of grass-fed veal with green asparagus, Macaire potatoes and an herb cream sauce; and frozen gingerbread parfait with Gluhwein (spiced wine) sauce ($46.95 per person). There’s more German, too. The chef is Markus Heinevetter. I think, for a beverage, beer would be most appropriate. Call 414-342-0000 for reservations.
Travel at the Table
The Piedmont region of Italy is a lovely place, surrounded on three sides by the Alps. It’s a producer of great wine, and you’ll learn about that firsthand if you register for a wine-tasting dinner in November at the Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar (1503 N. Farwell Ave.). The meal is four courses, including wines. You’ll also get recipes and the opportunity to buy the wines tasted that evening. The courses: bagna cauda and vitello tonnato (a hot Piedmontese dip and veal with tuna sauce, respectively); braised rabbit with white truffle risotto; Borolo braised beef; and “Zabbionne,” my press release calls it. Zabaglione? Wines include 2008 Bongiovanni Arneis, 2007 Marcarini Barbera d’alba Ciabot Camerano, and 2006 Vietti Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco. The cost is $60 per person. Tues. Nov. 10, 6 p.m. Book it by calling 414-276-8867.
People Power
Speaking of Italian food – however, not specifically Pietmontese cuisine – OpenTable, the company that provides free online restaurant reservations, put together a “diners’ choice” awards. The company named the 50 Top Italian Restaurants in the country. Two Milwaukee – make that, Wauwatosa – restaurants made the list – Il Mito Enoteca and Ristorante Bartolotta. OpenTable gives diners the ability to rate the restaurants based on their visits. Interested in which Italian restaurants in other states made the list? Click here.
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
