This Week’s Hottest Dish
• Restaurateur Marc Bianchini’s latest project, COA at Bayshore Town Center, is ready for you. The restaurant’s tagline is “the heart of Mexican street food.” You can order your first COA carne asada tacos after 5 p.m. tonight (Thurs, Sept. 10). Starting tomorrow, the restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. daily. Bianchini sent me the menu –affordable, authentic offerings across the board. The tacos run $3-$5 individually and can come with medium-rare ahi tuna, braised short ribs, chorizo, braised veal shoulder and shrimp, among other fillings. Fom the “platillos pequeños” (small plates), you can order tamales, flautas, empanadas and poblanos rellenos ($4-$11). Everyday, there’s a special: For instance, Tuesday will be Yucatan-style baby-back ribs with mango-orange BBQ ($14). Fridays will feature the COA fish fry with Mexican slaw and chipotle tartar sauce ($12). On a muggy day like today, one – or two, perhaps three…? – of COA’s Margaritas sound really refreshing. There are nine varieties, including the traditional, which is simply tequila and fresh lime. To give you a little refresher on where COA is located, it’s in the old Cameron’s Steakhouse digs (5750 N. Port Washington Rd., 414-967-1451).
• A comment at the end of last week’s column alluded to the inviting new Izzy’s Cafe, which unfortunately is dealing with considerable street construction on State Street. But the cafe, open since July, is taking it in stride. Izzy’s is open just on weekdays (Mon-Fri 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m.) and serves breakfast and lunch. Options include a gyro pocket, BLT, Reuben, and roast turkey and avocado sandwich ($3-$7). Also brownies, cheesecake and muffin tops. The espresso machine can set you up with a cappuccino, latte or what have you. There’s free Wi-Fi and shelves of books. Bring one of your own book titles and exchange it with one of theirs. A nice way to share the joy of reading. (2613 W. State St., 414-342-3287)
• What you need right now is a butter burger. Maybe. There’s a new place in town specializing in these juicy sandwiches. Grill ’N Out, at 90th and Silver Spring, opened a month ago. It serves a hearty menu, to say the least: Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, potato “skillets” (made with deep-fried potatoes, cheese, chicken and “dressings”), wings and Italian beef. Prices are $3.99-$6.99. (9040 W. Silver Spring Dr., 262-302-0990)
The Big Guns
Next month, Bartolotta Restaurant Group is putting on an extra-special meal: A Friends of James Beard Dinner on Oct. 21. It’s a five-course dinner featuring three James Beard Award-winning chefs ( Sanford Restaurant’s Sandy D’Amato, Lake Park Bistro’s Adam Siegel and Paul Bartolotta, who owns Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas) and two winners from the Bravo show “Top Chef” (Stephanie Izard and Hosea Rosenberg). Also participating are Ristorante Bartolotta’s Juan Urbieta and master pastry chef Sébastien Canonne (of The French Pastry School in Chicago). The courses include seared scallops with smoked goat cheese, wilted greens and huckleberry gastriques, and glazed squab borscht with root vegetable and foie gras pierogi. Spots are filling up fast, so call now to make a reservation. $150 per person. Location: Bacchus, 925 E. Wells St., 414-765-1166.
Sweet Business
Wisconsin businesses are popular fodder for Food Network shows. Guy Fieri has profiled Frank’s Diner in Kenosha and Milwaukee’s Comet Cafe for “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” The Watertown coffee roaster Berres Brothers has been on “Unwrapped.” And next month… well, Wisconsin Natural Acres (from Clinton, Wis.) will also make its debut on “Unwrapped.” Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. If you want to learn more about the honey maker, check out the company’s Web site: wnacres.com .
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
