Openings, Closings, Updates
• The news is spreading. Yanni’s old Mason Street space is getting a tenant – Ward’s House of Prime (540 E. Mason St., 414-223-0135). The steakhouse’s grand opening is Nov. 16th. The two top dogs here have Mo’s Steakhouse connections. Owner Brian Ward is Mo’s former GM; executive chef Bill Baumann was also the steakhouse’s executive chef. Ward’s menu will include steaks and prime rib, also chicken and seafood. Or… if you’re really hungry, a meal could look like this: smoked beef carpaccio appetizer, crab and avocado salad, prime rib chili, followed by veal Marsala. I don’t have prices yet. The bar menu will be supplemented by pizzas baked in a woodstone oven by “Jimmy, the Pizza Guy.” Dining room hours: Mon-Sat 5-11 p.m. The Web site: www.wardshouseofprime.com.
• The (maybe?) much-anticipated Horny Hideaway (2011 S. First St., 414-744-4400) is doing its thing, finally. A reader e-mailed me to say he enjoyed a bowl of “zesty” chili and tater tots at this provocatively named bar (in the former Milwaukee Pump House digs) during its soft opening a few weeks ago. Well, kids, tonight (Nov. 5th) is the first night of their four-night Grand Opening. The food menu is heavy on flatbread pizzas – Jamaican jerk chicken, sausage and sauerkraut – burgers, Kansas City hog wings, and smothered tots. Tater tots, I mean. Open at 11 a.m. and serving until midnight nightly.
• Lynn Chisholm and her siblings have reopened their restaurant The Paddock Club in downtown Elkhart Lake. The restaurant was damaged during a fire in late September that started on the upper floor of the building (61 S. Lake St.). The Chisholm siblings’ first day back in business is – or was, depending on when you’re reading this – November 5th. Executive chef Lynn had worked for the Bartolotta restaurants, including the Ristorante Bartolotta once located on Downer Avenue. The Elkhart Lake restaurant, open since June 2007, serves house-made pastas – lemon and ricotta ravioli, pappardelle with porcini mushroom and veal ragu ($18-$22) – and entrées like red wine-braised shortribs, pan-roasted halibut, grilled hanger steak with skinny fries, and lemon-roasted chicken ($19-$35). Hours: Tues-Thurs 4-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4-9:30 p.m. Reservations: 920-876-3288. The menu is posted on their Web site: www.paddockclubelkhartlake.com.
• Gilbert’s, the Lake Geneva fine dining restaurant located inside an 1870s Queen Anne mansion (327 Wrigley Drive), has joined the casualty list, as of October. Chef/owner Ken Hnilo, passionate about using organic and local ingredients, created a menu of such dishes as Irish organic salmon with seared Canadian foie gras, braised organic cabbage and foie gras sauce.
• The cup is empty at Pizzeria Tazza (5010 W. Vliet St.). Better put, the pizza pan is empty. The shuttered space had been various cafes before a pizza joint, all under a roof festooned with a giant – and I mean, giant – coffee cup.
Cheap Date
You should know I’m always looking for the cheap. Case in point: the cover story of the November issue. (The link to the “Cheap Eats” story is posted on our home page.) Consider these specials as an addendum: Bunker’s Nostalgic Lounge & Eatery (7420 W. Greenfield Ave., 414-258-1982) runs a special on 8-ounce tenderloin filets on “Times Are Tough” Tuesdays. That’s steak, garlic mashed potatoes and Texas toast for $6.99. Wednesday nights: $6.95 for a half-pound bucket of grilled shrimp with potatoes and corn on the cob. The new regular menu is out, too. It includes a Reuben sandwich and Brad’s barnbuster burger – a half-pound Angus patty topped with cheddar, homemade tomato jam, demi-glazed onions and an over-easy egg – for $10.25. The entrée side of the menu isn’t lengthy, but what’s there sounds hearty: steak and potatoes ($12.95) chicken with blue cheese macaroni ($10.95), and a fresh catch Rockefeller – pan-seared fish of the day topped with bacon, spinach and Parmesan cheese ($11.95).
Tiptoe Through the Fish Fry
Fish fries come with a side of tartar sauce. What about a side of… ukelele? Forget the annual arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. The Event of the Month is a fry accompanied by the dulcet strains of the ukelele, played by the Milwaukee Ukelele Club. This is all happening at a perhaps unexpected location: Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove. Kroupa’s Family Restaurant (also of Elm Grove) is cooking the fish – 10 bucks-a-person worth. That’s fried or baked fish served with sides and dessert. Beer, wine and soda cost extra. Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Call to reserve a spot: 262-782-4431. If you want to make a night of it, the Playhouse is doing Deathtrap at 8 p.m. (800 Elm Grove Rd.)
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
