Jolly and Green
Mike Buckley faxed over the menu for his new
place, Buckley’s Kiskeam Inn. It’s due to open in a couple of weeks,
maybe more, in the old Lakeside Inn digs on Cass and Wells (801 N. Cass
St., 277-1111). “Buckley’s Is Back!” shouts one of the faxes he sent to my
office. That’s because Mike had operated a bar in Riverwest during the 1980s and
the name was, yeah, Buckley’s. Almost 18 years after the Riverwest bar closed,
Buckley’s returns as a family operation. Mike’s sons will help run the place and
his wife, Pam, will make the desserts. Mike found a salvaged bar on the East
Coast and brought it back for Buckley’s. It’s a fitting journey because Mike is
a Massachusetts native (you can hear it in his voice). A quick look at the
Buckley’s menu: Kobe beef burgers, crab cakes, fontina cheese pizza, a shrimp
martini, a few sandwiches and salads and a handful of dinner entrées – chicken
saltimbocca, barbecued pork ribs, an eggplant stuffed with saffron rice and a
10-ounce rib eye with oven-roasted potatoes O’Brien. What’s the story with
“Kiskeam”? It’s in Ireland – County Cork, to be exact. The home city of Mike’s
grandma. Prices: $3 for vegetarian chili to $24 for the rib eye. Sandwiches
$8-$9.
Boney Location
Can you believe there’s still room on Blue Mound
Road for another restaurant? It’s true, and it’s a Florida-based chain, opening
its first Wisconsin location on Feb. 5. Bonefish Grill, according to info
the company sent to me, “originated on the premise of simplicity and
consistency” and is “lauded for its generous portions.” We’ll see. Fresh fish is
the name of the game here. The menu boasts fresh salmon, rainbow trout, mahi
mahi, Chilean sea bass, swordfish, walleye pike and others offered in grilled
preparations. Sautéed items, too, plus entrées for people who aren’t coming to
Bonefish for, well, fish. 18355 W. Blue Mound Rd., Brookfield, 262-797-0166.
Socially Conscious
Every now and then, it’s good to tweak. A menu,
that is. This must not be confused with an overhaul. Tweaks make a menu sound
fresh and sound the same. All the favorites stay; some new things appear
for diners who like the “new.” That being said, The Social, which moved
from Second to First Street a year ago, is doing some winter freshening.
Co-owner Kevin Sloan sent the menu to me. Just a few new things to tell you
about. Three new apps and an entrée join the dinner menu. The starters: button
mushrooms poached in Marsala wine and served with grilled sourdough ($8.95);
bone marrow and oxtail marmalade with toast points ($8.95); and duck and
chicken-liver mousse flavored with fresh herbs and cognac ($8.95). The new
entrée is an Italian rubbed pork loin with porcini bread salsa and grilled
vegetables ($16.95).
Co-owner Kevin Sloan told me about his new tandoori oven (I’m jealous). It
will come in handy for The Social’s pizza du jour, made on a naan crust ($9.95).
As for lunch, there are scads of new sandwiches – the Alsatian (thin-sliced,
cured meat on marbled rye), a croque monsieur (grilled ham and Gruyère
sandwich), croque madame (the monsieur with a fried egg – okay, so why does that
make it feminine?), a roasted pork loin sandwich, curried egg salad and a few
others. 170 S. First St., 270-0438.
Foamy Fundraiser
Rock Bottom Brewery is hosting an
important event next weekend, the 4th Annual Willegal Wheat Tapping Party and
Fundraiser. It benefits Milwaukee’s The Healing Center, which supports
survivors of sexual assault. In 2003, Emily Willegal – then a bartender at the
Downtown Rock Bottom – was attacked, sexually assaulted and left to die. The
upcoming fundraiser costs you $20. In exchange, you’ll drink pints of Willegal
Wheat (a beer brewed in her honor) and graze on food from the appetizer buffet.
There will also be items up for bid – Bucks, Brewers and concert tickets, for
example. Feb. 3, 7-11 p.m. Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 740 N.
Plankinton Ave., 276-3030.
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 Feb. 2.
That’s 99.1 WMYX-FM.
And check out our calendar editor Julie Sensat Waldren’s picks for the best
events in arts and entertainment on This Weekend.
