Waukesha’s Future
Andy Ruggeri has been involved in several newsworthy developments. At Hotel Metro Downtown, he was general manager. In Delafield, he partnered with developer Bob Lang for the Delafield Hotel and opened the eponymously named restaurant (Andrew’s) located inside it. The Lang/Ruggeri partnership has dissolved, and Ruggeri is on to something new. (But take note: He still operates Ruggeri’s Ristorante in Delafield.) With business partner Drew Vallozzi, he’s in the throes of building another boutique hotel and restaurant, this time in downtown Waukesha. The partners are just in the final stage of demolition for the 22-room hotel (314 W. Main St.), which will eventually house a restaurant called The Black Trumpet. An early snapshot of what it will incorporate: a substantial bar area with a “modern, clubby feel,” an elegant main dining room (white tablecloth, crystal light fixtures) and a lower-level dining room dominated by private booths. Expect French-influenced cuisine and an extensive list of French and California wines. Realistically, this development’s opening won’t be before early 2008.
Nostalgia Night
Oh, Wednesday night. Such a midweek-slump night. It’s a challenge for restaurateurs and barkeeps to do something to keep people from going home and watching bad reality TV shows. At Balzac Wine Bar (1716 N. Arlington Pl.), Wednesday night is “Vintage.” Besides the regular menu of small plates, the chefs offer four specials. This week, they were cucumber canapé, French rarebit (tell me my mom wasn’t the only one who made this), mussels Provençale and sangria granita ($4-$6). “Vintage” includes drink specials (gimlets and Manhattans), wine deals (Lambrusco!) and two-buck cans of Pabst and Schlitz. The wine bar has a shelf full of classic board games for your playing pleasure. Look for Battleship, Risk, Monopoly, The Game of Life and others. “Vintage” is every Wednesday at Balzac, from 5 p.m. on. 414-755-0099.
The Importance of Being Open
Robert Fontecchio, co-owner of the East Side institution The Pasta Tree (1503 N. Farwell Ave.), passed away last Saturday. A very sad thing indeed. The other day, Fontecchio’s cousin called me, looking for photos we might have run of the restaurateur over the years. I paged through issues from 20-plus years ago and read about the lines “extending down Farwell Avenue [of] people waiting for a table at this romantic little pasta house.” It’s still a romantic little pasta house. (And who doesn’t have a Pasta Tree memory?) While the East Side has changed dramatically since the 1980s, the Pasta Tree still has the charming, Euro-bohemian feel it had in the ’80s and ’90s. I talk a lot about new restaurants in this blog and in the print version of the magazine – at times maybe too much. It’s important to keep long-time restaurants like this East Sider thriving.
Pig Par-tay
Nothing says a good time like a pig on a spit. Jake Replogle, chef-owner of Jake’s Restaurant, is ending summer with a pig extravaganza, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The 2nd Annual Garden Party takes place at Jake’s Restaurant on Sept. 16. Replogle, and four local restaurant guys are doing the cooking. Replogle himself will handle the traditional Cuban-style pork roast (which he’ll prepare in a Caja China, a roasting chest). The accompanying courses will be prepared by the other chefs – Osteria del Mondo’s Marc Bianchini, Maxie’s Southern Comfort’s Joe Muench, Yaffa’s John Chitko and North Star American Bistro’s Mike Stoner. Wine will be paired with each course. Total cost (wine included): $79 per person. Sept. 16. Begins at 5:30 p.m., with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the garden while musician Jim Liban serenades the crowd. 21455 W. Gumina Rd., Pewaukee, 262-781-7995.
Not Archie Bunker’s Beer
Wine dinners are clearly hot stuff, but the caliber of beer dinners I’m seeing lately shows how sophisticated the pairing of food and foamy malt beverages has become. Dream Dance and Sprecher Brewery are doing a beer dinner together on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Chef Jason Gorman’s creative mind has worked overtime. Here are a few highlights from the five-course meal: prawn and Chinese sausage flat noodles with elephant garlic chips and gai lon (Chinese broccoli), paired with Sprecher New Mbege (an African-style beer made with banana); Arkansas rabbit mole with black bean refrito and tangerine tortilla salad, paired with Sprecher Imperial Stout. And I need to mention dessert: warm caramel pound cake with kabocha squash ice cream and coffee raspberry sauce. To wash it down: Sprecher Generation Porter. Make your reservation soon. Dinner: Sept. 5, 6:30 p.m. $75 per person. At Potawatomi Bingo Casino, 1721 W. Canal St. Call 414-847-7883.
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, August 30. 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.
