Photo of Maxie’s by David Szymanski
Making Mardi
Some of you may already be all over Fat Tuesday. And have your tickets for Paul Cebar and Mama Digdown’s Brass Band at Turner Hall Ballroom the evening of Feb. 21. My Mardi Gras beads will be out by 6 a.m. on Tuesday. (Not really.) If your preferred speed is to be stationary at a table with your bottle of Abita beer and bowl of gumbo, you can do just that at Maxie’s Southern Comfort. On Fat Tuesday, Maxie’s opens at 2 p.m., at which point the Extra Crispy Brass Band will begin its three-hour show. (At 5 p.m., the band will lead a parade on Fairview Avenue. The Uptown Savages will take over at 6 p.m.) They’re rigging up an outdoor (heated) tent, allowing for a stage and dance floor. Aside from specials on beer (Abita, Lakefront Brewery’s Big Easy Bock) and Hurricanes, the restaurant will not run its regular food menu, but rather the special Mardi Gras menu. It’s offered both Monday (known as Lundi Gras or Shrove Monday) and Tuesday. It’s the closest thing to being in New Orleans – at least, north of the Illinois border. Some highlights: turtle soup, crawfish etouffée, blackened redfish with dirty rice, gator and pork sausage, frog legs, duck gumbo, and strawberry beignets ($3.95-$17.95). As for the Cebar show at Turner Hall (a benefit for 88Nine Radio Milwaukee), Maxie’s is fixing the vittles served at that gig. Doors open at 7 p.m. There’s a $10 entrance fee, plus you can buy gumbo, muffalettas and two kinds of jambalaya. Hours at Maxie’s: Monday from 4 p.m.; Tuesday from 2 p.m. (6732 W. Fairview Ave., 414-292-3969)
Your Bean Or Mine?
I am thinking about chili. And you should, too. I picked up a flyer the other day at The National – a cute little corner cafe on Ninth and National. It is one of about 50 local restaurants, cafes and catering businesses making their fiery best for the Rockabilly Chili Contest (Sunday, March 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.). Restaurants offering up their stock pots include: Attebury’s Pub & Eatery, Blue’s Egg, Cafe LuLu, Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub, Honeypie, Maxie’s Southern Comfort and Palomino. The event is presented by WMSE and Milwaukee Brewing Co, which is providing the beer. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to free up your schedule now. The $10 advanced ticket will get you four servings of chili. MSOE Kern Center (1245 N. Broadway). Tickets: 414-277-7247 or wmse.org.
Look for Dish on Dining on Tuesdays and Thursdays!
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If you spot a restaurant opening or closing, post it on the comments section of my column, or e-mail me directly: ann.christenson@milwaukeemagazine.com
