Big Brady Street Business
So Casablanca (728 E. Brady St., 414-271-6000) is shaping up to be quite the manse. If you approach from Van Buren Street, you’ll see the railed, second-floor terrace over the Middle Eastern restaurant’s parking lot. It – along with the whole second level, which can be accessed by elevator – is still under construction, as the above photo shows. To give you a sense of the magnitude of the addition, the changes will close to triple the dining space. The owners also added another bar and built a new kitchen. More, too: They plan to expand the menu. Expected time of completion? Mid-September, if all goes well. Note that the restaurant has stayed open throughout construction.

Earth Bound
Deep inside the game table-laden chambers of Potawatomi Bingo Casino, work has been underway to bring a new restaurant to life. It’s Wild Earth Cucina Italiana, due to open Friday Sept. 7. The theme is comfort. But the menu choices will not just wax traditional. Lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs will share the same kitchen space as the “reinvented classics” created by head chef Audrey Vandenburgh, to whom this all may seem like a bit of déjà vu. Vandenburgh was the chef of the short-lived Potawatomi resto Wild Earth three years ago. The difference is this is an Italian joint. The bar speaks Italian, too. The drink list includes 30 bottles of Italian vino,hand-crafted cocktails, Italian beer and house-made Italian sodas. Hours-to-be: Sun, Wed, Thurs 4-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 p.m.-midnight.

Sausage Slam
Last year, Buddy’s Meat Market in Bay View got a lift when it won the Lakefront International Festival of Sausages, held at on Lincoln Avenue outside Bay View’s Café Centraal (2306 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.). The honor earned Buddy’s the title of featured sausage maker for the Lowlands Group restaurants, including Centraal, Café Hollander and Café Benelux. Buddy’s will offer its sausages at this year’s fest – Saturday Sept. 8 – along with local meat makers like G. Groppi Food Market and Ray’s Butcher Shoppe. The fest offers all-you-can-eat sausage for 10 bucks. Lakefront Brewery and Great Lakes Distillery are the beverage vendors. Live music, children’s activities and the Best-in-Wurst Contest are among the other draws. Sept. 8, 2-8 p.m.

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

 

 

Mary Made

Mary, Mary, quite contrary. Wait, Mary is most certainly not contrary. She is being quite amenable by officially making her presence felt in Bay View. “She” is more formally known as Hamburger Mary’s new Milwaukee location (2130 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., 414-988-9324), which should be open for business this Wednesday (dinner starting at 5 p.m.). The LGBT-friendly restaurant will debut with a limited menu. Starters, for instance, will include mini Marys (sliders), chik’n wangs (that would be wings) and mac-n-cheese fritters. More filling options: crispy caramel chicken salad, the Proud Mary burger (with two half-pound patties), Bird of Paradise turkey/bacon sandwich, and for dessert, the fried Twinkie treat and Mary Tyler s’mores ($2-$14). The interior, I hear, will follow Hamburger Mary’s colorful code of “Klassy Kitsch.” Note that the restaurant will also serve lunch and weekend brunch.

Starting a Rumpus
Starting next week, attention will turn to The Rumpus Room (1030 N. Water St., 414-292-0100). I’ve been talking about Bartolotta Restaurant Group’s latest venture for weeks now. D-Day is Tuesday, Oct. 11. The company has been mum about the interior, although if you go to the restaurant’s Facebook page, you’ll see a photo of one of the antique chandeliers. The Rumpus Room, inspired by a bar that Joe Bartolotta’s father operated in the 1950s and ’60s, is going to be a departure from Lake Park Bistro, Bacchus and Harbor House. They’re shooting for casual, reasonably priced fare. As I look at the menu, I think craft beers (another specialty) will be the right accompaniment. Before getting into the business of sandwiches and entrées, the restaurant will get you going with rumaki, oysters on the half-shell and Scotch eggs served with mustard dressing ($1-$4). Apps include braised pork belly with white beans and gremolata, chopped chicken liver, and chicken wings with harissa and whipped blue cheese cream ($8-$15). Sandwiches? A Rumpus burger, Muffaletta, Cuban, and Usinger’s spiral Italian sausage ($8-$12). Finally, entrées: bangers and sauerkraut, half-fried chicken with escarole and mushrooms, stout-braised lamb cheeks, beer-battered fish and chips, and sea scallops with green lentils and veal jus ($16-$32). Just FYI: some menu revisions could happen between now and next week. And: The restaurant will open strictly for dinner on the 11th. Lunch service will start at the end of October.

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