Centraal Reservation
What’s going on at the corner of Kinnickinnic and Lincoln in Bay View? A lot of finishing touches. Cafe Centraal, the latest creation from the owner of Trocadero and Cafe Hollander, is close to completion. The bar/restaurant (2306 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) will have its grand opening on Sept. 10th. I hear the soon-to-be’s menu bears similarities to its Downer Avenue sibling, Cafe Hollander. Once I get a clearer picture of the menu and more details about the interior, you’ll read more about it here.
The Wild West
The restaurant developments in Downtown Milwaukee, the Third Ward, Walker’s Point, etc. get a lot of ink – in this column, at least. It makes you think there isn’t much going on anywhere else. And that’s not the case. Take downtown Waukesha, for instance. The Clarke Hotel and Black Trumpet Restaurant are on the road to fruition (possibly opening at the end of October). Dan and Jim Taylor, the siblings who own the Milwaukee bar Taylor’s, will have another business on the far side of town called Taylor’s People’s Park. I spoke to Tony Bodway, whose Bodway’s Live Music Grill (404 W. Main St., Waukesha) is one of the new projects still in utero. Bodway’s concept is inspired by his longtime interest in music. He plans to have live music three to four nights a week. Keith Pulvermacher, lead guitarist with local band The Love Monkeys, will head Bodway’s house band. Tony Bodway has even worked the music element into the interior, which includes a bar shaped like an acoustic guitar. Some menu items to expect: a triple-stack club, steak sandwich, stuffed Portobello sandwich, chicken Caesar salad, and fish and chips.
A Confederacy of Cakes
Nine years ago in our annual Best Of Milwaukee story, local baker Jean Tyler earned a well-deserved nod for her fantastic custom-ordered, special-occasion cakes (those fruit mousse fillings – wow!). Her motto was and still is: Taste the cake, not the sugar. Tyler left town a while back for family reasons, but she’s back at work in Milwaukee, making cakes for customers at her baking facility (7202 W. Center St.) Tyler will do cupcakes and petit fours as well as layer cakes. With any cake order, she needs two weeks’ notice. Call to order and/or request samples: 414-771-0613.
Harley on Brady
My bionic ear can detect the faraway roar of Harley engines – millions and millions of motorcycles, inching closer to Milwaukee. Next week, you will hear plenty about Harley-Davidson’s 105th Anniversary Celebration. Today, I’ll give you this: news from Bosley on Brady (815 E. Brady St.), which is preparing, as many restaurants are, for the week of motorcycle mania. Owner Michele Green plans to open the restaurant for lunch on Thursday and Friday (Aug. 28-29, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.) and brunch on Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 30-31, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) Brunch choices include a fried egg sandwich, steak and eggs, and eggs Benedict with shrimp or crab. Bosley is also sporting a few new Harley-related pieces from an artist Green works with in Key West.
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, Aug. 28. That’s 99.1 WMYX-FM.
