Good News, Lake Country
What is the area’s most popular restaurant? Maybe Agave Southwestern Grill, Jim and Jere Pandl’s new, 200-plus-seat Brookfield restaurant (18380 W. Capitol Dr., 262-439-8200). The simple explanation: A new dining option on the far West Side is cause for celebration. Agave’s focus is Southwestern cuisine, with influences from Spain, the Mediterranean, Latin America and other areas. I haven’t gotten my hands on the menu yet, but in an earlier conversation with Jim Pandl, he mentioned the menu having small plates like ceviche, Southwest-style pizza, salads and entrées. The restaurant is open daily, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Recurring Dream
For close to two months this spring, Dream Dance was closed while the restaurant moved from its original location inside Potawatomi Bingo Casino to its new first-floor space, part of the casino’s $240 million expansion (1721 W. Canal St., 414-847-7883). The restaurant reopens on June 24, but because of private parties scheduled for the first week, it won’t be open to the public until July 1. I haven’t seen the new space, but I’m anxious to. Chef de cuisine Jason Gorman, who had a two-day stint at the famous Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry in early May, should be primed to perform in his new kitchen. Gorman is known to mix up his “New Wisconsin” menu with creations (local ingredients often included) that you won’t see anywhere else in town. Some highlights: the Ultimate Rumaki, Carr Valley Mammoth Cheddar and Sprecher Amber soup, crispy heirloom tomato salad, diver scallop cordon bleu and Sprecher root beer venison Rossini. GM/certified sommelier Nathaniel Bauer has put together a wine list of some 850 bottles. Hours: Tues-Thurs 5-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5-10 p.m.
Meanwhile, you can check out RuYi, the casino’s new “express-style” restaurant, at any time. (The casino’s official grand opening celebration is today, June 19.) The casual, 91-seater serves all kinds of Asian dishes (many of them noodle oriented): Japanese seafood udon; Chinese crispy pan-fried noodles; Saigon shrimp, squid and crab-egg noodles. Plus finger foods like pork pot stickers, chicken lettuce wraps and fresh basil spring rolls. Hours are perfect for the diehard gambler: Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-4 a.m.
Cold Comfort
Did you know gelato is taking over Milwaukee? Not really, but it made you stop and think, didn’t it? The Italian frozen dessert is similar to ice cream but noticeably different. Gelato is lower in butterfat and air content so the texture of it is denser. Gelato may never eclipse our city’s beloved frozen custard, but it can sure try. In Washington Heights, Sandy Murphy and Brett Swider are getting close to presenting their gelato shop, Cold Spoons, to the world (5924 W. Vliet St., the former Dobke Bakery). Murphy, co-owner of Highlands Cafe on 60th and Vliet, says the shop will serve some 24 varieties of gelato, which the partners will make on-site. Cold Spoons will have indoor and outdoor seating. But with summer just days away, I can envision a lot of ambling gelato eaters, stopping to peek in the door at the Times Cinema (5906 W. Vliet) or giving in to a sweet fix after a meal at Meritage across the street (5921 W.). Murphy says the opening is still three or four weeks out. Once it opens, the long hours will be welcome this time of year: Mon-Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Sun 12-8 p.m.
The Pitter-Patter of Pizza
Brian Zarletti’s life has gone from crazy (running one Downtown restaurant and a South Milwaukee cafe) to crazier (opening a second restaurant recently in the Third Ward). He nixed the idea of using “Zarletti” in his new pizzeria’s name. Rustico (223 N. Water St.), as he’s calling it, is warmer and brighter than previous tenants Riverwalk Bistro and Onyx. The wood tones fit the Italian wine bar theme. The menu is pretty rustic too. Fried calamari, fried eggplant, caprese and Caesar salads, 13 kinds of pizzas (or build-your-own), a handful of panini (a meatball bomber and muffaletta) and several pastas (pesto, pomodoro, primavera). I had a neat, chewy-crust pizza topped with thin-sliced potato, rosemary and prosciutto. Open daily: weekdays 11 a.m.-midnight, Fridays and Saturdays until 1:30 a.m. 414-220-9933.
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, June 26. That’s 99.1 WMYX-FM.
