The Ways of Braise
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Yeah, I admitted in my Tuesday post that I do restaurant drive-bys… just to check how things are coming along. For instance, Braise Restaurant (1101 S. Second St.). The new windows and door have been installed, and though you can’t really see what the restaurant looks like inside, there’s not a whole lot left to get done. Chef/owner Dave Swanson expects to open his long-awaited place the first week in December. It will serve dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Lunch service will happen further down the line. The restaurant, not surprisingly given Swanson’s commitment to local farms, will emphasize seasonal, local foods. That means the menu will change frequently and incorporate ingredients that have been preserved from previous seasons. Some things you might see: kohlrabi curry; grilled prosciutto-wrapped chicken with ricotta gnocchi and rosemary jus; caramelized onion potato tart with arugula and green garlic dressing. Swanson says he will probably make most of the desserts himself. Example: rosemary-mint cake with spiced blueberry compote. Your mouth will have to just keep watering until early December.
Bottomless Bowl
Food is a basic human necessity. When it tastes good, that’s even better. And when it harnesses the powers of a community to work to help others, I’d say that’s the pinnacle. In 2009, a Chicago woman by the name of Martha Bayne started a free weekly dinner in the winter months – at a bar/music venue called The Hideout – that benefitted local food pantries. The number of people cooking grew, as did interest in Bayne’s project. And as more people piled into the Hideout on those soup nights, the jar of donations filled up. Two years later, Bayne – a former food editor at the Chicago Reader – has released this book: Soup & Bread: Building a Community One Pot at a Time. The content includes recipes contributed by chefs (such as Paul Kahan, executive chef of Chicago’s avec), musicians, artists and people who simply love soup. What does this all have to do with Milwaukee? Bayne, who has helped organize these soup events in other cities, will be in Milwaukee for a meal/book sale and signing on December 1 at Bay View’s Sugarmaple (441 E. Lincoln Ave.). It’s a free meal, yes, but donations will be taken to help Bay View Community Center. Several local cooks will combine their soup-making talents for this worthwhile event. Again Dec. 1, 6-8 p.m.
Living the Dream
Dream Dance Steak was for many years the domain of chef Jason Gorman. He left the Potawatomi Bingo Casino restaurant earlier this year and is now busy working for Tim Dixon, owner of the Iron Horse Hotel. Gorman’s casino departure left an opening that has been scooped up one Matt Baier, a graduate of Western Culinary Institute (Portland, Oregon). Baier is moving up in a kitchen he knows well. He has held various positions at the casino restaurants – lead chef of RuYi, and lead chef and sous chef of Dream Dance Steak. Baier’s handiwork is found on DDS’s fall menu. Besides six steaks ($34-$65), the menu has several “big plates” – for instance, pan-seared Arctic char with blood-orange butter sauce; duck breast with Madeira fig sauce and squash barley risotto; and free-range veal chop with porcini butter and roasted fingerling potatoes ($22-$46). (1721 W. Canal St., 414-847-7883)
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
