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Homemade waffles are a beautiful thing. As they bake inside the iron, their toasty, nutty aroma can fill a whole room. And if done just right – crisp outside, tender and pillowy inside – when you cut into them, you’d swear there’s no better breakfast in the whole world.
That’s why Rob Hausknecht makes them every weekend at Full of Beans, the Walker’s Point cafe he owns with his spouse, JoAnn. The other reason is to correct a past wrong.
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“My mom made horrible waffles when I was growing up, so it’s something I wanted to do, and do right,” he says. Hausknecht has been making them at the cafe since it opened in 2017, and he’s got the touch.
He will, if you desire, add banana, blueberries, chocolate chips or a combination thereof. Hausknecht, who has 30 years of cooking experience (Beans & Barley, Twisted Fisherman), was primarily a cook – not a baker – before he and JoAnn opened the cafe. He took the reins on the baking program.
“There’s a bit of a learning curve, no question,” he says. “But I just try to focus on certain things.” Like those boss weekend waffles. 184 S. Second St.
“It’s going to be like old grandma meets cat lady millennial,” says baker Sam Sandrin on the plans for her Midwest Sad cafe-speakeasy-hangout in Walker’s Point. She’s holding a fundraiser – complete with food, drag queens and a raffle – May 9 at The Cooperage.
Photos of the distinctive-looking thin-crust pizzas from Nico’s in West Allis have been lighting up social media since the location opened in October 2023. The pizzeria (suitably situated inside a former Shakey’s Pizza) is the first brick-and-mortar for owner Ken “Nico” Peters, who started selling fresh pies out of various Lake Country restaurants in 2020 before starting a frozen line.
Nico’s is best known for its sausage. Not just that it’s delicious – unctuous and suffused with fennel flavor – but that the meat is applied in generous (we’re talking tablespoon-size) globs. “Everybody loves it,” says Tina Mankowski, the West Allis restaurant GM. Of course they do. Nico’s eye-catching Sharp Dressed Man – covered with sausage, pepperoni and radial strips of cheddar cheese – gets a lot of love on Instagram.
But its bestseller (and best combo, IMO) is the classic sausage, mushroom and onion. 9638 W. National Ave.
The East Side’s L’Incontro, which has been serving fusion Italian in the old Tavolino (2315 N. Murray Ave.), is now devoting Monday nights to a Filipino pop-up concept celebrating chef Juneil Cabreza’s heritage. • Look for saffron lattes, baklava and Dubai chocolate, among other Yemeni creations, at the new Haraz Coffee House (2900 N. Oakland Ave.). • There’s a new wine bar in Walker’s Point aptly named Cork (1039 S. Fifth St.), serving 25-plus wines from worldwide regions, along with cocktails such as the Paloma, which has become a staple at the owners’ other bar, Union House Cedarburg. • Riley’s, which burst on the sandwich scene in 2021 with sous-vide sandwiches in a dog-friendly space, is planning a Bay View bar and grill serving Wagyu beef burgers. It may be open as soon as late spring.
