When Anthony “No Reservations” Bourdain was in town earlier this year, the Keith Richards of chefs ate a multicourse meal at Bacchus with proprietor Joe Bartolotta. Bourdain’s Travel Channel crew filmed Bacchus’ Adam Siegel making culinary magic in the kitchen. Is the Dairy State suddenly culinarily cool? Behold the many Milwaukee-area businesses that have appeared on food TV.
The Elegant Farmer
The Mukwonago farm (and then some) outbaked celeb chef Bobby Flay (yeah!) with its Apple Pie Baked In A Paper Bag, a faceoff for a fall 2008 Food Network “Throwdown.”
Wisconsin Natural Acres
The honey producer, based in Chilton, got some buzz from an Oct. ’09 episode of the Food Network’s “Unwrapped.”
Polonez and Mercado El Rey
Duck blood soup and menudo (tripe soup) – bizarro? Certifiably, according to Andrew Zimmern, who visited the Polish and Mexican, respectively, establishments for a fall ’09 bit on the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods.”
Cempazuchi
In a summer ’09 episode of the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” Billy Idol-wannabe food-TV personality Guy Fieri craned over owner Bryce Clark’s neck as he demoed the Brady Street Mexican hacienda’s signature mole poblano.
Berres Brothers Coffee Roaster
The Watertown java business is known for making 100-plus flavored coffees (German chocolate cake to cherries jubilee), as illustrated in a summer ’09 “Unwrapped” segment.
Paul Bartolotta
The super-chef, restaurateur and brother of local restaurant impresario Joe Bartolotta was a guest judge in 2009 on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Las Vegas.”
Franks Diner
In K-Town (aka, Kenosha), the tiny 84-year-old diner is synonymous with a dish it serves called the Garbage Plate. Guy Fieri wrote surfer sonnets to this egg concoction in a May 2007 episode of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”
Palermo’s Pizza
The Menomonee Valley frozen pizza manufacturer appeared on the Food Network’s “Unwrapped” in fall ’09 and on “Factory Made” (on both the Discovery and Science channels) in early 2010.
Sprecher Brewery
In 2006, the local microbrewery demonstrated the many applications for its legendary root beer to Jamie and Bobby Deen on the Food Network’s “Road Tasted.” Another FN show, “How’d That Get on My Plate,” featured Sprecher Cream Soda in an ’08 episode.
Bendtsen’s Bakery
Kringle, the Scandinavian wonder ring, wormed its way into the Deen brothers’ hearts in the same 2006 “Road Tasted” episode. This kringle king of Racine has also been featured on “The Today Show.”
Comet Café
“Triple D,” as host Guy Fieri calls his Food Network show, explored the deepest recesses of comfort at this popular East Side joint. In a summer ’09 episode, Comet co-owner Adam Lucks made its distinctive “Compact Turkey Dinner,” a complete Thanksgiving meal in a deep-fried ball.
Kangaroo Brands
“Unwrapped” talked to Milwaukee’s “Pita Pocket experts” (who revealed the mystery of creating the pocket in the dough) in a 2005 episode.
Red Star Yeast
Red Star is now owned by the French company Lesaffre, but the product is still as potent as ever. The yeast rose in an “Unwrapped” segment from November ’09.
