Savoring Poland 

Wioletta’s (3955 S. Howell Ave.) isn’t the only Polish market in Milwaukee (there’s also A&J Polish deli on 12th and Lincoln), but it’s young, just a year old, and growing. Grab a plastic basket – your arms will thank you – and load it up with pints of soup (a dozen kinds in the cooler), frozen pierogi in sweet and savory flavors, fresh sausages from the meat case, and pantry staples like dried kluski noodles, pączki with three different fillings, and breads and rolls. Co-owner Adam Bartoszek asks me when I last visited. “Because it’s probably changed since then. We just keep adding things,” he says. In mid-spring, there were cold prepared meals like pork chop dinner with sweet cabbage, dumplings and mushroom sauce. A Friday special is the stuffed cabbage made by Bartoszek’s wife, Wioletta, who trained as a chef and, like her husband, was born in Poland. This summer, they expect to offer hot menu items. And down the road, they’d like to open a second location, says Adam.  

“When the weather turns warm, I lean into lower-ABV, yeast-driven beers – Belgian beers like saison (Saison Dupont), table bier (our own Table Book), and wit (Allagash White) are full-flavored and crushable at the same time.”

– Kyle Vetter, owner and brewer, 1840 Brewing

It’s a Wrap 

I miss baker Sarah Marx Feldner’s Cookie Friday pop-ups in the Third Ward circa 2016. Back then, Marx Feldner offered gooey, fresh-baked delights out of a commercial kitchen. Since putting the brakes on that, she’s offered recipes (you bet, for cookies!) on her Bake It Write website. She also recently launched her first product – wax paper ($15). But not just any wax paper. This is thicker and sturdier than your average grocery store paper (grease resistant, too), making it practical for wrapping baked goods and, with its illustrated milk bottle-and-straw motif, a charming gift for a baker. Says Marx Feldner of her passion: “Baking is a very sweet way to help make the world a happier place.” 

Following the surprise closure of Meat on the Street only two months after taking over the cafe operations at Milwaukee Public Museum, the Filipino food torch has passed to Cocina Filipina, a new mobile enterprise run by female entrepreneurs, including MOTS’s former food truck manager.  •  A recipe for Story Hill BKC’s crêpe monsieur is featured in the May issue of Food & Wine.  •  The owners of Curry Hut, on 98th and Oklahoma, plan to offer Indian eats in a second spot, at 1888 N. Humboldt Ave., just a block from the new East Side location of Pizza Man.   •  Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, a longtime tenant of Sherman Phoenix, has shifted to a completely wholesale focus. The rolls are stocked at area Sendik’s and Outpost stores.