Skate Wing
PASTICHE BISTRO | 4313 W. RIVER LN., BROWN DEER
Skate wing is the large, fan-shaped pectoral fin of the skate fish – and you definitely don’t see it too often in Milwaukee restaurants. It’s a unique thing; the wing’s meat shreds like crab and has a mild, sweet flavor comparable to scallops. Brown Deer’s Pastiche Bistro has been serving their classic French raie au beurre noisette (skate wing with brown butter) since the restaurant’s inception. Pan-seared with capers, fresh lemon, rapini and that nutty, rich brown butter, this wing is wonderful.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Sea Attached Pop-Up
DIPLOMAT | 815 E. BRADY ST.
For one night last December, The Diplomat on Brady Street became something fishy – a pop-up that co-owner Dane Baldwin, a former chef at Harbor House, had long been dreaming of. Sea Attached, as he and partner/spouse Anna Baldwin named the concept, served a menu of almost exclusively aquatic foods. Lobster bisque, shrimp and grits, catfish and chips, and smoked trout sliders were among the dishes, and Dane himself was in the dining room shucking oysters.
All of it worked to form a “concept clarity” that Dane likes but that his restaurant isn’t strictly locked into. Putting oyster-shucking front and center is a teaching moment. “It’s nice to actually talk to the person” shucking them, he says – someone who can “speak to the distinctions of the oysters the same way they would a glass of wine.” The Diplomat plans more of these events; keep an eye on its social media.
1. Harbor House
550 N. HARBOR DR.
This is the only local spot serving two styles of lobster roll – Maine and Connecticut. They’re both delicious and really different from each other. Maine is the cold, creamy, mayo-based one. Connecticut’s is dressed in warm melted butter. Both are served on a buttery brioche roll. Either way, yum! $39.
2. St. Paul Fish Company
MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MARKET, 400 N. WATER ST. | 6200 W. MEQUON RD., MEQUON
The cold lobster salad spills out of the buttered, toasted brioche, feeling every bit like a luxurious, high-end sandwich. $24.
3. Outlaw Oyster Bars
6517 W. NORTH AVE., WAUWATOSA | 2675 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE.
Both locations offer two Connecticut-style options: mini sliders (on butter rolls) and the XL sandwich, on a toasted, oval-shaped roll. The sliders are great for sharing (you get two); the XL is loaded with buttery, succulent lobster meat and sprinkled with fresh chives. $28, $49.
