Sharing plates (small and large). Menu changes often
Chef Justin Carlisle housed this impressive little creation in an unlikely space. Simple ingredients from Wisco farms are transformed. The restaurant’s website lists a sample menu, an accurate representation of what was available for the first two months of Ardent’s life. Read more…
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Square lines, leather booths and an elegant bar define this Cudahy Tower space, a sure bet for foie gras, Strauss veal and the porterhouse for two. Desserts are definitely worth a look.
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Walker’s Point and Bay View may be known for small plates, but the East Side offers its rendition, in this casual, low-lit venue just off of Brady Street. Share some deviled eggs, a charcuterie plate, mussels and others from chef Rebecca Berkshire’s menu. Read more…
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The center of this open, modern space is a wood-burning hearth, used for everything from bread-baking to roasting meats and fish. High marks for shareable menu items like roasted parsnips, sunflower seed risotto and whole chicken with BBQ carrots. Open for Sat-Sun brunch as well.
When I talked with co-owner Miles Borghgraef by phone a few months before Birch + Butcher’s opening – in Barry Mandel’s North End development on Water Street – the carpentry was finished, light fixtures installed and Borghgraef and his crew were christening the wood- burning hearth at the center of his kitchen.
Think of this high-end restaurant and adjacent bar as restored old Cream City brick building meets Ernest Hemingway-esque hunting lodge. The service aims to match the expensive house dry-aged steaks. Steaks are a menu highlight.
“Fine dining” has more than once been pronounced close to death’s door. Despite those claims, there’s still life in the concept. But what constitutes fine dining has changed, in keeping with broader lifestyle trends of the last 15 years or so.
Seasonal cuisine incorporating local foods is the mantra of this beautifully restored occupant of Walker’s Point’s “Restaurant Row.” The steamed pork buns are a must. Also offers hands-on cooking classes.
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The owners trekked the handsome old bar inside this cozy spot all the way from Boston. Known for Meatloaf Monday and for a relentlessly satisfying menu by executive chef Thi Cao, whose creations include a losbter roll to grilled hanger steak.
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This is so much more than a restaurant named after space debris. Diner-y eats like meatloaf with beer gravy and the compact turkey dinner are instant pick-me-ups.
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The remodeled, refreshed former Stonefly is back to doing what the space was known for – brewing beer (try the Pomp & Pamplemousse Imperial IPA) and serving food (best bet: fried chicken).

The Walker??s Point resto that inhabited an old German bar long before the area??s renaissance. Owner/chef Peggy Magister has a rapt audience that finds nothing crazy about her menu of chorizo-stuffed dates, parsley-crusted halibut, and soy-braised short ribs.)