Dish On Dining

Photo courtesy of Cafe Perrin Last month Café Perrin (5901 W. Vliet St.) posted a photo on its Facebook page of a new brunch item. The addition coincided with the arrival of chef Christian Schroeder (an alum of Prodigal and Von Trier) to the Perrin team. The restaurant’s lunch and dinner menus have been revamped and its patio redesigned. But let’s circle back to brunch. The doughnut is an important piece of food Americana. The Pilgrims made doughnuts! As for the Perrin creation (shown above), its is hard to deny the sweet-savory appeal of pork belly doughnuts, served here with…

                                           Scrumptious photo via Shutterstock Holey Moley was supposed to make things official today, July 22 (316 N. Milwaukee St., 414-308-1616). Things did not go as planned — the doughnuts needed to be “absolutely perfect. And they weren’t,” says co-owner Joe Sorge. It is, of course, perfection dependent, but tomorrow will hopefully be D-day. In HM’s line-up of glazed, sometimes filled and sometimes topped doughnuts, you’ll find peanut butter-chocolate with or without bacon, crème brûlée, coconut passionfruit, s’mores, a seasonal fritter, plus a few flavors of doughnut holes and a gluten-friendly doughnut. Wouldn’t be a bad…

What remained of a double helping of chicken. The Bartolotta restaurant group’s attempt at capturing the musky spirit of a Kansas City (or North Carolina or Texas) in sunny Greendale, Wis. – Miss Beverly’s Deluxe Barbeque Est. 2014 – opens officially on Friday, but the midscale BBQ joint permitted a quick perusal by local media and other invitees on Wednesday. As with the Joey Girard’s locations, Bartolotta is endeavoring to bring up-market flair to a down-market genre, so we gave Senior Editor and Dining Critic Ann Christenson the night off and charged our two associate editors, Claire Hanan and Matt…

                                                       Photo by Molly Rasmussen News from the East Side, well it’s big news. There won’t be two pizzerias on Downer Avenue anymore! VIA Downer – a Downer resident for four years – is closing later this month. It will be replaced by a third location of BelAir Cantina (2625 N. Downer Ave.), whose other locations are on Humboldt Avenue and on North Avenue in Tosa. VIA’s owners also run Transfer Pizzeria Cafe (101 W.…

                                                                 Photo via Shutterstock There is something to look forward to before Summerfest. Sushi Week, the brainchild of Umami Moto (718 N. Milwaukee St., 414-727-9333). It runs June 16-20. Each day, the restaurant is offering free food. Not just any free food. The freebies will be parceled out each day by course. On Monday, Umami will offer sushi small bites as the amuse bouche. On Tuesday, they will have…

Photo via Shutterstock The Third Ward is where it’s at. And it’s increasingly dominated by businesses owned and operated by restaurateurs Joe and Angie Sorge (of Water Buffalo, Swig and Smoke Shack fame). The duo recently announced their plans to open a doughnut shop – called Holey Moley – in the space formerly occupied by Milwaukee Cupcake Company (316 N. Milwaukee St.). Those digs were previously home to Harlequin Bakery. Along with the retail space, the lease includes a sizable baking facility, which will be the headquarters for all the breads, pastries, doughnuts, pastas, etc. served at the Sorge venues.…

                                  Sweet potato pancakes with ground cherries and Shagbark syrup 2014 is going to be a big year for Potawatomi Bingo Casino (1721 W. Canal St). The 19-story, 381-room hotel currently in utero is scheduled to open in late summer/early fall. The hotel’s first floor will house a restaurant called Locavore, expected to open at the same time as the hotel. Considering the restaurant name, it’s not surprising that locally sourced food is the focus. The menu will feature unusual ingredients like paw paw…

                                                           Photo courtesy of Pizza Man Feels like patio weather, doesn’t it? Construction crews at Pizza Man (2597 N. Downer Ave., 414-272-1745) are busy making sure the new retractable “sunlight/starlight” roof is completed by this weekend. No longer will diners need to scramble for cover when it rains. The roof will also come in handy this winter (a season I just don’t want to think about): It means the whole second floor will…

                                    Image of Juniper 61’s summer vegetable and chickpea ragout                              It’s summer menu time. Yeah! Here I forgot it was even spring. But the weather’s always better on the West Side. Take Juniper 61, where it is summer – sort of. The restaurant – whose tempura green beans appetizer is featured in Mil Mag’s May cover, “50 Must Eat Dishes” – is rolling out its summer menu today. New…

                                                                Image via Shutterstock Croissants and beignets will line the bakery case at North Shore Boulangerie, opening on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 a.m. The bakery-restaurant on the corner of Oakland and Lake Bluff (4401 N. Oakland Ave.) will offer pastries and breads and, beginning at 11:30 a.m., a menu of savory breakfast items like quiche and country omelets. The interior has seating for 30.Owner Gene Webb plans to…