Pretzel history goes back centuries – the shape has been used as an emblem of German bakers since the 12th century. Brezel, the German word for this twisted baked good, caught the fancy of Matt and Katie Wessel when they spent 2012 living in Munich. “We’d be sitting outside at a table sharing a [soft] pretzel, drinking a beer and playing rummy together,” Katie reminisces.
Experiences like that were the impetus for the Milwaukee-based couple to start Milwaukee Pretzel Co., whose Bavarian-style soft pretzels are served at local beer gardens (Hoyt Park, South Shore Terrace, Sprecher’s “traveling” garden), craft breweries, Brewers games and, this month, at our city’s annual Teutonic toast – German Fest (July 25-27). What makes these soft pretzels “German” is their chewiness and crisp, glossy brown, lightly salt-flecked crust.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
They get that texture from a lye bath before they’re baked. Pretzels and beer have long had a symbiotic relationship, the salty snack and thirst quencher. It’s not just a marriage of the palate, but of the heart. “That cozy, warm feeling you get. … The [German] word for it is Gemütlichkeit,” says Katie, pronouncing the umlaut like a native.
Cheers to Screaming Tuna Mequon’s Jason Morimoto, who won season two of “Morimoto’s Sushi Master,” the Roku Channel competitive cooking show hosted by (unrelated) chef Masaharu Morimoto.
What’s bringing stone fruit lovers to their knees this time of year? Georgia peaches. These are not the mealy, flavorless grocery store specimens, but their almost complete opposite – sweet, juice-packed, fresh-picked and only available in a six- to eight-week summer window (mid-June to early August). I have my “This Bites” podcast co-host Tarik Moody to thank for turning me on to the local Tree-Ripe Fruit Co. pop-ups some 10 years ago.
The company partners with a heritage peach farm in Georgia and sells its fruit at scheduled stops (farmers markets, local businesses) or by home delivery. Regular pop-up shoppers know to come early to avoid the long lines for their fruit (sold in 4-pound bags). I invariably buy more than I can eat, freezing to use later in baked goods and smoothies. Says Tree-Ripe’s owner Tiernan Paine of their peaches: “This is a fruit people get excited for. You don’t see that in other types of fruit.”
Lao food purveyor SapSap has a new, permanent home at Zócalo Food Park (636 S. Sixth St.), where the bill of fare includes brisket fried rice and a fried chicken banh mi. • After months of delays, Sip & Purr cat cafe opened in late April in its new home (833 E. Brady St.), which also serves as home base for local roaster Space Time Coffee. • Owner Tyron Smith has opened a fourth location of Mae Velma’s Corned Beef at 540 N. 27th St. • Closed since early May due to a major water leak from an upstairs apartment, EsterEv (2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) is spending the summer basically being remade. “There was water coming in the dining room from nine, 10 different places,” says co-owner Dan Jacobs, who doesn’t expect the restaurant to reopen before September. • Explorium Hospitality Group’s Wayfinder MKE has taken the place of Good City Brewing (2108 N. Farwell Ave.), offering a menu of world-inspired small plates and cocktails alongside house-made beer.
