Milwaukee's condominium boom has brought with it a lot of new retail and restaurant space, which in turn, has provided a barrage of new restaurant openings in the past year and a half. Now, The Good Life, 1935 N. Water St., has joined the ranks of some of the better additions to the Milwaukee nightlife scene.

The Good Life's Caribbean theme carries through the menu and the music, and the setting here is clean and sleek, albeit small. The restaurant, owned by DJ (drummer with Citizen King and now New Sense) and Cassie Brooks, is well-thought out, simple and solid, down to the small selection of menu items which the Good Life does, and does well.

Service is good, the food is above average and unique, and if you get there early enough to get a table, the ambience is fun and upbeat. Waits can get a bit long on the weekends, but the Good Life addresses that with a comfortable love seat in the entry area.

Appetizers include crab dip ($12), a basic medley of baked cream and Parmesan cheese with chunks of crabmeat and plantain chips, sweet potato chips and flatbread. All three accompaniments were well salted and the dip itself was comforting and very good, especially with the plantain chips; the sweet potato chips didn't work quite as well with the flavor of the crab.

Rum BBQ chicken wings ($6) were sweet and delicious and they came with a cucumber sauce which was a nice contrast to the rum barbecue sauce. Veggie cakes ($7) were also outstanding, although they had a tendency to fall apart, but the combination of curried vegetables and minced cashew nuts is delicious and unique.

We also enjoyed the sandwiches and entrees at The Good Life.

The Good Life Burger ($9) arrived perfectly cooked and was topped with Swiss cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and an avocado salsa that was a delightful combination and needed no additional condiments. The sides of plantain and sweet potato chips were once again very good.

Mango mahi mahi ($12) was pan-seared and came in a pomegranate reduction sauce and was flaky and tender and highly complemented by the fruit salsa and sauce.

Red Stripe chicken ($10) was falling off the bone and came with a solid serving of rice and peas and Cuban corn (topped with mayonnaise, garlic, and Cojita cheese). The drunken shrimp ($11) was also good, although the shrimp breading was indiscernible in the tequila tomato sauce.

Serving sizes are not shy here, and this dish, as well as the jerk plate ($14) also came with coconut rice and that delicious Cuban corn. The jerk plate was nearly a meal for two with your choice of pork chops, chicken, shrimp or tofu grilled in jerk sauce. The chicken in this dish was just a little dry, but that I think was in part do to the inflexibility of jerk seasoning which does dry out meat just a tad.

The Good Life features a specialty cocktail menu as well including mojitos, pina coladas, The Good Life iced tea, guava mimosas, and both white and red sangrias. We were pleased to see the Caribbean theme carry through to the cocktails, and we look forward to seeing the same thing in their upcoming brunch, which will commence on Sunday, Oct. 29.

All in all, The Good Life is a great addition to the East Side, and with solid food and service seven days a week, we can look forward to enjoying a slice of the good life for many years to come.

38 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by OMCreader on Nov. 12, 2006 at 9:19 p.m. (report)

Christine said: Just went there for dinner and was very disappointed. Our entrees took over an hour to come and my burger (which I had because they were out of my first choice, curried tofu) was well-done instead of medium well. CHARRED. I would've sent it back but I had already waited long enough. The waiter told us that EVERYTHING was screwed up that day because it was the first day they had their full brunch. He offered to comp us another beer, but I didn't WANT another beer. We won't be back.

Posted by OMCreader on Nov. 3, 2006 at 2:19 p.m. (report)

College Dave said: I love this place! Thank God I don't live on the east side anymore because I'd probably be there way too often.

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 25, 2006 at 6:45 p.m. (report)

Fine Diner said: I've been here a number of times -- for just drinks, dinner at the bar, dinner for two, as well as dinner with a larger group. We have been impressed with the appetizers and meals. The plaintains and the crab dip were great. I have really enjoyed the grilled mahi on a couple of occasions. Service has been slow, but hopefully that works itself out. We will definitely enjoy The Good Life many more times! Good luck!

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 25, 2006 at 2:49 p.m. (report)

Re: Annoyed said: Sounds like you already found the "Good Life" .. no reason for you to go back to this place...

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 25, 2006 at 2:40 p.m. (report)

Laura said: This place is wonderful! Went there for drinks and had a great evening. The decor is beautiful - elegant and laid back. Congrats DJ and Cassie!