My annual article, 52 Restaurants for your Bucket List, was originally created to provide readers with an easy way to explore the wealth of restaurants in the Milwaukee scene over the course of one year (52 weeks). Today, as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides a fun and equally compelling guide for folks who’d like to bring variety to their weekly meals while providing vital support to some of our finest local restaurants.
Here's the featured restaurant of the day, plus five dishes to try!
Birch + Butcher
459 E. Pleasant St., (414) 323-7372
birchandbutcher.com
Experience the flavor of hearth-fired cooking at Birch + Butcher. In so many cases, the dishes are deceptively simple. But the care and technical expertise employed to suss extraordinary flavor from local and regional ingredients is what makes eating here a joy. That includes details like housemade hearth-baked breads, exceptional sauces and dressings and beautifully balanced burgers. Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, Birch + Butcher is currently offering an abbreviated menu for curbside pick-up only.
Five dishes to try:
- Bibb salad with fresh seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs and bibb lettuce; served with ranch or balsamic dressing ($11)
- Buttermilk fried chicken sandwich: lettuce, pickles, onion and housemade ranch; served with side of Bibb salad ($16; add bacon for +$3)
- American burger: lettuce, tomato, red onion, ketchup, pickles, American cheese; served with side of Bibb salad ($16; add bacon for +$3)
- The au jus burger: caramelized onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, aioli and demi-glace; served with a side of Bibb salad ($17; add bacon for +$3)
- Cheesecake with seasonal berries ($9)
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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