For the fifth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by Concordia University. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2011."
When entertaining guests from out of state or simply enjoying a night on the town, it's helpful to keep in mind some of Brew City restaurants' signature dishes. And this doesn't necessarily mean bratwurst, fish fries or things on sticks, although it could.
OnMilwaukee.com contacted Kyle Cherek, the host of the PBS show "Wisconsin Foodie," to share his local favorites, and the editors contributed their choices as well. Feel free to add your own via the Talkback feature.
Kyle Cherek's picks:
The duck at Mader's
This dish was reportedly Liberace's favorite. I knew Vic Mader's daughter growing up and she always contended the above tidbit. Back in the old days when Van Halen was still good, I know for a fact that they would have Mader's cater their gigs at Alpine Valley. Dave, Eddie, schnitzel and duck. What is it with flamboyant pianists and big hair bands that love our good German cuisine?
The Italian sausage at Glorioso's
Extra sauce, with sweet peppers. Unparalleled in my opinion. There was some concern among foodies that with their move across the street and shiny new digs, that the Italian Sausages may suffer the flavor fate that befell Vienna sausages as documented on "This American Life," when they built their new plant. Thank the Roman gods the Italians have not.
Lisa's pizza
This single best pizza I had ever had before traveling East. I am a Walker's Point guy now, so Marchese's Olive Pit has got my thin crust pizza heart. But Lisa's, the whole place is a little surreal. It's a white house with an entire flight of stairs you have to ascend just to get in to one of the darkest interiors of restaurant ever. It all worked because you fell into a kind of dream state of thin crust pizza. Crazy, kinda weird and Milwaukee good.
OnMilwaukee.com editors' picks:
Tim Cuprisin
Media Columnist
Pick: Fortune's noodles with barbecue pork
Just this week, I headed to Fortune on Highway 100 in West Allis for a steaming bowl of noodles with barbecue pork. The pork is lean and lacks the fluorescent pink color you find at lesser Chinese places. The broth is just salty enough. It warms the soul – and the stomach. The noodles are delightfully slurpable. Order it off the Chinese menu at Fortune.
Damien Jaques
Senior Contributing Editor
Pick: Centro's spaghetti di fruit di mare
Put me on a desert island and tell me I must eat only one thing I can choose. What will it be? Pasta! And my favorite pasta dish in Milwaukee? Spaghetti di fruit di mare at Centro Cafe in Riverwest.
Calamari, scallops and shrimp in a tomato white wine sauce, finished with cream. Lots of yummy flavors, some bold and some nuanced. At $14, the price is nice too, but this dish would be a fave whatever it cost.
Renee Lorenz
Reporter
Pick: Lakefront Brewery's fish fry
Nothing's more Milwaukee to me than the Friday fish fry. I can remember more instances of going out for a fish fry when I was little than I can anything else, probably because they're everywhere. My family mixed it up, trying different places and switching off between sit-down meals at a restaurant and takeout from Legion Posts. These days I don't get my Friday fish fix nearly as often, but the Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden is always the go-to spot for it – I think there's something about polka music that just makes the potato pancakes taste better.
Jeff Sherman
President
Pick: Calderone Club's capellini alla caprese
Sadly, my favorite Milwaukee dish – Osteria del Mondo's amazing tagliatelle verde al rague doesn't exist anymore. Osteria closed this summer, although owner Marc Bianchini says he hopes to reopen in greater Downtown in the next year or so. Until then, I'm more than happy with another great Italian dish. Calderone Club's capellini alla caprese. Oddly, this is about the only time I eat prosciutto. It's not only a treat but a moderately priced, amazing entree. Sure, there are more fancy dishes in and around town, but I love the Calderone Club's Downtown location and its capellini alla caprese simply never fails. Let me a cheat a bit and add another one. The braised veal short ribs at La Merenda. These Strauss Free Raised short ribs are braised in red wine and tomatoes and served over amazing caramelized carrot risotto. So very good.
Molly Snyder
Associate Editor
Pick: Comet's cheesy, twice-baked potatoes
The burgers at Kopp's or the fish fry at Serb Hall are certainly more famous signature Milwaukee menu items, but the lesser-known cheesy, twice-baked potatoes at Comet are a subtle classic. I have enjoyed these for more than a decade and they are consistently, sinfully delicious. But really, what's not to adore? They are super-mashed potatoes mixed with butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese and cream cheese that are then topped with more cheese and broiled. Plus, the chopped green onions on top add a complementary bite to the otherwise extremely rich dish. I always eat them as my entree instead of a side, and walk away stuffed, satisfied and only $6 poorer.
Andy Tarnoff
Publisher
Pick: Yen Ching's Mongolian beef
This was a tough one, and I almost agreed with Molly's pick above. But the one meal I crave basically every day is the Mongolian beef from Yen Ching, 7630 W. Good Hope Road (though I only eat it about twice a year). Beef with green and white onions, sautéed, and garnished with rice sticks. So, so very good and incredibly consistent over the years.
Andrew Wagner
Senior Staff Writer
Pick: Bratwurst and Spatzle at Old German Beer Hall
In a city that is supposed to be known for bratwurst, it amazes me how many places get such a simple dish so incredibly wrong, treating brats as something of a novelty rather than an actual meal. That's why, for my money, few dishes in town are as tasty and filling as the classic brat with a side of spatzle from the Old German Beer Hall. The right amount of seasoning, just enough spice on a fresh bakery bun make for the perfect quick lunch, late-night snack and with a heaping side of spatzle (tiny dumplings) even a dinner with friends. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
