There is little better on a cold Wisconsin winter day than a cup of homemade chicken soup. The problem is, it is hard to find really good chicken soup in restaurants these days, as many menus skate right past the simplicity of a good bowl of chicken noodle or chicken dumpling right to a bowl of proverbial French onion (oftentimes alas, without real gruyere cheese) or chili (in Milwaukee, with or without beans and/or pasta).

So, when I discovered that Bronko's, 3710 W. Lincoln Ave., had chicken dumpling as their house specialty soup, I was drawn to the place, and even more so when I walked in the door and was immediately welcomed as though I was in someone's home.

The recently renamed Bronko's (formerly Captain's Fine Dining) defines excellent, comfortable, high quality dining without attitude. Two recent visits have put this restaurant on the list of must-visits in the city, offering a wonderful meld of hospitality and basic, classic menu items that rank superb in comparison to other dining establishments with the same fare.

A weekday lunch buffet, sandwich selections, and dinners all begin with a cup of the house specialty chicken dumpling soup, with a broth so rich it requires no additional seasoning, and homemade dumplings that usurped my dining companion's lifelong dislike of the doughy pockets. The soup alone is worth a visit here, but cannot be undermined by the other offerings on their straightforward but exceptionally done menu.

The all-u-can-eat lunch buffet ($7.95) offers diners good, classic home cooking at a very reasonable price. On our lunch visit, the buffet boasted salad, mashed potatoes, rotisserie chicken, penne Alfredo, corn, chicken goulash, and a chicken and cheese pasta bake. Hearty, but delicious, we found the meal perfect for a frigid winter day. Lunch offerings also include basic salad and sandwich selections for a quiet sit-down meal in Bronko's quaint dining room.

If the name did not belie the owner and chef's nationality, the Serbian salad ($5.00) would do him that justice. On our dinner visit, he apologized that the tomatoes were "not as good as usual," but the salad bore no trace of anything less than brilliance in its flavors, colors, and textures. An appetizer of chicken wings ($9.95) carried on the exemplary quality that shines here, arriving in a homemade barbecue sauce which our server had requested be touched with a bit of hot sauce that made them easily the best wings I have had in years if not ever; the skin was crisp and the sauce just hinted of heat and lovely barbecue flavors at the same time.

An order of fried gulf shrimp ($22.95) were hand breaded and lightly fried, and plump, fresh and delicious alongside a healthy serving of angel hair pasta and steamed vegetables. Veal piccata ($20.95) offered two thinly breaded slices of tender veal in a superior butter, wine, and caper sauce that also worked wonderfully with the accompanying rich red-skinned mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

The rest of the menu at Bronko's focuses heavily on seafood and meat, with filet mignon, New York strips, baby back ribs, seared sea scallops, Atlantic salmon, and Ahi tuna steak among the selections, none of which exceed $25. Fridays at Bronko's bring with them both a traditional perch fish fry and Serbian style cod, marinated in a tomato medley.

The business is family owned and operated and it shows in the casual manner in which the staff and owners interact with the patrons. The mood here is light, and the food and service is unpretentious while at the same time completely precise. I look forward already to a return visit to Bronko's to sample their fish fry and more of that perfect chicken soup.