By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jul 18, 2018 at 2:15 PM Photography: Lori Fredrich

In a world of angry Yelp reviews and social media gripes against restaurants – some of which are fair, of course – it's refreshing as cucumber-infused water to hear a story that's this gracious.

On Sunday, July 15, Kim Surma and her date, a man from Chicago, went to the Odd Duck for a late dinner. They were told the restaurant was closing early because it was getting a fresh coat of paint, but they didn't need to rush.

After finishing their meal that included four shared plates of food, Surma asked the server to wrap up their leftovers. "It was literally only three bites or so, but I don’t waste, so I wanted to take it home and eat it later," she says.

A few minutes later, the server returned and said she had some bad news and some good news. The bad news was that the chef, Sam Ek, had accidentally tossed her leftover food, but the good news was Ek was making fresh, full orders of everything.

"I was overwhelmed. I just couldn’t believe it. Sure, maybe a dessert. But the entire meal?" says Surma. "It was the nicest thing we experienced in a long time. And my date said it would never happen in a million years in Chicago."

Surma says she was particularly touched because she knew they were the last customers of the evening and the employees were getting to go home a few hours early. 

"And yet they took the time to make sure we had a good experience," says Surma. 

So what did they order from the popular small-plate eatery? The rabbit larb, roasted cauliflower bulgogi, the steak skewer and crispy oyster mushroom shwarma.

"It’s two days later and I’m still eating Odd Duck," says Surma. "If it wasn't already, the Odd Duck is now and forever my favorite restaurant in Milwaukee."

Owners Melissa Buchholz and Ross Bachhuber opened Odd Duck in 2012.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.