jastjohn's Profile
i HAVE RESERVATIONS AT ARZAK, MUGARITZ, ZUBEROA, ETXEBARRI, AKELARRE, AND MARTIN BERASATEGUI! HELP!!???
I was only able to eat at Zuberoa, but it was absolutely incredible. For what it's worth, talked to a couple of locals (thankfully in Spanish as my Euskara is, well, nonexistent) about restaurants in the area, and more than one preferred Zuberoa to the more famous Mugaritz, Arzak, M. B. etc. Can't comment on that because I haven't been to them and it seems likely that part of the reason is that, as PBSF rightly mentioned, the food is much more traditional Basque and less nouvelle cuisine than the other haute places in the area. (Although they have their touches in that direction: spider crab, orange, pumpkin veloute layered with a foamy orange buerre blanc on top was excellent.)
A warning would be that the overall palate of the chef at Zuberoa seems to like food relatively sweet, although for me that isn't a problem.
Milwaukee food help
1) Cafe Hollander is nice but maybe not worth the trip from the South Side. Also, not terribly cheap either. La Perla is a safe bet for cheap and good on the South Side. Conejitio's if you wanna get real frugal ;).
2)I'd pass on Roots. Sanford is wonderful. Lake Park Bistro is up there with it, with better views and more traditional french fare if you're into that. Don't forget Bacchus, my vote for best overall dining experience in Milwaukee.
3) I'll pass on this one, for lack of an opinion
4). Mason Street Grill. I've (e-)shouted myself red on this board extolling it. Coerper's is out of touch, Carnevor is absurdly overpriced, Mo's is kind of average, Eddie Martini's might be a close second. Mason Street Grill is the spot. (BTW, you express your disinterest in NYC-style places... have you tried Craftsteak yet? I've been meaning to go there, Saveur called it the best Steakhouse in the world I think...)
5) No idea.
Have fun back in Milwaukee. Incidentally, I am moving back to NY full time in August, so I may hit up a few of these places myself in farewell.
The ever popular steak in MKE
Make sure you check out this thread, where I have spent substantial time windbagging on my favorite subject: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/504111
For me the bottom line is Mason Street Grille, Bacchus, and Eddie Martini's, in that order. Location is an issue as only the first two are downtown. I would seriously advise against Carnevor for a couple different reasons, unless you feel compelled to be fashionable against good gastronomic sense. It's shockingly expensive, the food is good but not spectacular, and the waitstaff is unnecessarily (and inauthentically) snobby.
What NOT to miss in Milwaukee
I love Hotch. A really close friend of mine works there, too. The food is great lunch eats, although they do serve dinner (and beer).
Great steak in Milwaukee
(For what it's worth, I believe one of the original investors and menu consultants of Carnevor, who is a very successful Milwaukee restauranteur, pulled out after becoming disappointed with its outcome. Food's average, prices aren't.)
Great steak in Milwaukee
You know, I forgot Bacchus. They really do have an excellent steak. And they offer, if my memory serves me correctly, your choice of sauce (bearnaise, red wine shallot, etc.) if you're into dressing your steak, and they all were great.
As for Lake Park Bistro, I don't think they have bad steak, I would just never order it when they have so many other great things on the menu. Good French food is hard to find in Wisconsin and Lake Park Bistro does it exceptionally well (note chef Adam Siegel's recent James Beard award). In fact, I would say LPB is my favorite restaurant in Milwaukee, but for reasons other than steak.
Maybe I went to Carnevor on an off night. My ribeye was almost unpalatably charred, although not quite, so I couldn't send it back. More irritating were the phenomenal markup and affected snobbiness of the waitstaff. Our server was terrible, you know the sort: mispronounces everything, especially Italian (brooSHEtta) and French (cab. sav-in-naan), yet posses a tone which indicates that a miserable nouveau riche wretch such as you should feel lucky to receive such refined service. Not to mention, I couldn't hear others at my table over the extremely loud house (the bad kind--clothing store) music. All in all, maybe that is indeed "LA" style, but here in Milwaukee I think its a rather shallow attempt at "hipping up" the city. Real food, good service, fair prices, that's what I like...
Thanks for your input, serversweetheart. Good to know other people recognize LPB for what it's worth.
What NOT to miss in Milwaukee
Somehow, nobody mentioned Mason Street Grille. A shame. I think it's the best restaurant in the city.
Milwaukee Downtown
I agree that La Perla isn't terrible, but I think even in Milwaukee you can do better. Cempazuchi in particular, or Taqueria Azteca. Or, in the same neighborhood as La Perla, Conejito's for a cheap, fast (and I think more delicious) bite.
And I also disagree with you about the supposed lack of spectacular restaurants in Milwaukee. I suppose this is a taste issue, but the meals I've had at both Bacchus and Mason Street Grille (which I think serves a steak roughly 1000x better than Mo's) have cleanly outstripped all but two meals I've had in New York where I live now. I think if you are the sort who likes interesting preparations, exotic and challenging flavors, and modern-haute-cuisine type restaurants then Milwaukee might be a tad disappointing. I, on the other hand, find those restaurants too often lacking in real gastronomic punch, even Sanford. Milwaukee is a great city in which to eat out if you value the typically Midwestern culinary virtue of being "stuffed to your guts" above, say, being able to detect a hint of fennel pollen on your sea urchin roe risotto or having your knowledge of olive oil appellations being stroked. I mean, there's nothing wrong with those kinds of food, but if that's the value system by which you judge every kind of restaurant, then yes, you're in trouble in Milwaukee. (By the way, I'm not necessarily accusing you here, I just merely feel compelled to defend Milwaukee as I think it's one of the best eating cities I've ever been to in this country. :))
Milwaukee Downtown
Agreed, the osso bucco at Zarletti is excellent. I love a restaurant that doesn't shy away from the marrow spoon (a travesty with osso bucco, in my opinion).
Milwaukee Downtown
Cubanitas is great but they don't take reservations. I have never been there for dinner and not had to wait at least 20 minutes.
Kil@wat is very good but a tad too trendy for my taste. I'm really put off by these concept menus (i. e. plan your meal by picking a GREEN, pick a TASTE, pick a SIZZLE, etc.). It seems a little too Sex and the City for a Milwaukee restaurant, I would prefer a stronger focus on the food than the presentation. The food is excellent, however, if a little bit standard (spinach salad, ahi tuna, carpaccio, steaks). It's one of Marc Bianchini's restaurants (whose wife Marta owns Cubanitas, incidentally) and he is an excellent cook. His original restaurant, Osteria del Mondo, I think is much better.
Haven't been to Yaffa yet. Excited to try it when I go home.
My favorite restaurants downtown are Mason Street Grille, Bacchus, and Zarletti. Avoid Carnevor at all costs. And I don't know if Saketumi is still around, it was moderately tasty but overpriced and uncomfortable.
Great steak in Milwaukee
Carnevor (yes, spelled that way) is terrible. Expect upwards of 50 dollars for a ribeye, and side items a la carte after that. In fact, the most expensive restaurant in the city, according to Ann Christenson in Milwaukee magazine.
Coerper's is legendary (now called 5 O' Clock Club) and Saveur called it the third best steakhouse in the country. I think it's boring and possibly unpleasant. It has a loyal following due to its retro (and nowadays perhaps highly unfashionable) method of char-broiling the steaks, so they arrive sizzling with a crust of blackened sugar and spices. I think this masks the taste of the meat, but one could hardly complain about that as people continue to come here to smoke cigars in the restaurant, which does enough to ruin the flavor of your food by itself.
Mo's is really, really average. I've had heated debates with people about Coerper's but haven't met anyone yet who really likes Mo's.
Capital Grille I've never been to. It might be worth noting that it didn't crack a number of "Best steakhouses in Milwaukee" lists.
The place to go, I think, is Mason Street Grille. It's fabulous and I think a shoo-in for best steak in the city. Also, Eddie Martini's is an institution almost as venerable as Coerper's and I think much better.
But I suppose the bottom line is that Coerper's is the legend, and it's mostly love it or hate it. It's worth going to.
Hope this helps. Milwaukee is my city and steak my favorite food.
