Kopp's

The weather has been a little less awful this month. Actually, knocking on wood, it looks like spring might get its butt into gear soon, so we went to Kopp's. I know its not the first place you would think a "foodie" blog would be talking about. I think its time to make this clear, Eat MKE is not just a foodie run blog. It's a blog run by people in the food industry and sometimes we want ICE CREAM! Or custard in this case.

Kopp's is pretty much the standard of custard in Wisconsin. Sure, other places that have figured out how to make great custard.  I used to work at Oscar's Frozen Custard in high school back more years then I would like to admit. So let me get this  point across to you Eat MKE is not endorsing a Custard War....

Actually on second thought, we are! We're throwing down the gauntlet. This summer we will check out custard around the area and get to the bottom of the question. "who makes the best custard?" Kopp's seemed like a good place to start. THE CUSTARD WAR IS ON! So please let us know who makes your favorite custard in the comments on this blog, on the Facebook page, or by email Info@eatmke.com.

Kopp's In Brookfield, stainless steel counters and white paper hats that make the place feel like a 1950's soda stand. The building is built like a Greek temple, perhaps to show off Wisconsin's worship to this high calorie treat. You order your cold items on one side of the room and you order your burgers and fries on the other end. Why? This place gets busy. Summer nights can leave this room packed with customers all trying to get the flavor of the day.

I don't care if your a super "foodie" and you only eat fish that has never been frozen and you buy super expensive balsamic vinegar. If you can't get down with some fresh, made daily custard, we might not be able to hang out.  This stuff is good.

Kopp's Prices don't break the bank, I'd say its price points are the same as Wendy's.  Unlike Wendy's your "frosty" and burger options are limitless. It's actually amazing that fast food restaurants can survive in Wisconsin with local places like this serving better food at the same price. I would say, the next time you are on a fast food run you spend the extra gas to drive past the McRestaurant and head on over to Kopp's. Get your burger and fries and a half gallon of fresh custard. Your family and/or Coworkers will love you for it. Go Eat!

Brookfield

18880 W. Bluemound Rd.
Brookfield, WI 53045
get directions

Phone 262-789-9490
Flavor Line 262-789-1393
Sun-Thur 10:30am - 10:00pm
Fri-Sat 10:30am - 11:00pm

Greenfield

7631 W. Layton Ave.
Greenfield, WI 53220
get directions

Phone 414-282-4312
Flavor Line 414-282-4080
Hours 10:30am - 11:00pm

Glendale

5373 N. Port Washington Rd.
Glendale, WI 53217
get directions

Phone 414-961-3288

Flavor Line 414-961-2006

Hours 10:30am - 11:00pm

So as always check us out on Facebook or http://www.eatmke.com/.

Screaming Tuna

I love fish. I love sushi. So I was excited to try out Screaming Tuna Asian Bistro. It was Gallery Night in Milwaukee so the streets were packed with people trying to find obscure artist studios, rubbernecking and fighting for parking. The weather was dreary, cold and wet with just enough rain to be annoying. I looked down at the GPS display which proudly told me I had reached my destination. "Ok, we are here... so where is this place." I parked illegally in an alleyway, got out of my car and ran down the street toward the river. Turns out, Screaming Tuna's sign faces the river so it's a little hard to find. I ran back to my car and pulled up to the front door and was happy to pay the valet five bucks to park my car.

I walked in, glad to be out of the rain and went to the host stand only to find out that they had lost our reservation. However we were still waiting for the rest of our party to show up so they told us we could hang out in the bar while they did their best to get us a table. In the bar, we had a great view of the river and the Milwaukee city skyline as well as the front door. That’s when I saw our photographer pull up and park in the valet only section. After a brief chat and another five dollar exchange with the valet she was inside.

For losing our reservation the hosts handled themselves well. We were seated within a few minutes with a beautiful view of the river. The dining room is made up of four top tables and modern half booths. Once we were sat, we were greeted by our waitress and put in our drink order. The room was packed, and the staff was buzzing around doing their best to keep up. Our waitress returned and informed us that they were out of two of the wines we had ordered. She was very sweet and offered to comp the drinks because of how long things were taking.

So at this point the restaurant was a little tough to find, had lost our reservation, and it took 15 minutes to get drinks on the table. These are not the types of things you want to happen when you go out to eat. However, this restaurant is brand new, the staff is still learning, and it’s a packed house. Even the most established restaurants have to play a little jazz with their service standards on a busy night.  The host might not have been the one that lost the reservation but she rolled with it and found a way to fit us in. The waitress might not have known everything about the wine list yet ( hey its like 3 pages long that’s a lot of drinking... err research) but she knew enough about waiting tables to know it was taking too long for a simple drink order and she took care of us. So no harm no foul at this point. Now let’s get to the food.

Pacific Sampler…24

Alaskan king crab legs, Hama Hama oysters, sweet shrimp, and chef’s choice sashimi served with various sauces.

We started out with this sampler. When it arrived at the table I thought it was a little small for twenty four dollars. Then I tried the Hama Hama Oyster, Wow! A wave of flavor, you could seriously taste the ocean, the beach, sand volleyball, and not having to work until you got back from vacation. Awesome! I was impressed and my fear that this appetizer sampler wouldn't measure up was gone.  The crab was sweet, the shrimp was amazing and the octopus was perfect.

We decided to work our way through a handful of rolls and share everything rather then try the entrees. Although, we were tempted, the entrees looked pretty interesting.

Lobster Roll…17

Tempura lobster and sautéed asparagus topped with spicy kani kama hollandaise sauce.

Spicy Scallop… 7

Scallops, tobiko, sweet spicy mayonnaise

Spicy Tuna…7

Tuna, tempura flakes, spicy mayonnaise

The Screamer…7

Japanese hot mustard, wasabi, and tuna


So what stood out? Well, the Lobster Roll was so good that we had to order a second one. It came with a lobster head mostly for show but if you were willing to work for it, you could get some really sweet pieces of meat out of it.

The Screamer had a note on the menu saying "BEWARE". Two bites in I was about to tell it "where to be" and then, the spices kicked in. I teared up a little, took a third bite and yeah... I was looking for my drink to put out the small fire I had going on in my mouth. Awesome.

There is a bottle of what looks like sake' on every table. Now yes, we knew it was probably soy sauce but it got us thinking about having a round of sake'. We didn't end up ordering any, but had the table been set with shot glasses and had the bottle really been sake', this night might have gotten a little more interesting.

Ok, to wrap up. Screaming Tuna is a new restaurant. The staff at this point is still learning about everything. The food is Great! If you go on a busy Friday night over the next couple weeks cut them some slack because they are going to take great care of you even if a ball gets dropped here or there. I think this place has great potential to become a new city favorite. So go Eat!

Hours of Operation

Lunch

Monday to Friday: 11:00am – 2:30pm

Dinner

Monday to Wednesday: 4:30PM – 10:30PM
Thursday to Saturday: 4:30PM – 11:00PM

Location

Screaming Tuna Restaurant LLC
106 W Seeboth
Milwaukee, WI 53204
ph 414-763-1637
http://screamingtuna.com/


As always there are more pictures on the Eat MKE Facebook Page. Or go to http://www.eatmke.com/ and check us out there!

Jake's / Charred Lounge

This week we were invited to the soft opening of Charred. So we packed up and headed out to Jake's. Confused? I was too at first. Charred is a new social lounge restaurant located inside Jake's Restaurant. Jake's renovated the front half of the restaurant and turned it into a separate lounge and named it Charred. Still not clear on the concept? Ok there is a new menu offered in the bar, lounge area, and the out on the patio of Jake's and this new menu is exclusive to Charred. Yes I was confused at first too. Once we got there however my doubts were cleared up.

Jake's main dining room has been left untouched. Its still an upscale steakhouse were you can expect a traditional fine dining experience.

The Charred area has been modernized with brand new tables and the atmosphere is much more causal and social. This picture shows the first of the new tables. This was a soft open, so they only had one set up for us to look at, but the whole Charred area will have these fancy modern wood tables. The idea is to give new life to the lounge and encourage more of a buzzing atmosphere. To make it more of a place to go after work for a round of happy hour drinks and meet up with friends. The new menu offers food that connects with this concept, smaller portions suitable for sharing over cocktails. Lets take a look.

Burrata Cheese- La Quercia Proscuitto with Honey. $9


Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made of mozzarella and cream. Served with candied nuts, fresh and dried fruits, crackers and bread, and a truffle infused honey. This dish is served cold and is packed with flavor. I see this one being a big winner once patio season starts. Sitting outside watching the sunset over the hill and pairing it with a glass of "by the barrel" Sauvignon Blanc.

Edamame - Citrus truffle vinaigrette, Fleur de Sel. $6


Steamed to order at 212 degrees for 5 minutes then lightly tossed with house made truffle vinaigrette and Fluer de Sel. The truffle vinaigrette contains shallots, garlic, rice wine vinegar, black truffles, and truffle oil. This dish is one that you will be sharing and talking about with your table. The taste is amazing and you'll have to remind yourself not to eat the outside peel.

Roasted Red Beat Salad- house-made Boursin cheese, flat leaf spinach and shaved fennel, pistachios and balsamic brown butter vinaigrette. $6


The beats are roasted in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar, water, thyme, and bay leaves. The Boursin cheese contains shallots, garlic, and onion powders along with a trio of herbs parsley, tarragon, and chives. Not a bad choice if you are looking to get something lighter.

Yellow-fin Tuna Tartare with Avocado. $14


Diced tuna tossed with toasted sesame seeds, Yuzu vinaigrette, shaved radish, served over an avocado puree containing garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil and with a side of plantain chips. This one is so good you might want to order your own because you're not going to want to share it.

Ricotta Gnocchi, wild mushrooms, melted leeks, saba, toasted pine-nuts and breadcrumbs. $9


This one is as good as it looks. the Gnocchi is blanched in a pan. The Mushrooms and Leeks are melted in olive oil with a trio of herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The breadcrumbs and pine-nuts ad a good texture to the mix.

Braised Beef Short Ribs, port and dried cherry sauce with Mac and Cheese fritters. $20


This is a must have! Honestly they could sell the Mac and Cheese Fritters as a stand alone dish. However here at Charred they decided to throw in 6 ounces of braised short ribs. What can I say about this one... fritters good, short ribs good, sauce good, all together Great!

Crispy Bussel Sprouts, toasted pumpkin seeds, sweet and sour vinaigrette, Piment D'Espelette. $6


Remember late 80's early 90's television? TV Moms ( and Danny Tanner ) were constantly trying to force brussel sprouts down kids throats. "AWWWW not Brussel Sprouts!"  I don't know why brussel sprouts got such a bad rap. These were delicious! Yet another small dish made for sharing.

Hand Cut Vegetable Fries. $7


A mixture of butternut squash and Yukon gold potatos, hand cut into french fries. I got to talk to Chef Kyle about this side. I don't think I've ever seen a chef go on about fries like this. Kyle is very proud of how these turned out. They're light, crunchy, and have a nice spice to them.


We loved the look and feel of Charred. As far as soft opens go the kitchen staff was knocking these dishes out of the park! Everything was executed with great care and thought. I can't think of one dish that wasn't outstanding. With a kitchen staff well known for their excellence as a steakhouse, it comes as no surprise that this new menu is of the same caliber. I can't wait to go back and see the new look after the rest of the tables are installed. The food is solid, the prices are more then reasonable, and the new modern look will surely make Charred a new local favorite in no time. But don't take my word for it! Go Eat!

Jake's Restaurant / Charred Lounge

21445 Gumina Road

Brookfield, WI 53072-2959

(262) 781-7995

http://jakes-restaurant.com/

Also as always more pictures on the Eat MKE Facebook page.

http://www.eatmke.com/