Motor Bar and Cafe Racer

If you had to pick a few things that define Milwaukee what would they be? Beer, Harleys, blue collar jobs, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley....  That’s what we came up with. This week we got in touch with Milwaukee’s roots and checked out the Harley Davidson Museum, home of Motor Bar and Café Racer.

Motor Bar

This place looks great! If you’re into Harley’s or motorcycles for that matter, you have to check this place out. The Harley logo is carved into the back of every chair, there are parts of bikes out on display, and there is even a wall that’s made out of bike parts separating the bar from the restaurant. The bathroom follows the theme with a pedal operated sink.

Even though it was a cold rainy day, we took a look at the patio. It over looks the river and I can’t wait to come back and enjoy an afternoon of day drinking in the sun. For a restaurant that is part of a museum, I was very impressed. Harley could have probably just contracted some lame cafeteria catering service to run a place for people to eat, but they didn’t. They got Levy restaurants to run this place and Levy is doing a fine job with it.

Big & Twisted Pretzels

Big ole pretzels, served with gobs of mustard sauce

and cheese dip.

May Burger of the Month

“Chicken Blue Cheese Burger”
Hand packed 8oz ground chicken burger with crispy blue cheese and granny smith apple slaw, sliced tomatoes, red onions on a corn dusted kaiser roll served with BBQ tater tots.

Deluxe Mini’s

Fresh ground chuck with Wisconsin cheddar, grilled onions,

lettuce, tomato, and a secret sauce.

May’s Wings of the Month

Chile de Arbol
One pound of fried chicken wings tossed in a spicy chile de arbol sauce with cilantro and lime.

We got to talk to Chef Travis for a bit and found out that they try to get locally sourced food whenever possible. In fact the pretzels come from a local Milwaukee bakery. A lot of time and effort goes into Motor Bar’s Menu. Each month Motor Bar features a new burger and wing special. This month I’m looking forward to trying the June feature, the Bloody Mary Burger!

Café Racer

Ok so you don’t have time to have a real sit down lunch? You can still drop in and get a sandwich and Starbucks coffee at Café Racer. It’s an order at the counter type place for people “looking for a quick place to refuel!” That’s the slogan, but what it means is “hey if you only have a 40 min lunch break come here instead of McDonald’s!” or maybe “Quit eating in your car at the taco bell parking lot you dummy!”  It’s fun and fast. It’s like a custard shop, artisan sandwich shop and a Starbucks all in one. Want to get on the fast track to a promotion and work nearby? Come to Café Racer get lunch, then bring the boss a Mocha Latte or a dish of ice cream. Bribes work.

How many times has this happened to you? You’re out to eat on what seems to be a normal Thursday until you remember that this particular Thursday is you and your special lady’s anniversary? You’re in trouble unless you are at lunch at Motor Bar or Café Racer because right next door is a gift shop where you can get her a… ok… if your girl doesn’t like bikes or Harley Davidson you are pretty much screwed. But if she does, you’re in luck!  

So that gift you got her from the gift shop worked out and she didn’t leave you for forgetting your special day. In fact, she falls for you hard and now you put a ring on it. Why not look into renting out Rumble for your wedding? No, your girl doesn’t have to be a hardcore biker chick to get married at the Harley museum. This room can be set up custom to your event. It seats up to 500.

Or if she dumped you because she never once said anything about liking Harley’s and you still got her a T shirt for your anniversary? Well this room can also be used for business. You are single now, might as well focus on your career.

All and all a great place to get a burger and throw back a few beers. You might even learn something about Milwaukee’s history with Harley. Go Eat!



Motor Bar and Cafe Racer

401 W Canal St
Milwaukee, WI 53201

414-287-2778

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_Museum/eat_at_museum.jsp

As always there are more pictures on our Facebook page! search Eat MKE on Facebook or check out http://www.eatmke.com/.



Beans & Barley Market & Cafe

If you're into organic food, have a vegan diet, or are interested in sustainable local food sources you probably love this place. If you live on the Eastside you probably know about this place, mainly because it’s been around forever.  I don't normally seek out places like this.  I have nothing against vegans, or people trying to make the world better by buying local or organic products. I am all for saving the world. However if we could save the world and still eat steak rare by the metric ton, I'd be more likely to get on board this train.

Walking in you have a bar in front of you, a market to your right and to the left a dining room. This place is kind of like the Cracker Barrel of organic products.

The shelves are full of organic lotions, candy bars, pastas... ect. For 5 bucks, you can own some original artwork, interesting use of an old cigarette machine. For 5 bucks, you can own some original artwork, interesting use of an old cigarette machine.  This product still confuses me; I mean this pot holder will not keep your stash fresh. I'd stick with a plastic baggy if I were you. It also doesn't help you hide your stash, it basically announces to the world "THIS IS WHERE I KEEP MY WEED!"... Oh wait, you mean pot as in "pots and pans" my bad.  If you are hungry it is of the utmost importance that you find this sign. If you stand by the door you're in a no mans land of market/bar/restaurant. Find this sign and stand by it and you will be greeted by hipster waiters and waitresses who will take you into the dining room. You may have to wait but that’s normally a sign that the food is good. GRILLED PORTOBELLO SANDWICH ... 7.50 Marinated Portobello mushroom grilled and served with roasted red peppers and a grilled sandwich bun.  Sundried Tomato and Tofu Sandwich ... 8.50 This sandwich was a daily special, and it wasn't bad. I'm not a vegetarian and normally I wouldn't order anything like this for lunch, but when in Rome, I'll try it. On a scale from "1 to not bad", it was definitely not bad. So let’s break it down. The dining room is nothing fancy; it’s a clean cafeteria where you can get some nice homemade organic food. The staff is very casual, but friendly. If you need something you have to speak up. It’s not the type of place where you are waited on hand and foot. You may need to wave someone over to get another drink or your sandwich might not have cheese on it even though you ordered it with cheese.  If you are looking for an awesome dining experience you might want to find some other place to eat. If you’re looking for fresh simple food with an organic, vegan, free range, Earth Day, feel good twist to it, this is your kind of restaurant. Go Eat.

BEANS & BARLEY MARKET & CAFE

1901 EAST NORTH AVENUE

MILWAUKEE, WI 53202

http://www.beansandbarley.com/

As always there are more pictures on Eat MKE's facebook page. So check us out there.

Thank you Milwaukee and suburbs!

Hey Kiddies,



How are you doing? Hope everything is well and you have figured out a way to get out in between storms to enjoy the weather. If you haven't, please get out there it's beautiful! Don't get us wrong we are glad you took the time to stop past the blog, but once you're done please get out and enjoy the day!



I just wanted to let you guys in on a little information about the future plans of Eat MKE. We have had some moderate success getting the word out about Eat MKE. Our Facebook page has reached 600 "likes" in less than two months. So I'd like to take a second here and thank those of you that have "shared" one or more of our Facebook posts or told a friend about us. Thank you for being part of the Eat MKE tribe and for your support!



Eat MKE hopes to soon be bringing you a video feature weekly or bi weekly with a local chef. The idea is these chefs will be teaching a few tricks of the trade to our viewers as well as featuring their restaurants cooking style. I know we have a few people in the industry that read this blog. So if you are a chef and you are interested in being a part of this, please shoot us an email at info@eatmke.com. If you aren't a chef but you know one that might be interested, feel free to tell him or her about it.



I don't want to tie us down to a specific amount of time on this next project because every time I set a deadline something always goes horribly wrong and I'm forced to eat those words. So rather then wake up tomorrow to find my car's tires have all gone flat, my house is on fire, cats and dogs, living together! I'm just saying, soon. (Knock on wood)  However we are moving the ball down the field everyday so it’s only a matter of time.



Thanks again for being part of the Eat MKE Tribe!



Go Eat!

Comet Cafe

It was 2002, I lived on Maryland Avenue and attended UWM. I use to walk down to Comet Cafe for coffee and a place to not study. It was a coffee shop where the air was mostly second hand smoke. The tables were a mix matched collection of junk. Don't knock it, most of the furniture in my old apartment was stuff I found on the street. Comet use to be packed and getting a coffee and a seat was quite a feat some nights. It was full of young people that weren't quite being called hipsters or emo yet, and our livejournal accounts weren't quite as time consuming as facebook. We smoked and drank coffee because we couldn't get into bars. Comet was there for us and It was nice to stop back in this week to find that Comet has grown up a little bit, just like me.

Gone is the smokey haze I remembered and I was surprised to see real tables and booths. Comet Cafe is still a long way from being a fancy restaurant. It's still a haven for hipsters and college students. Walking in we were greeted and told to just find a seat. Comet Cafe is a place where you can meet people and get into conversation with strangers. It has a new emphasis on "from scratch" food and of course the bar is a welcome addition to this new version of Comet.

I'm not sure I even remember Comet serving food back then; if it did I sure didn't have the money to buy any. Looking over their menu I was impressed with what they were offering. I was also glad to see that the prices were more than affordable. This time around they definitely had food, and I could definitely afford it.

Creamy Artichoke Dip... $7

Chunks of artichokes and jalapenos topped with parmasion cheese. Served with huge ciabatta crustinis.  This appetizer is a pretty common menu item. Lots of restaurants have it, people like it and it's kind of hard to mess up. This artichoke dip was one of the better versions I've tried. I liked that it wasn't just a soupy paste and had nice big chunks of artichoke throughout it.

Comet Cuban ... $9

Wilson Farms pork shoulder, ham, house made pickles, swiss cheese, whole grain mustard on grilled ciabatta bread. Yes, it’s good.

Ahi Tuna Sandwich ... $11

This sandwich is GENUIS! I've had Ahi tuna wraps with chunks of tuna, I have had Ahi Tuna served as small slices with fancy sauces drizzled over it, but I've never seen anyone take a whole Ahi Tuna steak and say "this should eat like a burger". It has a kick to it thanks to the wasabi sauce. Over all the Ahi Tuna Sandwich is a winner! In fact... I've started making them at home.

Comet is said to have one hell of a Bloody Mary. I hear it comes with bacon. I know some people think that bacon was just a food fad that was cool two years ago but let me just say this... Bacon can't possibly go out of style, it's always going to be awesome.  So I think another visit is in order very soon.  I can't wait to check out their brunch menu.

Comet isn't an upscale fine dining restaurant. If you're looking for that kind of experience you won't find it here. What you will find is a warm staff, great food, and the laid back culture of Eastside Milwaukee. Ok now, Go EAT!

Comet Cafe'

1947 N. Farwell Ave.

Milwaukee WI 53202

(414) 273-7677

http://www.thecometcafe.com/

As always you can find more pictures on the Eat MKE facebook page. So go check us out there, or you can go to http://www.eatmke.com/ our very own website. Yes, we have a website. 

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!

Lillies Place

Saint Patrick's Day 2011

I know, the site is called Eat MKE. Most people would assume the MKE stands for Milwaukee and would think “the first review will surely be a restaurant in Milwaukee”. To your and even my surprise our first stop this morning was in Genesee Depot. My first thought when I was told that's where we were heading was "where the heck is Genesee Depot?". Apparently it is this small strip of businesses on highway 83 that connects the lake country area to the rest of south eastern Wisconsin.

So there I was out in a beautiful country landscape walking up the steps of this old white victorian house about to walk into a coffee and wine shop called Lillie's Place. From the second I opened the door I was overcome with “hellos” and “welcomes”. In fact so many I wasn't sure who worked there and who was just a customer. I also wasn't sure if it was a restaurant, or a coffee shop, or if I just walked into someones living room. The atmosphere was very free and you're welcome to pretty much walk in and make yourself at home.

Being it was St. Patrick's and almost 10 am I made my way to the counter and ordered a Irish coffee with Jameson and Baileys. That's when I met the owner proudly working as a barista in her own shop. Cathy Witkowski bought this store in 2006 when her family was rebuilding their lives after the death of Liz her daughter in law. The process of restoring the building and creating Lillies Place became symbolic of that loss and Lillies Place now stands as a tribute to Liz.



Lillie's place offers a variety of artisan wines and desserts along with coffee drinks that are above and beyond what you can get at a Starbucks. The restaurant area “Pal's” has a full lunch menu and offers a cozy room to relax. Up for some dessert? They even have an ice cream and candy shop in a room on the other side of the house. I'm looking forward to going back and enjoying a bottle of wine on there deck once summer gets its act in gear.





If you live in the area or find yourself needing to get out of the city you should stop by either for one of their events ( wine tastings, live music, etc...) or just for a relaxing morning. 

Lilies Place

S42 W31428 Hwy 83

Genesee Depot, WI 53127
www.liliesplace.com

Phone: 262.201.4376
Cathy Witkowski | Owner
cathy@liliesplace.com