FoodCrush

2020 was a terrible year for many bars and restaurants. But it was a particularly challenging one for Chef Barkha Limbu Daily and Jesse Daily, owners of the cheel, a popular Nepalese restaurant, who found themselves watching helplessly as the restaurant they’d poured seven years into building burned to the ground before their very eyes.

In this week’s podcast, we chat with the Dailys, both of whom share their experiences from that fateful day, including the thoughts that raced through their minds in the moment and the feelings they’ve been parsing ever since. Along the way, we also discuss their new venture, Daily Taco + Cantina, the vision behind the new Mexican concept and their hope for the future.

Life is often a meandering path, and for many, it takes years of exploration to discover the direction our lives were meant to travel. Such was the case for chef and owner Jennifer
Betances of Fresh Baked Cafe. 

On this week’s podcast, we chat with Betances about her culinary journey. It’s a path which began in her home kitchen but which ultimately led her to Europe, the place where she found her true calling. During the course of our conversation, Betances offers us a firsthand look at the origins of her passion for French pastries as well as the drive that led to her mastery of the tender, flakey laminated dough that became the foundation for her bakery business. But she also offers up a story of hope, inspiration and the immense power of second chances.

Behind every restaurant, there’s a story. And behind that story are people, whose passions and life experiences are so often translated into the food that ends up on the plates they serve. 

Such is the case at Mina, a new concept which launched at the Crossroads Collective in 2020. To get to the bottom of Mina concept, we’re chatting with Ryan Hoffman and Patrice Gentile, two passionate owners whose travels, experiences and love for food and culture inspired a small plates concept that whisks diners away to European climes through pintxos and creative plates that reflect both the culture of their origins and the seasonal fare of the Midwest. 

Throughout the course of our conversation, we glean insights into the Mina concept, the inspiration behind its dishes and the challenges of launching a new concept during a global pandemic. Even more compelling, we’re offered a glimpse into the lives and goals of two seasoned travelers who’ve brought a bit of their experiences to the proverbial table. 

Talk to any small business owner and they’ll share stories about the challenges they’ve faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. But many will also share stories of inspiration, silver linings and growth.

For folks like Chef Micah Buck and Jordan Burich of Voyager, the pandemic has offered them the opportunity to reevaluate their business, synchronize their vision and embark on an entirely new adventure filled with unique wines and delicious cheeses.

On this week’s podcast, we’re talking with Buck and Burich about all of those things, from shutting down their wine bar in March to reopening as a fantastic new retail establishment well stocked with wine, exceptional (and sometimes life-changing) cheeses and rare foodie finds from Portuguese sardines to caviar. Along the way, they weave the story of two industry folks who’ve found joy in dark times and a renewed passion for the work they do.

Pizza is a science. But it’s also an art form. This week on FoodCrush, we’re talking with two experts on the topic: Ann Brock and James Durawa, the owners of Wy’East Pizza.

Follow along as Brock and Durawa share their journey to pizza, from their serendipitous meeting in Milwaukee to their move to Portland, Oregon where they established the Wy’East brand as a pizza trailer. 

Along the way, we geek out with Durawa about the science behind his dough, glean insights about what makes their restaurant so unique and (ultimately) get inside look at some of the reasons why Wy’East has become one of the West Side’s most beloved pizza joints.

There’s nothing quite like a freshly baked bagel. The exterior is glossy and caramelized with a distinctive crispness and a soft, chewy interior that has a mellow, yet complex flavor. Top that off with cream cheese and house-cured lox and you’ve got one helluva breakfast, lunch or snack.

Of course,  that’s just a modicum of what you’ll find at Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette, one of the newest spots in Milwaukee to get an amazing bagel... and  enjoy a great line-up of elevated deli-inspired noshes.

This week on FoodCrush, we chat with Staci Lopez and Ben Nerenhausen, owners of Allie Boy’s about their experiences opening a new restaurant even during the most challenging of times. Over the course of our conversation, we learn more about this accomplished couple, who’ve worked in restaurants across the U.S., glean insights into the vision for Allie Boy’s, the challenges the business has faced, and the bright future they hope to build in their new Milwaukee home.

It’s been over 25 years since the brand now known as Colectivo Coffee was established in Milwaukee. Over those years, the company has seen a name change (from Alterra to Colectivo), growth into new markets including Madison and Chicago and the birth of an adjunct brand, Troubadour Bakery. It’s also faced numerous challenges, from managing growing pains and meeting employee expectations to facing the challenges of a global pandemic.

On this week’s podcast, we chat with Scott Schwebel, the vice president of brand, marketing and retail for Colectivo Coffee about all of these things and more. During our conversation, we take a trip down memory lane and look back on the history of the popular hometown coffee brand, which began as a kiosk at Bayshore Mall and has grown to encompass over 20 retail locations. Along the way, we discuss the brand’s mission and values, the way they’ve adapted to change, steered through the pandemic and some of the ways they plan to navigate the uncertain future. 

 The cuisine of Laos is currently having its moment in cities throughout the U.S. That’s thanks, in large part, to a new crop of young chefs who’ve made it their mission to highlight the bold, vibrant flavors of Lao fare, a cuisine which has all-too-often been eclipsed by dishes from their (larger) neighboring countries of Thailand, Vietnam and China. Among those young chefs is Darleen Vanmanivong, an industry veteran who spent nearly a decade cooking food for other chefs before branching out to start her own restaurant, Thum.

On this week’s podcast, we chat with Vanmanivong about the food she grew up eating, the grandmother who inspired her desire to share her culture and the philosophy with which she approaches her food. Along the way, we diverge to discuss a variety of food-related topics, from whole animal butchery (and items like fish eyeballs) to the flatulent secrets of sunchokes.

 When Taqwa Obaid and her husband Abdullah Habahbeh moved to Wisconsin, it didn’t take long for them to notice a void in the market. There was nowhere to find freshly baked taboun bread, the soft Palestinian flatbread named for the traditional clay ovens in which it was first baked. So Obaid decided to take matters into her own hands, learning to master the bread-making process and sharing the fruits of her labor with friends and neighbors.

Three years later, the husband and wife team, along with business partner Luran Allabadi, launched their very own bakery and restaurant, introducing the area to time-honored Palestinian and Jordanian recipes like manakish, fatayer, mosakhan and dawalee, as well as sweet treats like baklava, warbat and maamoul.

On this week’s podcast, we were honored to chat with Obaid about her journey to restaurant ownership, her desire to preserve traditional recipes and the rewards of sharing them with the larger community. Along the way, she shares what it feels like to see her dream of owning a restaurant fulfilled, her vision and plans for the future and her desire to give back to the community which has welcomed her with open arms.

When Odd Duck opened in 2012, it offered diners in Milwaukee something new: a mid-priced restaurant with all the charms of finer dining. Eight years later, the popular restaurant is still serving up their inventive small plates, but in a very different environment.

On this week’s podcast, we sat down with Odd Duck owners, Melissa Buchholz and Ross Bachhuber to discuss the inspiration for the restaurant, the ways in which they’ve adapted their restaurant to meet the needs of diners over the years and the factors they’ve considered while operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Along the way, we discuss the intricate network of farms and businesses that keep the service industry running, the things diners likely don’t know about how restaurants operate and the passion that fuels the industry. 

Tune in for a rare glimpse behind the scenes at their restaurant, insights into what the industry at large is facing and a vision for a (hopefully) better dining future.