This Bites

The James Beard Awards are kind of like the NBA season: They crown the champs, and it seems like training camps start two days later.

Making the cyclical process all the more tolerable is how well Milwaukee does — a trend that continued when the James Beard Foundation named its semifinalists earlier this week. Since we’re in the back-patting business, that’s where we start this episode of the podcast.The nominees fell into two camps, the first of which is the expected announcements. The “Best Chef: Midwest” category is a prime example, with plenty of familiar names on the list:

The other individual from our area to earn a nomination is Gregory León of Amilinda, who landed in the category “Outstanding Chef presented by Hilton.” But Milwaukee didn’t stop there. We also scored a couple non-restaurant nods, as Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge is up for “Outstanding Bar” and the forward-thinking hybrid cocktail lounge Agency (in the Dubbel Dutch Hotel) is in the category “Best New Bar.”

We’ll wait patiently for the finalists to be announced April 2, and then again for the winners at the annual awards ceremony June 16. In the meantime, here’s what else you’ll hear about in this episode:

Maider Kitchen Restaurant will bring a Hmong-focused menu to Phongsavan Asian Market on North 76th Street.

For the first episode of 2025 — our 11th(!) year bringing This Bites to your ears — we started in a very familiar (and familial) place: the recently closed Ardent, which is welcoming the first of hopefully many more things to come from its former chef, Vanessa Rose.

Rose will bring some playful flavors to the space when she hosts an extended pop-up called Mother’s that hosts its first diners today. You can expect small plates from an a la carte menu that gets a little out there. One example she provided to the Journal Sentinel’s Rachel Bernhard is “a scallion crepe cake with crab Rangoon, grilled pineapple and ssamjang.”

The pop-up will serve 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays to Mondays between now and Jan. 25. Rose said they’ll welcome walk-ins but prefer reservations you can make via Instagram direct message (@mothers.mke or @86d.heard).

Before we give you the rest of this week’s food news, one more note about Rose’s aspirations. She’s pushing to give Mother’s a permanent home as part of a space dedicated to Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community while also developing another concept called House of Bridges. According to the GoFundMe she set up to make those dreams a reality, “Both of these projects seek to make restaurants a more fair and less exploitative industry.” The goal is to implement:

It’s clear Rose has a vision, and you can support it by contributing to her GoFundMe. As for the rest of our episode, you’ll hear a little bit about:

A new Mexican restaurant called El Caporal coming to Clark Square.

A review of Margaux Brasserie that Ann put together for Milwaukee Magazine.

Milwaukee Flavor Live, a four-course culinary event tied into a city-centric cookbook.

The return of SoundBites, a much-loved Radio Milwaukee event that pairs food and music.

Just a few days before Christmas, Chef Ray and his business partner Cherry Phetleung gave our city a gift by welcoming their first guests to 1033 Omakase as part of its soft opening. The non-numerical part of the restaurant’s name means “I leave it up to you,” reflecting the control that diners turn over to the chef as part of their experience.

For this initial phase, 1033 Omakase will offer just three seatings per night Wednesday through Saturday, with a maximum of six guests per seating. The experience is $119 per person, and you can book your spot via Resy.

Moving from a new spot to an old favorite, Azhar Shah and his family reached out to the community this week with a plea to help Pakistani restaurant Shah Jee stay on its feet. Their goal is to raise $180,000 for operating costs and maintenance needs, so if you have the means to help a longstanding member of Milwaukee’s restaurant community, please head over to the fundraising page and give what you can.

We’ll wrap up this final installment before the holiday with a trio of dispatches from Ann’s desk at Milwaukee Magazine. First up is her glowing review of The Commodore, the newest jewel in The Bartolotta Restaurants’ culinary crown. The adjectives describing her experience should give you a sense of the place — “elegant,” “delectable” and  “revelational” among them.

We also have quick chats about two items you’ll only find in the pages of Milwaukee Magazine’s desserts issue: her interview with the pastry chefs from Ester Ev, and an instructional on how to poach a pear and make Creme an Glaise.

This episode has a seasonal feel, with Agency cooking up a menu inspired by holiday movies and an ode to a classic cold-weather beverage. But we lead things off with big news about James Beard-recognized chef Kyle Knall's plans for a new French bistro in Milwaukee's Third Ward, then dip into the sweet with desserts around the world and pie charts (not the boring kind).

Milwaukee food lovers and restaurant-goers got a big helping of tough news over Thanksgiving weekend, as Justin Carlisle announced that Ardent will close at the end of December. As our hosts are both lovers of food and goers of restaurants, they couldn’t really start this episode anywhere else.

Ann connected with Carlisle for a Milwaukee Magazine article that sounded a few somewhat-hopeful notes. For one, Ardent’s chef/owner exceeded his own expectations for the business, saying that it was “never expected to last that long” but also that “[it] doesn’t mean it’s over. This chapter’s over.”

It turns out that’s true on a couple fronts. Carlisle’s personal next chapter will involve consulting and enjoying some time off. As for the space at 1751 N. Farwell Ave., we have one of those rare “breaking news” moments on this episode, which includes some information you won’t find in Ann’s article. On top of that, we have these bits and pieces from around the area:

Three Black-owned food businesses in Wisconsin were awarded grants from the Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative.

Food critic Keith Lee named Milwaukee as one of the most underrated food cities in the country.

Everyone loves dumplings. So everyone should also love the first news item in this episode: dumpling-making classes at The Wolf. These opportunities for delicious instruction are no joke. Chef Kristin Schwab set up a couple for December, and both of them sold out so fast that the restaurant decided to make them a monthly affair all throughout 2025. We break down this very cool experience, which you can register for right now (even the one next December if you’re the type who likes to plan ahead) on The Wolf website.

There’s another website you can visit for more details on a couple other things we discuss on this episode. Milwaukee Magazine just posted Ann's great interview with Wild Bearies founder Elena Terry, a member of the Ho-Chunk nation and expert on indigenous cuisine, Terry landed a well-earned spot on the Wisconsin-centric season of Top Chef and told Ann in the full Q&A, “I know for myself, to be considered on that level, an expert – it’s been a long time coming.” 

Milwaukee Magazine also has Ann's latest Dish of the Month: katsudon from Todd I Believe I Can Fry (2159 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.). The Japanese staple is built around a panko-breaded pork cutlet, and Ann’s affection for it is very obvious — both in her vivid description on the podcast and her story at Milwaukee Magazine.

Believe it or not, we also have something NOT from the magazine to wrap up this episode. It’s the very good news that the much-loved Chucho’s Red Tacos will join the Diverse Dining Market (250 W. Wisconsin Ave.) every Tuesday. We're big supporters of birria tacos, and it’s great to have places like Chucho’s serving them up around Milwaukee.

The coming days will bring us two dining events in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month: Nov. 14 at the Milwaukee Public Museum and Nov. 18 at the Ivy House. We talk about both at the top of this episode, but here’s a little more about the two dinners.

First up is the meal at the museum — part of its full month of Native American Heritage Month programming. Ketapanen Kitchen, the first Indigenous pop-up kitchen and catering company in Chicago, will do the cooking for the event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. and includes a variety of flavors:

Executive Chef Jessica Walks First (Pamonicutt) of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is Ketapanen Kitchen’s co-founder and will also speak at the event, as well as the one that follows a few days later.

At the Ivy House on Nov. 18, the experience will get adjusted slightly to a Native American Heritage Tasting Dinner. Organized by Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education in partnership with the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, the evening will include dishes from local chefs, as well as insight from special guests Chef Walks First and Chef Elena Terry.

Here’s what else is happening in Milwaukee’s food scene:

Gene’s Supper Club on the River has returned to Barnacle Bud’s after a successful run last winter.

Ann’s latest batch of Dining Tidbits includes an ode to South Side burger joint Mazos, which ended its 90-year run in September.

Tarik and Ann discuss a cool chef collaboration, Wine in Wisconsin and a new brunch spot. They also share some important news about Pete's Pops!

Milwaukee gets its first taste of Japanese omakase in a new brick and mortar run by Chef Ray. Wanna make pho the right way? Ann and Tarik have details on some pho-making classes. Also, the Pfister hosts the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation's Food & Wine event with celebrity chefs on the second day of this long-running two day event. Plus the Dubbel Dutch Hotel is opening a Victorian-style teahouse to be run by the folks at Discoure Coffee.


Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette

This week, Tarik & Anne talk about new Colombian food at Crossroads Collective, Uncle Wolfies goes Southeast Asian, pierogies and much more...

Produced & edited by Guru Amrit Singh