This Bites

This episode starts with the news that Kinship Cafe is bringing services way beyond food and drink to ThriveOn King, the community hub located on MLK Drive between Lloyd and Garfield.

The big difference-maker for the soon-to-open spot is its association with Kinship Community Food Center. The cafe will be a gathering place that serves healthy meals like sandwiches, bowls and salads. But it’ll also operate in conjunction with the center’s workforce training program, which provides opportunities to people who might otherwise struggle to find employment.

Taken together, everything about Kinship Cafe will happen in service to the center’s mission “to end hunger, isolation and poverty.” That’s a pretty lofty place to start this episode, which continues with some not quite as high-minded food news from around Milwaukee:

The latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine delves into Erin Clarke’s new cookbook, Well-Plated Everyday, as well as the pasta flights at Dorsia.

Phở 1 Phở is the topic and interestingly enough, a Phở battle. Find out about SapSap and Laotiian ciusine and how breakdancing factors in. Broth is also a topic as is the "new" Ardent and their prix fixe menu and lounge space.

Raining on our parade to start this episode is Hot Dish Pantry — or, more accurately, the folks who own the building that Hot Dish Pantry calls home. HDP owners Laura Maigatter and Nathan Heck explained on social media that a recent real-estate decision to open a new restaurant gave them a push toward something they had been thinking about for a little while now.

“To be very clear, we are not being forced out,” they shared. “We had been weighing this decision for some time and the circumstances lined up to make our decision a little easier. We are excited for the new owners to begin this journey and wish them nothing but the best. We know the neighborhood will welcome them with open arms.”

The Milwaukee area will have just a couple weeks to enjoy wonderful pierogi, pork-tenderloin sandwiches and Lucy Goosey burger. Hot Dish Pantry will be open until 8 p.m. every day between now and their final service Sept. 28.

In happier news:

Tickets are on sale now for the eighth annual Battle of the Chefs MKE, which goes down Oct. 6 at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

Mom’s Kitchen is opening on Lincoln Avenue. Not your mom’s kitchen, though, unless your mom is Aseya Osman.

By the end of this month, the Milwaukee area will have a promising new option when Serious Dumplings — a small chain that up until now was limited to five locations in Florida — opens on Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa.

The new spot just north of the Milwaukee County Zoo will fill a glaring hole spotted by sharp folks like myself and Journal Sentinel dining critic Rachel Bernhard: a high-quality dim sum parlor. A quick look at Serious Dumplings’ menu reveals a solid dim sum section, plus the restaurant’s titular dumplings, noodles and rice, and other items I’ll be curious to try when it starts serving Sept. 27.

Our other topic du jour happens Sept. 22, when Chucho’s Red Tacos hosts the inaugural Pho 1 Pho Contest and B-Boy Battle. I mean, the Pho face-off is one thing, but combining it with a breakdancing competition just isn’t fair. The event is a team-up among Chucho’s, ElevAsian and SapSap, and will feature a roster of local restaurants vying for the title of Milwaukee’s best Pho. Plus breakdancing.

That’s a tough slice of food news to top, but we press on:

It’s not often that we put aside our usual exhaustive efforts to cover as much of Milwaukee’s food scene as possible. However, it’s also not often that we get a chance to welcome someone deeply involved with an event as exciting as the one coming up in November.

A couple weeks ago, we told you about Flavors of Africa & Diaspora: Best Chefs Wisconsin, a gala and competition the likes of which we haven’t seen around here too often. In addition to the more typical tastings and competitive elements, the Nov. 10 event will be preceded by an eight-week residency program. Forty individuals will get invited to the learning experience, which includes discussions, field trips and site visits covering topics like food literacy and cultural sensitivity.

It’s a very cool wrinkle to your usual food-focused event, so we decided to track down Yollande Tchouapi for an insider’s perspective on putting the whole thing together. Our conversation rightfully takes up most of this episode, although we do find a little time to explore another destination on the global food map.

Last week, a taste of Japan came to Walker’s Point — although it was a different approach than we typically see around the city. Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen took over the former home of The Noble at 704 S. 2nd St. and brought with it a menu of yoshoku dishes, which applies a Western influence to comfort food.

-Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette

Tarik and Anne talk lobster, new eats on Vliet Street and a sandwich challenge from Mobcraft Brewing. And then there's Miss Dolly's Taste of Africa which combats domestic violence. Taste a listen...

-produced and edited by Marcus Doucette

Anyone who loves Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette will be happy to know its second location is now open on Farwell Avenue — a space that will make it possible for the owners to invest in some bigger equipment. And bigger equipment means more bagels.

Speaking of “more,” there’s a news item that deserves some serious attention due to the ambition on display. Flavors of Africa & Diaspora: Best Chefs Wisconsin is an event recently announced by Ubuntu MKE, Wisconsin's first cross-cultural incubator lab for building an inclusive food community. This gala and competition set for Nov. 10 at the Milwaukee Athletic Club isn’t your average culinary-themed get-together. Yes, there's a tasting and a competitive aspect. But there's also an eight-week learning experience prior to the event, during which 40 chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders and other food folks learn about everything from food literacy to cultural sensitivity.

Also in this episode:

One of the cool things about food in general is its ability to transport you from wherever you are to the origin of whatever taste you’re currently enjoying. But there’s always the local element — the restaurant you’re sitting in, the chef who prepped it, the place that supplied the ingredients. The event we talk about at the top of this episode is all about all of those things: the Fondy Farm Feast.

The feast Aug. 18 will take place on a mere sliver of the Mequon Nature Preserve's 510 acres, provideingan incredible setting for an even more incredible meal thanks to the efforts of an all-star chef lineup:

Also on this episode, we discuss a new Mediterranean restaurant on Water Street, a wildly ambitious fusion spot opening on the Northwest side and a review of Thai-Japanese fusion eatery Room Service in the latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine.


Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette 

Food can take you to a lot of different places — sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally. Ann and Tarik focus on the first one as their own figurative trip around Milwaukee’s food scene gets started in this episode.

The destination for the upcoming event in question is Alaska, and the good news is you only need to go as far as South 2nd Street for a taste of The Last Frontier. Braise is the local restaurant putting together this far-flung menu of four courses that prominently feature the seafood available way, way up north. As for where else the conversational journey goes:

Ann and Tarik lead off this episode discussing the impact (or non-impact) of the RNC on the restaurant scene. They also talk about Ben & Jerry's putting a foot in the Third Ward; cover a couple special dining events coming up, including one supporting the Bay View Emergency Food Pantry; and throw some love toward Morel (the restaurant) in Walker's Point.

- Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette