This episode finds us hitting the home stretch of Black History Month, which means it's time to get moving and support Milwaukee's Black-owned restaurants (something we should do year-round). Ann gave us all a helping hand by putting together a sizable list for Milwaukee Magazine that includes everything from soul food to barbecue and Ethiopian to Jamaican. Toward the end of the podcast, we also highlight a pair of cookbooks from Black women that literally span more than a century: a new edition...
Feb 21, 2025•34 min
Sometimes, the universe just doesn’t want you to make a dish. You hand-pick all your ingredients, do your chopping and dicing and mixing, pull out your go-to cookware and … the stove won’t light. This food metaphor is meant to soften the blow of there not being a full podcast this week. Ann and Tarik were in the studio with their rundown of food news all set to go, and then our fancy audio equipment did the equivalent of the stove not lighting. So we did what any great chef does in this situatio...
Feb 14, 2025•19 min
We love “the new.” Especially when it comes to the restaurant scene, we get excited about the spot that just opened its doors or discovering a place the rest of the community hasn’t caught on to yet. While the rookies get everyone worked up, it’s the veterans who create the foundation of a city’s food identity. And we’ve got two of them leading the lineup for this episode of the podcast. First up is Bacchus, the venerable Bartolotta-owned restaurant that announced a couple different developments...
Feb 07, 2025•44 min
We’re a day away from February, which is not important. We’re also a day away from Phobruary, which is very important — so important, in fact, that we slapped it at the top of this episode. If you’ve somehow not partaken of Phobruary in its previous 11 years of existence, the gist is that it’s an annual celebration of the Vietnamese noodle soup at a handful of restaurants in Milwaukee’s Silver City neighborhood. The 12th installment includes the following three eateries and their respective spec...
Jan 31, 2025•26 min
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 Ch...
Jan 24, 2025•19 min
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 ...
Jan 10, 2025•23 min
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 e...
Dec 20, 2024•27 min
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).
Dec 13, 2024•27 min
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 “nev...
Dec 06, 2024•29 min
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...
Nov 22, 2024•13 min
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...
Nov 08, 2024•14 min
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!
Oct 25, 2024•20 min
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...
Oct 18, 2024•10 min
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
Oct 11, 2024•19 min
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...
Oct 04, 2024•25 min
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.
Sep 20, 2024•30 min
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 ...
Sep 13, 2024•25 min
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 restaura...
Sep 06, 2024•18 min
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 elem...
Aug 23, 2024•51 min
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
Aug 16, 2024•21 min
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 i...
Aug 09, 2024•13 min
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, p...
Aug 02, 2024•16 min
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 ...
Jul 26, 2024•18 min
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
Jul 19, 2024•16 min
Ann and Tarik have a few of the latest restaurant openings, including some Lao and Burmese spots set to impress. They also go in depth on farm dinners and the benefits of being as close to the food source as possible, plus the why, what and how of the new Fresh Food initiative geared toward those in need. Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette
Jul 12, 2024•27 min
Tarik and Anne talk about the ultimate summer drinks and comb out the farmer's market scene. Discover Milwaukee's slushie, why Tarik eats kolrabi raw and gardening in general. -produced and edited by Marcus Doucette
Jul 05, 2024•18 min
Tarik and Ann talk around a few corners: St. Kate's new brunch, Georgia peaches and New Mexico pistachios. But the big deal is sausage, including how it's made and different cuts and grades. Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette
Jun 28, 2024•20 min
While the first food truck was likely a chuck wagon or perhaps the Wienermobile, you could argue that it didn’t reach its ideal form until tacos got involved. We’ve got plenty of that variety around Milwaukee, all of which you can follow on social media to keep up with their whereabouts. Ann and Tarik talk about a few of their favorites at the top of this episode, and you can find more in the taco truck guide in the latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine . Also in this episode, you'll hear a Dan-hea...
Jun 14, 2024•41 min
Tarik and Anne talk Madison's Farmer's market, Top Chef and some sad news... -produced and edited by marcus Doucette
Jun 10, 2024•22 min
Because dogs are great, most Milwaukee’s eateries are more than happy to cater to canines — usually with a bowl of water or a couple treats. But a few have really stepped it up with proper dog-specific menu items or, in the case of this episode’s lead item, entire dog menus. We also cover the rest of the city's culinary scene, including a couple unfortunate closings, even more Top Chef , the return of Dumping Fest and the debut of ... VeganMania? Edited and produced by Marcus Doucette...
May 31, 2024•30 min
