Being included in the James Beard Foundation’s annual award process has become a regular occurrence for Milwaukee-area culinary standouts. That process began in earnest Wednesday with the announcement of this year’s James Beard semifinalists, which include a half-dozen representatives from southeastern Wisconsin.
The nonprofit foundation uses its yearly honors to highlight the top restaurants and bars across the United States, as well as the talented people who make them what they are. Following today’s reveal of the semifinalists, the organization will announce finalists March 31 and then the winners in each category June 15 in Chicago.
Emerging chef: Vanessa Rose of Mother’s
This category is spot-on for Rose, whose restaurant didn’t have a brick-and-mortar location at this time last year and instead operated as a pop-up at Ardent, where Rose had served as sous chef. Then, in June, Mother’s found a permanent home in the White House building at 2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and continued its inventive approach to food that has garnered some well-earned attention.
As Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dining critic Rachel Bernhard put it in her review of Mother’s, “Rose’s dishes are at once creative yet familiar. They’re slap-our-knees kooky yet executed with such sincerity. They are a reminder that it’s perfectly OK to play with your food ... as long as it turns out as delicious as these do.”
Mother’s is equally inventive with its business approach, adopting the European method of including all tips and taxes in the menu prices while paying equal wages to employees. Then there’s the restaurant’s social consciousness — from its name inspired by the LGBTQ+ community to its commitment to “the blending and sharing of cultures.”
For all of those reasons, we’re thrilled to have Rose and Mother’s once again joining us for this year’s SoundBites at the Harley-Davidson Museum on March 5.
Outstanding bar: The Mothership
The colorful Bay View watering hole has persevered through its share of challenges, including a global pandemic that hit less than a year after opening and this past summer’s flooding that shut things down for three months. Owner Ricky Ramirez and his crew just kept going — aided by the community they built on the corner of Logan and Lincoln Avenues — and kept making cocktails that are seriously excellent, even if the people making it are of the not-so-serious persuasion.
By striking that balance, the Mothership has earned the “beloved” descriptor connected to many a Milwaukee bar, as well as something almost none of them have: recognition from the James Beard Foundation.
Best new restaurant: 1033 Omakase
Like Mother’s, the sushi spot at 1033 S. First St. is a relative newbie to Milwaukee’s food scene, having opened in December of 2024. But quality is undeniable, and Worawit “Chef Ray” Boonyapituksakul will skillfully dish it out to you — if you can snag a reservation.
Milwaukee Magazine food scribe (and This Bites co-host) Ann Christenson discovered just how big of a challenge it is to get in the door at 1033 Omakase before finally scoring a seat nearly six months into her efforts. Fourteen courses and 90 minutes later, the wait proved worth it as Chef Ray and his capable assistant created more than a meal; it was an experience Ann described thusly:
“Watching the chefs … shape sushi rice into perfect mounds, delicately shave black truffles over tuna tartare, grill tiny filets of wagyu beef, and build little bowls of cold creamy sea urchin, roe and rice is as fundamental as the multisensory experience of eating every morsel of what is deftly placed in front of you.”
Best Chef: Midwest: Paul Zerkel & Lisa Kirkpatrick, Zak Baker
Zerkel and Kirkpatrick share their semifinalist honor as owners of Goodkind, which earned one of its own back in 2022 in the category of Outstanding Bar Program. But anyone who’s eaten there knows that what’s on your plate is as excellent as what you’ll sip from your glass. Ann singled out the spicy crab pasta and legendary Tuesday night burgers when she placed Goodkind in her most recent collection of best restaurants in Milwaukee. The Bay View eatery has been a mainstay on those lists for years, and it’s not leaving anytime soon.
Ca’Lucchenzo hasn’t been at it quite as long as Goodkind, but the Italian spot in Tosa carries a similar reputation for quality — albeit with a slightly more carbohydrate-centric approach. Baker and his wife Sarah nailed the cozy feel of Italy’s neighborhood restaurants, and the food matches that vibe.
Ann gave it a special shout in Milwaukee Magazine’s comfort-food feature, writing that “you have only to bite into Baker’s chewy tubes of rigatoni, a sauce of stewed sweet peppers, Italian sausage and mascarpone clinging to its ridges, to feel, at least for the time being, like all is right in the world.”
