Each week on This Bites, dining critic Ann Christenson from Milwaukee Magazine and Radio Milwaukee’s resident foodie Tarik Moody dig into the city’s culinary and restaurant culture to help you find new spots, old favorites and the best ingestibles around Milwaukee.
Those of us who love food in the Milwaukee area — and anyone looking for a good place to eat, I suppose — have two more reasons to turn our attention to Bay View, thanks to a new restaurant and an old-new restaurant coming to the neighborhood.
We start the podcast with the former because it’s absolutely a batting-practice fastball right down the middle when it comes to my tastes. Room Service is the name of the newcomer, which is led by owner/chef Kanokporn “Joey” Phadungsil and her passion for bringing Thai AND Japanese flavors to the space.
Ann got a chance to dig into the details for Milwaukee Magazine and in this episode shares a few of her thoughts about what she calls a “gorgeous space” with what sounds like an equally breathtaking menu. We’re talking royal flower dumplings, chashu pork belly bao buns and Kobe beef sliders, in addition to a crispy catfish salad that caught my attention.
Room Service is in the midst of its soft opening right now and, in doing so, has bested the “old-new” restaurant I mentioned off the top: EsterEv. The much-lauded homage to the grandmothers of co-owners Dan Van Rite and Dan Jacobs had previously operated Friday and Saturday nights inside DanDan. As of April 17, EsterEv will have its own home at 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. while continuing to dish out what they call “comfort food classics.”
Speaking of Dan Jacobs, we round out this episode with our weekly Top Chef recap (really, it’s Ann’s recap) while also talking about a fascinating sushi pop-up coming to Twisted Path Distillery, and the news that Turning Tables will leave behind Turner Hall and its name to become Diverse Dining located at 250 E. Wisconsin Ave.
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