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.
I’m a big believer in food as a window into culture. You can get a better understanding of a particular region of the world and its people by simply knowing what they eat — or, even better, eating it for yourself.
In the coming days, we’ll have two opportunities to get that firsthand experience in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month: Nov. 14 at the Milwaukee Public Museum and Nov. 18 at the Ivy House. Ann and I 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:
- Harvest salad
- Braised bison with blackberry mole
- Sage and sumac roasted chicken
- Manoomin wild rice, berries and maple
- Roasted brussels sprouts with squash and cranberries
- Pumpkin cornbread
- Chantilly cream cake with Medicine Berries
- Seasonal lemonade
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.
- Local food truck Lily Bell’s will open the doors of its brick-and-mortar location this Friday at 8560 W. Brown Deer Rd.
- Ann’s latest batch of Dining Tidbits includes an ode to South Side burger joint Mazos, which ended its 90-year run in September.
Our run continues with yet another tasty episode you can enjoy using the player at the top of the page or whatever podcast platform is on your phone. If you prefer the latter option, think about leaving us a rating or review to help other food lovers find us. Thanks.
