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 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.

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!

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

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

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.
• After a relatively brief time away, Pizza Man is back at the Downer Avenue location it previously occupied for about a decade.
• Also after a relatively brief time period, North Avenue Market has shut down for good.

Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette 

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.
• Ann rounded up a fresh batch of Dining Tidbits for the magazine, including a new donut shop in Sheboygan and an elixir that might come in handy after a late night out.
• Mom’s Kitchen is opening on Lincoln Avenue. Not your mom’s kitchen, though, unless your mom is Aseya Osman.

Produced and Edited by Marcus Doucette

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:

• Victory Garden Initiative will hold its end-of-season block party Sept. 21, and this year it doubles as a 15-year anniversary celebration.
• It seems like Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio just left Wisconsin, and now he’s coming back Oct. 14 to sit down with Paul Bartolotta for a special night at the Riverside Theater.
• Elections aren’t our territory, but food definitely is, and Senator Tammy Baldwin had something to say to President Biden about getting Wisconsin meats and cheeses to international markets.

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:

• If you’ve been out and about in the area, you’ve probably come across the Yummy Bones food truck. Their barbecue based out of Port Washington will soon find a home at Crossroads Collective, where they’ll take over the stall currently occupied by Ready to Roll. 
• Dan Jacobs has never shied away from tackling big issues. Now, our favorite Top Chef is using the higher profile he built on the show to bring attention to the climate’s impact on the food industry.

Produced and edited by Marcus Doucette