For the eighth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by Locavore, the newest restaurant at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2014."
There’s hardly anything I admire more than a chef who can take wildly different flavors, put them on a plate and serve something that is more delicious than you ever imagined.
That admiration was reinforced Friday when I stopped for breakfast at Peter Sandroni’s Engine Company No. 3, the breakfast and brunch cousin of his famed La Merenda – which was voted Milwaukee’s best small plate restaurant yet again in the annual OnMilwaukee.com readers' dining poll.
I sat at the end of a 12-seat bar and after spending more time than usual scanning the menu, I finally decided on the Argentinian steak and egg.
The plate arrived in good time and looked great, but Sandroni has always been known as a chef who wants to make sure the food tastes great first and looks great second. This looked great and was a portent of what it tasted like.
The small steak was marinated in chimi churri, a popular Argentinian marinade, along with a bunch of other spices. The steak, along with the egg poached in red wine with a touch of vinegar and the french green beans, all sat atop a flat bed of mashed plantain which added a touch of sweetness to the dish.
It was a virtual assault on the senses. The steak had just a bit of a spice and heat, the egg – unlike any poached egg I’ve ever seen – had some wine flavor, the beans were a crisp vegetable and the plantain, as I said, provided sweetness.
This was a perfect example of how an expert can take a bunch of different flavors and create the kind of breakfast that makes you wish you could do this every day to set a great attitude toward the work coming up.
The space, which used to be a firehouse, is spacious and warm with a second floor room they use for parties and catered events.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
