Antiqua Mexican and Latin Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago we bought the 2009 Milwaukee Entertainment book. This book has great money savings coupons on restaurants, and local attraction in and around the Milwaukee area. What I like about this book it forces Tim and I to try different restaurant that we would not normally know about. Last Friday we tried Antiqua. It is a Mexican and Latin restaurant located on 58th and Burnam in West Allis. http://antiguamilwaukee.com

Antiqua is not a typical Mexican restaurant with sombreros and pinatas. It is modern with bright yellow and terra cotta painted walls with large windows. Very trendy.

Once seated we were brought a complementary appetizer that included a mango quesadilla, cheese and potato croqueta, and ?(forgot the other appetizer). All were served with a homemade salsa.

The menu, http://antiguamilwaukee.com/Documents/ALR%2010.2008.pdf , offers a lot more than the usual tacos and burritos. It also includes dishes from Latin America. Some of their specialties are combining two cultures in one dish. Tim tried the Camarones Antigua – Shrimp stuffed with melted cheese and wrapped in bacon, served over a mirror of a spicy sauce served with cilantro rice and a side of house salad. I had a traditional dish from Ecuador - Shrimp cooked in a delicious mixture of coconut milk, peanuts, paprika, served with rice, a side of our house salad, and fried plantains. Both not only looked colorful and appetizing when placed in front of us but also tasted fantastic.

This restaurant will go on our list as a keeper.

Benji's Delicatessen & Restaurant

Tim loves a good Reuben sandwich. His favorite is from a little restaurant in Rockford Illinois called the Rathskeller. It seems as though that German restaurant has set the bar high on any future Reuben's that Tim has tried. Last week we tried Benji's Delicatessen & Restaurant located at 4156 N Oakland Avenue in Milwaukee. My mom had told me years ago that Benji's was famous for their Reuben. The restaurant is located in a strip mall. First impressions of the outside were not so good..... But we know from past experiences its the food inside that counts. We sat at a table and ordered our meals. Tim ordered the classic Benji, corn beef on Miller rye bread. I ordered the classic Reuben, corn beef, sauerkraut on Miller rye bread with a side of horseradish. When the sandwiches arrived, we cut them in half so that Tim had I both had a half of the other. I have to admit the corn beef was the best I have ever had. It was so tender that it melted in your mouth. Tim agreed. He thought the corn beef was the best he has tasted but Rathskeller still makes the best sandwich.


Benji's Delicatessen & Restaurant
4156 N Oakland Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Phone: (414) 332-7777

Cafe' Manna

There is a new vegetarian restaurant in Brookfield, named, Cafe'Manna. It is near Sendik's on Capital and Brookfield Road. Before Ben and Kelly left for Austin, Ben bought Tim and I a gift certificate to this restaurant since he knew we were trying to eat more healthy.

On Friday night we ventured out to try our first all vegetarian menu. Cafe' Manna is a very small restaurant and only a few people were in the restaurant ( not too many vegetarians in Brookfield). When we got to our table we ordered a glass of wine. It was served with cashew coconut hummus and flatbread. Very good. We tried tabbouleh wraps for an appetizer which was also very good. But if I would have know that same dish would have been served with my main meal I would have tried the baba ghanouj instead.

Interesting looking salads. Will have to try one of these next time.

For our main meal Tim ordered the baked Falafel and citrus tahini and I ordered the Mediterranean portobello sandwich. Both meals were really good.

To top off our meal we both decided to try dessert. Tim had the carrot cake and I the blackberry and pear crisp. Once again, both were excellent.

Cafe Manna is a welcomed addition to Brookfield. I would definitely go back again. I think next time I would not get an appetizer and skip the dessert. I've enclosed the menus for you to look at. This is a great restaurant for anyone who wants to eat a healthy meal.

Thanks Ben for the gift certificate to this great restaurant!

Cafe Rio has come to Vegas

One of my favorite recipes on my recipe site is Cafe Rio Pork Salad. When Kelly lived in Salt Lake City he acquired this recipe and made it for us when he got home. It honestly is to die for. If you do a google seach on Cafe Rio you'll see that it is a very popular fast food restaurant in Utah. I was doing a Las Vegas restaurant search the other day and found out Vegas has a new Cafe Rio location not far from us. So I surprised Tim and took him there for dinner on Tuesday night.

Cafe Rio is famous for Rio Grande-style Mexican cuisine called Cafe Rio Mexican Grill. Everything is made from scratch. There are no microwaves or freezers in the store.

We started out with their famous torilla chicken soup with shredded chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, guacamole and pico de gallo and topped with tortilla strips, cilantro and lime. For the main meal we could not help but order the pork barbacoa salad. The only difference between Kelly's recipe and the real thing was on the bottom of the salad there was rice and beans.

We enjoyed the great food and the atmosphere. There are a number of items we still want to try so we'll just have to go back. Next time we will have to try their favorite desserts, Victor's Coconut Caramel Flan, Cafe Rio's Famous Tres Leches, Theresa's Chocolate Cheese Flan and Yolanda's Fresh Lime Pie

Only complaint I have is the servers behind the counter talked so fast that I had a hard time understanding them. I had to ask a couple of times for them to repeat the question.

Ropa Vieja

The local restaurant reviewer for the Las Vegas Review went downtown and tried Mamacita's, a Cuban/Mexican restaurant. She has traveled the world and said that the Ropa Vieja at Mamacita's was the best she ever ate. I had never heard of Ropa Vieja so I did a little recipe hunting on the internet and found a recipe with great reviews. So last Saturday we tired it. It was great. I served it with black beans, fried plantains and yellow rice. A nice Cuban meal.

Before I could put the recipe on my blog, I had to first go to Mamacita's to taste the original recipe. Last Tuesday Tim and I went to Mamacita's. As the newspaper article said, he was a great restaurant. The Ropa Vieja tasted just like what I had prepared.

Ropa vieja means old clothes in Spanish. This meat is cooked, shredded like rags, then briefly cooked again which gives it the Spanish name. Cubans love peppers, both fiery ones and the green bell peppers.


This is great shredded beef served on tortillas or over rice. Add sour cream, cheese, and fresh cilantro on the side




INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds beef flank steak
1 cup beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 small onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded
and sliced into strips

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chopped fresh
cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the flank steak on each side, about 4 minutes per side.
2. Transfer beef to a slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce, then add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, cilantro, olive oil and vinegar. Stir until well blended. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for up to 10 hours. When ready to serve, shred meat and serve with tortillas or rice.

The first time I made this recipe I served it with yellow rice, black beans and fried plantains. A couple of days later I served it wrapped in a tortilla. I put in the meat, some yellow rice, cheese, sour cream, cilantro and sprinkled some fresh lime juice over it. I thought this way tasted the best.

Capriotti's Bobby recipe

Capriotti's is a sandwich shop in Vegas voted number one by the The Las Vegas Review. The review from Frommers Las Vegas:"Best Inexpensive Meal: Capriotti's, serves beautiful, fresh, monster submarine sandwiches. They roast their own beef and turkey on the premises and assemble it (or cold cuts, or even vegetables) into delicious well-stuffed submarine sandwiches, ranging in size from 9 to 20 inches, and most of them under $10. We never leave town without one . . . or two."

The menu shows all the sandwiches they offer. My favorite is the Bobby, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo.


Tim and I cooked a 18 pound turkey for Thanksgiving. With the leftovers we will be making Bobby sandwiches. Here is the recipe if you have extra leftovers from your Thanksgiving.













The Bobbie

1 (9 inch) submarine sandwich bread
mayonnaise
4 ounces thinly sliced roasted turkey
4 ounces fresh turkey stuffing
2 ounces cranberry sauce
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Grimaldi's Pizza

Last night we had the best pizza we have ever tasted. Sorry Pizza Man in Milwaukee and Balistri's in Wauwatosa, Grimaldi's has replaced you.

Grimaldi's is the famous pizza restaurant that was started iunder the Brooklyn bridge in New York. What sets Grimaldi apart from other pizzerias is that it uses coal brick ovens that cook at 1200 degrees. This high heat produces a pizza that has a unique smoky flavor and a crisp crust that is not possible from gas, convection or wood ovens. To get this famous pizza you had to travel to New York or New Jersey. But now there are three located in Arizona and one in Henderson Nevada.

Grimaldi pizza comes in three types, Regular (sauce), White with garlic (no sauce) and Pesto. Also come in three sizes. There is a very limited amount of toppings: anchovies, broccoli, garlic, ham, mushrooms, onions, sliced or whole olives, pepperoni, ricotta cheese, roasted red peppers and sausage.

We ordered a large regular pizza with onions, mushrooms and pepperoni. The taste was fantastic. All the flavors blended well, not one of the ingredients over powered the pizza. THe best part of the pizza is that it stayed crispy until the last piece was gone.

We will come here again. To us this is the best pizza in Las Vegas. Next time we'll have to save room for their famous desserts.

Bonjou Bistro

Tim found a recommendation for a French restaurant named Bonjou Bistro in the Las Vegas paper. The article said that when you enter this casual elegant eatery, you'll feel as though you've just stepped off the streets of turn of the century Paris. We have never been to Paris* and the write up sounded so good so we thought we would try it out. The menu reflects a lighter style of food from Southern France. Our meal started off with a warm baguette that was spread with sundried tomato infused butter.Instead of salad we decided to try the soups. Tim tried the French onion soup while I ordered the Lobster Bisque with Cognac. Both were delicious. For the main course Tim thought the pork chops sounded good so he ordered those topped with a charcutiere sauce on a bed of chived mashed potatoes. I ordered the vegetable ravioli with wild mushrooms and artichokes in a tomato-tarragon sauce. I thought my meal tasted great but Tim thought his pork chops were a little dried out. Overall the service was fantastic. It was a great restaurant to try but I don't think we will go back. Many people love French food, but Tim and I still are still not big fans.

* Oops, after reading this post, Tim informed me he has been to Paris a couple of times for work. Well why didn't he take me along???

Bootlegger Bistro

Friday night we tried a new restaurant right next to the Outlet malls on the far side of the strip on Las Vegas Boulevard. Tim saw a review online and decided to check it out.

As some of you know, Las Vegas has become a "come as your are" place. You can go to a show or fancy restaurant and see women dressed in fancy dresses and men in tuxes or suit coats. You will then see people sitting right near them dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Any thing goes around here. Case in point with this restaurant. Tim and I had just gotten done walking the Keystone trail in Red Rock Canyon. I was dressed in a nice shirt with denim capris. Tim was dressed in nice shorts and a t-shirt. We headed to this restaurant not really knowing the dress code. When we walked in, there was a big fancy wedding taking place in one of the open rooms. When the waitress sat us at our table we were surrounded by people dressed up in fancy clothes while others were dresses like us.....shorts. So remember next time you come to Vegas, you can wear whatever makes you feel comfortable.

Here is one of the reviews of the restaurant.

Longtime restaurateur Maria Perry has been providing distinctive Italian food to locals and visitors for more than half a century. She presides over the kitchen’s early-morning activities, preparing the sauces and checking the recipes. Pizza topped with scrambled eggs, mozzarella, Italian ham and onions is a breakfast favorite. Maria’s panetti---complimentary miniature puffed breads tossed in olive oil and herbs---are served with tomato-basil sauce as guests are seated. Early bird dinner specials are popular, combining signature dishes such as baked lasagna and spaghetti with meat sauce, and chicken angelo with fettuccine Alfredo. We also like the classic shrimp scampi offered as an appetizer or an entrée, and the cappellini with Maria’s tomato-basil and garlic sauce. We also recommend the veal saltimbocca and the creative preparations of salmon and halibut. Save room for the espresso-flavored tiramisu topped with chocolate sauce. Nightly entertainment ranges from karaoke to blues, jazz, R&B and big band singers.

Tim had the meat lasagna and I had cheese manicotti. Both were fantastic. We will put this restaurant on our list of good restaurants. If you are in Vegas you have to stop here.

One of our favorite Las Vegas restaurants

Tim loves barbecued food. We have tried barbecue restaurants in Memphis, Austin and St Louis . Nothing comes close to what we found in Henderson Nevada. It is a restaurant named Lucille's ( http://www.lucillesbbq.com/ ) Lucille's has a number of restaurants around California. This restaurant is where we take everyone who comes to visit.

When you first sit down you are give a basket of warm biscuits with apple butter. Delicious! There are so many barbecue meat selections. We usually get the sampler platter with pulled pork, chicken and tri tip. You get to choose two sides. We usually pick the sweet potatoes with the peanut cole slaw. Now before you turn your nose up at the sweet potatoes, this is the place where Tim, who hates sweet potatoes decided hey, these are pretty good.

They serve so much that we can have three more meals on the leftovers we take home. After dinner warm towels are served to clean up. Oh, and don't forget the live country music.... Come and visit and we'll take you to Lucilles and you can judge for yourself.

Unusual Tuesday night out - Fritz's Pub

Last night was a beautiful Milwaukee evening. We decided to enjoy it and go out to one of the many free concerts that are offered during the week. Tim found a really good band named The Mahp, that was playing at Humbolt Park on Oklahoma near the lake. Since the concert started at 6:30 we decided to first go to a little serbian pub on 20th and Oklahoma called Fritz's pub. Years ago Tim's dad told us about this place and we try and get to it once every couple of year.



Here is a review done by Jessica Zierten:

New customers at Fritz's invariably feel as if they have stumbled across greatness. Placed unobtrusively on the corner of 20th and Oklahoma, many people believe Fritz's is just like any other South Side tavern. And to be sure, Fritz's isn't trying to attract any fancy-pants foodies or out-of-towners. Still, they come for delectable Serbian food like the shish kebab and mini-sausages( cevapcici) served with raw onions and bread, as well as hamburgers and daily specials. The fish fry is the big draw, and some say Fritz's excels at desserts, too. Try the cheesecake

Tim wanted to have a burek which is a traditional Serbian pastry made of multiple layers of phyllo dough and stuffed with meat, cheese, spinach or a combination of those ingredients. It's baked in a round pan until golden brown. It takes 50 minutes to bake so he decided to try the pork shish kebab instead. I took the combination plate which was half pork shish kebab with three cevapcicis.

Next time we go to eat here we'll have to call in our order for burek before hand so it will be waiting for us when we get there. If you've never tried good Serbian food, this is a great place to try. Real low key and cheap.


Last night they had homemade cheese cake, apple strudel and carrot cake. Yum! If we hadn't already packed a cooler for the concert we might have take some apple strudel to go. Our cooler was packed with a bottle of merlot, a couple of desserts and some popcorn and peanuts.

We had a great Tuesday evening. Good food and a great concert.

Mazo's Restaurant

3146 S 27th St
Milwaukee, WI 53215


Years ago when Tim's dad worked at Menard Steel, he told us about this great hamburger place. We tried it and loved it. Great greasy hamburgers with fried onions. We hadn't been there for awhile so ventured out on Saturday. The hamburgers are still great. The drive to 27th and Oklahoma is well worth it.

Mazo's has been on 27th street since 1934. What makes the hamburgers so good is that they grind their meat daily for their patties. The juicy six ounce burgers are cooked to specification and come with your choice of two sides -- fries, applesauce, baked beans, cottage cheese or Mazos' excellent soup. The full meal costs less than five bucks, so the place is definitely for bargain eaters. Come hungry and order a shake or malt served in a stainless steel mixing cup. The cozy one-room interior is adorned with old magazine ads and family photos that oversee the dozen small wooden tables filled with regulars and locals.

Make sure you save a little room for dessert because Milwaukee's favorite Custard stand, Leon's is right across the street.

Joey's Seafood & Grill

On Friday night we decided to try Joey's Seafood & Grill. The Milwaukee Journal rated this restaurant a couple of weeks ago and gave it 3 stars out of 4, so we thought we would check it out. It is located on 124th and Capital, in the Pick and Save parking lot.

While Joey's may model itself after a seafood shack in New England or Atlantic Canada, its menu draws on fish dishes from all over. Sandwiches are in the 7-10 range and dinners in the 12-18 range. They have a large selection of meals to choose from. California-style fish tacos, Cajun, Creole and Italian-inspired pasta dishes all appear on the menu, as do chicken, steak, main-course salads, burgers and sandwiches.

We learned from the Milwaukee Journal food critic, not to order steak from this place. Supposedly the steak is not too good. Tim ordered crab stuffed Haddock and I ordered the Malibu Coconut Shrimp. Both tasted great! Entrees come with a corn muffin and a choice of two of six side dishes - coleslaw, seasoned fries, parsley potatoes, red beans and rice, sautéed vegetables and hush puppies. We decided to pass on the Key Lime pie, which the Journal critic said was the lightest, freshest Key lime pies he had ever eaten.

If you love seafood, you'll have to try this place out. The only complaint I had on this restaurant was its location. I would have loved to see it in a unique place instead of in a strip mall.