Tom "Hyperphagia" T.'s Profile

Thick, flavorful tortillas. Excellent condiments you can do up yourself. Nicely crisp tripas (I hate the rubbery ones you get at lots of places). Orders filled quickly. And lots of fresh air!

I can't imagine getting near Green Bay without stopping in. We've been there twice in the past 3 years, and both time we were completely delighted. I mention the time span between visits because so often an ambitious restaurant will dumb down over time, but not in this case.

Our most recent trip was a special occasion and we'd worked with them in advance to arrange a non-standard offering. We were really impressed that they would entertain the idea, and they pulled it off as if they did this sort of thing all the time. The chef designed a 6 course tasting menu with beer parings, and even with such a request, the price was quite reasonable and actually a great value compared to similar service in cities like Chicago.

All the food we had was perfectly prepared and presented. When we arrived, we were presented with printed menus for the meal they'd designed just for us. At first we looked askance at the ordering choice, what with the first two courses being spicier than we would expect so early in the meal, and it turned out to be perfect. The servings were generous and we found ourselves torn between leaving room for more and not wasting a bite. I think we resolved this by eating slowly and breathing deeply, and reflecting on how fortunate we were. Our server was helpful and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is intimate and warm.

Not everyone would like this place. If you shy away from exotic ingredients and presentations, you might be challenged here, but if you ask nice, they might tweak things for you. If you are more of the sports bar fan, then go across the street to Titletown. This place is foodie-safe, but not pretentious or weird for the sake of it. And you can buy bottled beer to take home.

I don't know what the dining is like in the rest of Milwaukee, but this is a great find, and also a great value for this kind of food.

The Erie Street Gastropub is part of the the Hinterland family, with the location in Green Bay having similar features but is also an actual brewery/pub, and the more inn-like location in Fish Creek named the Whistling Swan offers a more quaint atmosphere. I've been to the first two and enjoyed them both, although the feel of each place is distinct. We poked around (and got some bottled beer to go) at the Whistling Swan while they were not serving.

The most immediately impressive thing about the Erie Street location is the range of dishes and ingredients, perhaps a tad more ambitious than the Green Bay location. We ended up creating, with the assistance of our server, a sort of tapas-like experience with 6 appetizers, which included such ingredients as halibut cheeks and pork cheeks (we did a cheek-to-cheek course), rabbit, and veal brain. One of the coolest things we tried was a bone marrow and foie gras mousse which was served in the hollow of a length-wise split leg bone. We didn't have room for the beef heart tartar or the barbequed pork belly, but there's always next time. Or not. The menu changes constantly to exploit seasonal opportunities.

The beer is great, the staff professional, and the neighborhood is lively on a Saturday night.

I've never been to a shop where I more quickly felt like a regular. In fact, over the course of a single weekend, it felt like a home away from home.

We first came to the place as a stop on a progressive dinner arranged by the Goldmoor Inn, just outside of town. Jamie immediately got into the role, turned on the charm, and poured out the hospitality. The whole crowd (18?) for the dinner immediately got lost in the goings on, and a great evening got a most excellent start.

Based on various recommendations, we returned the next morning to have Bloody Mary's (you guessed it, great) and to purchase some of the wines from the previous night. We had been impressed with the choices she'd made, and wanted her to help us make some other selections based on our trust in her taste and ability to read customers. We ended up spending at least three hours there, sampling wines, nibbling, and chatting like old friends. Surprisingly, other patrons seemed to also be into the same groove we were enjoying, and the whole place seemed to induce instant camaraderie among total strangers. It was a special morning.

We returned the following day to pick up our purchases for the trip home, and for the unexpected tearful good byes and pledges to stay in touch.

Your mileage may vary, but I can't see ever getting anywhere near Galena without stopping in, for even just a moment, but more likely another long session of excellent products and future memories.

I suppose I'm not being realistic about expectations, and I'm projecting my tastes on others, but there's almost always going to be a better choice for Mexican food for people dining in this area.

The place does go to some trouble to keep things "fresco" and healthy-ish, and and the food wasn't really bad (e.g. much better than gas station burritos), but nothing I can conscientiously recommend as Mexican or Tex-Mex or Southwest or what-have-you.

I'll admit to eating here several times, which both means that I wasn't terribly disappointed by my first visits, and that I'm not basing my review on a single, possibly non-representative experience. I've settled for food like like over most of my life, and I won't be surprised if I end up here again in the future.

That all said, I'll go back to my original remark about better choices. This place is situated in an area where there are many other fast food Mexican places, many of which provide more authentic and tastier versions of the stuff they sell here. It's possible that Taco Fresco food is in fact healthier, but looking at their nutritional info, your basic lunch will clock in around 500-1000 calories, much from refined carbs, so I don't think your doctor will ever send you here. The "real" taquerias won't "make it healthy", but the food is generally less processed and much more pleasant to eat.

So, if you like Taco Bell, you'll probably be happy here and will be able to make "healthier" choices. But if you switched over to tacos ala Mexicana, or any food you see actual Mexicans eating, you'll be left feeling like you wasted your caloric bandwidth. I'm trying to keep my food more "real" these days, and this isn't doing it for me.

I'm pretty sure that I've not been here before under this name, but I'm surprised to see how far back some of the other reviews go, so maybe this wasn't my first visit. Regardless, I'm glad the place is here and we had a chance to go.

We went there on Mardis Gras after seeing a promotion for their Fat Tuesday Feast Winter Tasting Menu. This being a minor holiday for most but big for foodies, we expected a crowd, and there was none. In fact, there were only two other tables occupied during the 2 hours we were there, which makes me fear for the future of the place. Maybe it's just the Tuesday night factor.

Everything we ate was thoughtfully prepared, from fine ingredients, and tasted fantastic. We started with the best pork belly I'd ever eaten, went on to lobster fritters, fried oyster on brioche with crawfish étouffée, strawberry sorbet intermezzo, chicken sausage jambalaya, and a perfect pecan tart. Our server, Jeffrey, was attentive, pleasant helpful, and warm, and didn't bat an eye at several "information requests" that we made. Realizing that we were there on a slow night, I nevertheless couldn't imagine a more pleasant atmosphere.

The wine list is intimidating and we copped out to a special offering associated with the current tasting menu. I'm not a huge wine person, but I recognized very few of the offerings, most of which where in the $50-$100 range, or beyond. We didn't ask for suggestions, but I don't doubt that we would have gotten good advice if we had.

I suspect the place is very forgiving with respect to dress and protocol. I would be comfortable there in anything from jeans and a nice shirt, to a suit and tie, and there was no hint of pretense or snobbery from any of the staff. Thy have coat check service for those so inclined, or just hang your coat on the back of your chair.

We intend to put this long overlooked venue into our rotation, and are looking forward to our next excuse to go there (St. Pat's special sounds intriguing!).

Expectations are everything, but if you're a fan of "strip mall Mexican", you're probably going to like the place.

It's popular with Hispanic and non-Hispanic people, and they cater to both the good old "big burrito" crowd, as well as folks after something akin to street cart food. The menu includes the usual tacos, burritos, tortas (and they offer unusual fillings like tongue, cecina, etc.), as well as soups like menudo and caldo de camarón.

You can order in or carryout, and orders can be phoned in ahead. Those dining in will order at the counter and have their food brought to their table when ready. There are a couple of picnic tables just off the parking lot for rustic outdoor dining, if you like watching traffic on Ogden.

Good, fresh ingredients, nicely prepared and offered at a decent value.

There are many reviews here and elsewhere that capture various aspects of visiting Alinea, and there's no need to repeat any of that.

My advice for anyone curious about the place is to not think of it so much as a restaurant, but as journey to the edge of the world of culinary experiences. The food, and the cost, is fantastic in the strictest sense of the word, and this is not a place to go unless you are specifically seeking a unique and outrageous evening that involves all your senses, with  food used as a medium of expression. I was challenged to keep track of all the flavors, aromas, textures, and even sounds and visual effects, and eventually just relaxed and let it flow over and through me. I am still "digesting" it all several days later.

If this sounds weird to you, then don't go. You'll be bewildered and might even feel had. If this sounds fascinating and you're not squeamish about cost, odd ingredients, and treating food like art, then don't put off your visit until "some day" that may never come.

Good food, pretty good beer list, pretty good service. Good neighborhood place.

The previous business in this location, Emmet's Ale House, was much anticipated, but sadly disappointing. Plagued by inexperienced staff, mediocre food, and technical glitches, we tried really hard to like the place but after a half dozen attempts gave up on it..

Enter the Tap House Grill, which was what we were really wanting all along. Creative menu, thoughtfully designed offerings to cover a wide variety of tasted, attentive and experienced staff. We've not had a bad experience there yet after a dozen visits.

Favorites - Actually, the simple lunch deals with small soups or sandwiches and a house salads are stellar. The fish tacos, jerk fish sandwich, green chili pork nachos, fish and chips all rate high. Burgers are everything I expect, scallop corn dogs are a kick, bruschetta pomodoro insalata is fresh and delightful, and the duck pasta is a somewhat surprising star.

The beer list is long, and includes a few beers that can impress. I like the Lagunitas IPA, Rogue Dead Guy, and especially the Goose Island Matilda - all rare on tap in these parts. There are probably 20 other beers that range from the hyper-popular AB and Miller offerings to a host of Leinenkugel choices to some interesting imports.

Glad to have this place so handy.