Friday night was an amazing night for my guest and I. We spent the hours between 6:30pm and 9:30pm at a grocery store. You heard it right. 3 hours of food, wine, conversation at what Whole Foods calls Community Table.

Consider that on Friday nights chef Tim Mclean hosts an intimate evening for a small group of people featuring rare wine, fine dining, great conversation and fellowship. What a truly unique and creative experience.

We parked conveniently below Whole Foods and made our way through the store to a room on the far west side of the building that is visible from North Ave. Perhaps you’ve seen it? It’s a complete kitchen with all the accoutrements one would find in a newly remodeled home.

The decor and composition of the place lends itself to a relaxed and homestyle feeling. Add a fridge stocked with a variety of beers (I split a large Sapporo with my guest), wines and water and it’s not difficult to settle right in.

Chef Tim Mclean’s disarming and friendly disposition makes for a fun, casual and interactive evening. As he frequently states “Its about you tonight” and it definately was.

The first thing we did, after brief introductions and light conversation, was to grab baskets and go shopping in the store. Included in the price of admission are all of the ingredients to the dinner you are going to watch Chef Mclean prepare. How do you know what ingredients to choose? Choose whatever you want - the night is about you and its your hosts challenge to combine your selected ingredients into a superb 5 course meal.

As we walked around the store with wine glasses in hand we chose ginger, sun dried tomatoes and Japanese eggplant from the vegetable section to name just a few. From the fresh fish section we chose Chilean Sea Bass and jumbo scallops. We selected choice filet from the meat department as well.

The idea is to work together to draw some consensus about the overall dinner for the evening. It wasn’t difficult for the 6 of us to decide what we wanted although we were considerate of some milk aversions as well as any allergies the group might have had.

Once everything was loaded into the baskets we returned to the kitchen/dining room and dove into some more wine and appetizers while Tim prepared our first course, then second, then third, then fourth (you get the point) course. We…were…stuffed. Dessert is not one of the courses participants are allowed to select because Chef Mclean likes to sometimes prepare fresh pastries which require extra preparation time.

Are there other 5 course fine dining options in Milwaukee? Of course there are and they are very good, but I doubt they come close to being as entertaining, informative and interesting as this one.

Every Friday

Individual Seats are $60pp

Private Parties can be reserved for 10 or more.

Whole Foods
2305 N Prospect Ave
(414) 223-1500 or email tim.mclean@wholefoods.com

When you enter Good Life you’re immediately greeted with a sign that says “Seat Yourself” so naturally, thats exactly what we did. What you notice after you grab a seat and take a look around is the relaxing atmosphere of the place. From the music to the lighting; from the architecture to the menu there is an ever abundant feeling of comfort and simplicity.
Looking over the menu you’ll notice that menu prices including entree’s are all under $15. There are 5 entree’s to choose from, 5 sandwiches on the menu and 6 appetizers available to start it all off. My guests and I chose the Grilled Shrimp Skewers (the most expensive app at $12) and were presented with 3 tasty skewers served in what they call a rum fruit glaze.

From there we moved on to our dinner entree’s which in the case of my guest included the Shark and Bake Sandwich ($12) and in my case I chose the Jerk Chicken Plate ($14). The Jerk Chicken Plate came with a side of coconut rice which was a hit when mixed with the sweet sauce - yum! and also came with a side of beans that i wasnt a super fan of but one of my guests gobbled it down in a hurry :)

The Shark and Bake Sandwich is a fried white fish wrap as pictured with the gal in the middle. Individually the fish tasted crisp and fresh but when lightly covered with the white sauce provided it was very good. Of particular note were the home made potato chips served as a side that I couldnt keep my hands off of.

The space is split nearly 50/50 between bar and restaurant which makes it very easy to transition between a dinner crowd and a night time bar scene.

Good Life is a casual, modern, open space concept with great food (at least what we tried so far) and great prices. It will be a pleasure to return and sample more of the atmosphere and menu.
http://goodlifemilwaukee.com/

Light and airy, Lulu’s is a tasty retreat from Milwaukee’s city central. Well worth the extra 5 minute drive from downtown, you can expect to be greeted by an excellent atmosphere featuring tall, colorful ceilings and an artistic flair. We each ordered a different selection and every plate was left clean. The asian salad offered as a side is definately worth checking out as well as the home made chips. (I opted for the half and half). The Ahi Tuna special I ordered medium-rare was delivered medium-rare. Prices for lunch between $7 and $10 were competative and reasonable. On a final note, the music was very ‘up’ and entertaining and set the tone for a fun yet relaxing meal. Give this hot spot a shot.

http://www.lulubayview.com/
Pros:

Great atmosphere. Up and coming area. Excellent sandwiches. Large selection of alcoholic beverages. Excellent value.

Cons:

The service seemed a little slow for a work week lunch considering the number of tables occupied, and the pizza wasnt noteworthy.
Other Reviews:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=280162

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/dining/articles/lulureview.html

Roots is a restaurant that has had its share of writeups for instance here and here. Located in the Brewers Hill district south of North avenue on Hubbard (one block east of 1st street) the location is both nuevo, scenic and classy. Featuring three distinct atmospheres, Roots offers fine dining on the main (upper) level along with outdoor seating and a more relaxed menu and atmosphere in the lower level that features a smaller subset of the menu upstairs.

The Good:

The dishes my date and I ordered were prepared impeccably. I ordered the Truffel Seared Tenderloin prepared with a medeira reduction sauce and served with a side of finely mashed potatoes and small portabella mushrooms. My date ordered the Pan Roasted Chicken which was served over a bed of blue grit dumplings.

I ordered my tenderloin Medium and I recieved a perfect medium steak. I was impressed because the thickness and shape of the meat was difficult to grill to perfection but what i recieved was in fact perfection. The mashed potatoes were excellent such that we ordered a side for my guest.

Juicy and tender the chicken was delectable. Portions were both on the heavy side but food was cooked to perfection and tasted excellent.

Another point worth mentioning is the friendliness of the staff. Everyone on the staff was kind, pleasant and had a smile for us, not just our server. This made the environment warm and friendly.

The Bad:

The only bad thing I can mention was our initial interaction with the hostess. We arrived very early for our dinner (around 530pm) on a friday night and there were very few, if any, tables in use however after requesting a table the hostess left us feeling as though she would be put out of her way because we didnt have a reservation.

Conclusion:

My date and I had 3 cocktails and two top notch meals for around $68.00. I found the price for quality to be reasonable and I will definately return with family and friends that i’m looking to impress!

Check this place out.

http://www.rootsmilwaukee.com/

Welcome to the Reviews section of The Milwaukee Scene where we eat, drink, listen, enjoy and tell you all about it.