I am a member of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in California called Talley Farms. From them, I receive a bi-weekly box of seasonal fruits and vegetables all sourced at local farms. Braise, a Community Supported Restaurant (CSR) in Milwaukee, supports its local farmers and artisan producers through the use of their products in their restaurant. They have also created Braise Restaurant Supported Agriculture (RSA) to make these products easily accessible to other restaurants in their area. Braise is committed to helping people become aware of the source of their foods and understand how an optimal relationship between a local farm and a restaurant can benefit the local economy, environment and food quality.
Part of their mission is to reconnect people with their food through teaching. Braise offers hands on & demo-style classes available to all levels of home cooks. Their restaurant and school are run by Chef/Owner David Swanson, who earned a James Beard Award nomination in 2013 for Best Chef in the Midwest.
This was our last meal during our visit to Milwaukee and it supported the saying of “saving the best for last”! We loved the atmosphere and decor of the restaurant and the service was first-rate. To begin our culinary journey we ordered their Steamed Pork Buns. After having had them at another Milwaukee restaurant, I was curious to see their interpretation. It was considerably different than the pork buns at All Purpose and they were incredible! Sweet and tangy on a melt-in-your-mouth pastry that was a perfect envelope for the toppings.
We enjoyed their Grilled Summer Squash Tart, a delicate puff pastry tart topped with an assortment of summer squash with lemon pepper chèvre, fried fennel fronds and salsa verde. It was light and tasty.
We couldn’t resist a taste of the fresh farm Heirloom Tomatoes served with herbs, olive oil, quark cheese and saba. Quark cheese is a fresh dairy product also known as curd cheese and Saba is a syrup made from freshly squeezed grape juice. It was fresh and luscious!
Chicken Breast is probably last on my list of things to order in a restaurant as it is something that I can easily make myself, is not that exciting and is usually overdone. This Roasted Chicken Breast, however, was breathtaking! Served with sautéed Chanterelle mushrooms & Italian braising greens, grilled red baby onions, griddled polenta cake and Summer Savory vierge. (Vierge is a French sauce made with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped tomato and basil with often the addition of other herbs.) This dish was complex in taste and utterly delicious!
Since we had not indulged in dessert at most of our meals, this being our last, we decided to order dessert. Their Rosewater Panna Cotta with rhubarb broth, an almond-oat cookie and fresh cherries was a perfect ending to our meal. The texture of the panna cotta was exactly as it should be with a delicate sauce lightly flavored with rhubarb and the interesting additional accouterments alongside. I am totally sold on the philosophy of quality, freshness and exceptional taste through local sourcing and Braise is a wonderful ambassador for this cause.
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Who would have thought that Milwaukee would have some of the best restaurants I have ever dined in, and what should not go without notice is: Look at the street that this restaurant is on. There is not one bit of debris on that street. The entire city is like that, no matter what the neighborhood. This restaurant was one of many greats!