Dining Out- Weekend of February 5th, 2005

2/5/05


Moondance Coffee
Hales Corners

I admire a place that boasts their bakery and desserts are made on-site. Their Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk Muffin had a crispy top studded with sugar crystals. The still warm-from-the-oven moist interior was rich with coffee flavor and gooey with chocolate.


Los Comales Taqueria
Milwaukee- 13th & Greenfield


Jamon Torta
Ham, refried beans, lettuce and tomato on Mexican bread

I’m fond of these Mexican sandwiches and this one was enjoyable with its slimmer than typical profile and layers of thin, nicely grilled ham.

Décor: A busy place for the local community the semi-open kitchen and simple booths and tables make it look more like a cafeteria. I’m confident I was the only one that did not speak Spanish.

3 out of 5 stars

Mille’s Spaghetti Factory
Mequon- Green Bay and Donges Bay Road


Eggplant Parmesano

It’s not that it was good, it’s not that it was bad, it was just boring. They could have dialed back the cheese and sauce topping to allow some more crisp and dry breading to shine through. As for that side of spaghetti- watery sauce that could have been beaten by supermarket brands.


Décor: Looking for that Americanized Italian look with faux. Faux bricks, faux stone, faux stucco, faux ceiling beams.
Service: Quick, yet mild.

2 ½ out of 5 stars

2/6/05


Astor Street
Milwaukee- Juneau and Astor Streets

Raspberry Scone with Lemon Mascarpone
With the first bite I thought as scones go this was pretty good not suffering from that dryness you often find in them. Then I had the mascarpone and realized the scone was a carrier for that wonderful rich, creamy, lemony cheese!


The Wild Bunch or Yuppie Eggs
Grilled vegetables and mushrooms then baked with Boursin cheese on a puff pastry crust. Topped with poached eggs.

A nice sampling of tastes and textures mixed together. The earthiness of the mushrooms, the crunch of the vegetables, the buttery creaminess of the cheese and the flaky pastry that became nice and soggy in places from the concoction it was supporting.

Décor: Quaint and comfortable Early American look.
Service: Downtrodden. Buck up little camper!

3 ½ out of 5 stars

A stop at one of my favorite bakeries, Cranky Al's Bakery, was for a Crueller. A thick sugar casing over a cakey dough.