Edible Picks: Summer Treats
Pete’s Pops
3801 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53208
Look no further than Pete’s Pops for your local summer treat. Owner Pete Cooney had always been interested in food and wanted his own s...
Edible Picks: Comfort Food
Hatched Pies
At local farmers markets and Birch & Butcher
Allison Cebulla "hatched" the idea for her personal pie business just over a year ago, and says she is overwhelmed with the "outpouring of love and support" that she has received thus far. After working in kitchens and traveling, she discovered she needed something greater to fulfill her desire to create. She settled on pies, but not just any old pies; Hatched specializes in making hand pies, as well as 3" and 5" pies in both sweet and savory varieties. She believes that not only does this method reduce waste, but helps to give customers their own individual experience, trying flavors they usually wouldn't choose in a standard 9" pie. Every pie starts with a buttery and flaky lard-based crust that takes three days to make. They are stuffed with one of her signature fillings before they are baked and ready for consumption. In additon to the pies, Cebulla makes her signature "pie fries", which are excess pie dough cut into shapes, baked and tossed in cinnamon sugar with an array of dipping sauces. Cebulla makes between 700 and 1000 pies a week, as well as catering special orders for weddings and events. When trying to find inspiration for her fresh and funky flavors, she realized she wanted to follow the theme of what is in season, and hopes to create relationships with local farmers to produce the freshest products. This fall, look out for pie varieties like Pumpkin Spice, Maple Pecan Sweet Potato, Caramel Apple and Chicken Pot Pie. Cebulla hopes to have a permanent storefront in the greater Milwaukee area in the next two to three years. In the mantime, you can find Hatched Pies at Birch & Butcher or on the Hatched "Pie-cycle" at select farmers markets.
Red Light Ramen Tonkotsu
1749 N Farwell Ave, MKE WI 53202
Red Light Ramen's tonkotsu ramen is the epitome of umami, warming you from nose to toes with comforting Japanese flavors. Perfectly cooked noodles and savory broth are the ideal vessel for toppings like a soy marinated egg, nori, bamboo shoots, tender pork belly and more. Like many college kids, owner Justin Carlisle's first ramen experience was the 99¢ instant pre-packaged variety, but later on he ventured off on a ten-day trip to Tokyo with notable foodie David Chang. From his trvels, he realized that ramen in America was just Americanized ramen, not the traditional ramen he fell in love with in Tokyo. Carlisle's philosophy is "do one thing and do it right," and that pushed him to try his own version. Making ramen isn't an easy task; the broth itself takes about 30 horus to develop all the necessary flavors. Carlisle was determined and started serving ramen late night in the transformed dining room of Ardent, his fine dining restaurant. Carlisle would flip the tables, hang dark curtains over the windows and put up a red light outside to show that Ardent had transitioned temporarily into Red Light Ramen. Carlisle's ramen soon gathered a cult following and customers lined up outside (sometimes in single digit winter weather) waiting for a table. He later moved Red Light Ramen to its own storefront next door, serving approximately 400 to 500 steaming bowls of ramen a week. Red Light Ramen currently offers other menu items, like a mushroom based ramen, Japanese beef curry stew and a variety of appetizers as well as beverages like Japanese beer, sake and boozy slushies.
Related Stories & Recipes