National Avenue - Milwaukee's Ethnic Culinary Mecca

I'm in Milwaukee 2-3 times a year, and most trips includes at least one visit to the stretch of National Avenue that extends a few blocks in both directions from 35th Street. On this stretch, one can find good Vietnamese, Colombian, Thai, Mexican and Laotian eateries, most of which cater to a diverse but largely native clientele. My latest trip was the first on which I brought a camera, so here's a report with some pictures.

RICE PALACE
Pan-Asian probably describes this menu best, but the highlights are items which represent the owners' home country, Laos. While there are some Americanized dishes here, there's also a beef larb that's loaded with tripe, and makes no apologies for its funkiness and intense heat. There's also "Hmong Herbal Chicken," a soup that includes bird parts that make most Americans uncomfortable, and there are Ban Vinai Mustard Greens, which come swimming in peppery, very herbal broth.

Tasty as some of the boldly flavored, authentic dishes are at Rice Palace, one of my favorites here is the simple roast chicken, a brined bird that packs terrific chickenny flavor that's enhanced by delicious skin that's been glazed with a slightly sweetened star anise concoction. To serve, the cook hacks the bird into large-bite sized pieces, and plates it with some crisp-cooked green beans and scallions.

Roast Chicken at Rice Palace:



THAI BAR-B-QUE
I can't find anything justifying the name of this restaurant, but the food's delicious. This is another place where you can find a few Pan-Asian dishes, but most of what's here is Thai at the core, as are a large percentage of the clientele, according to my server. This, she says, is where Thai's eat in Milwaukee. And I can see why, if the northern thai sausage and the larb are representative of the caliber of food coming from Thai Bar-B-Que's kitchen. The larb is heavy on roasted rice, and perhaps a little lighter on fish sauce than other versions. It's got plenty of fresh lime, and great texture that's not drowned by too much thin dressing, as are many versions of larb. Thai Bar-B-Que's Northern Thai Sausage rivals any version of this dish, anywhere. It might be a little lighter on spice than some, but way heavier on sweet, roasted garlic and juicy bits of fat that's slightly rendered from the heat applied before serving. The sausage comes to the table piping hot.

Larb at Thai Bar-B-Que:


Northern Thai Sausage at Thai Bar-B-Que:


Laotian Beer at Thai Bar-B-Que:



MEKATO
LTHers know about Chicago's Mekato, the GNR award winning Colombian bakery. The Mekato folks in Milwaukee make some of the same delicious guava, cheese and natilla pastries, but here the place is less bakery and more full-service restaurant. It's an excellent choice for inexpensive empanadas and tasty steaks grilled over live coals.

Mekato, Milwaukee:



There are lots of other places on this stretch of National Avenue, including this interesting place that I'll have to try on my next visit.
Nacho Usual:



Unfortunately, in what appears to be a growingly depressed neighborhood, there are also a large number of shuttered storefronts, some of which were interesting places that the people of Milwaukee should be sad to lose.

Viet Nam, now closed:



The multi-ethnic character of National Avenue is distinctive, as is the food coming from many of these relatively humble storefronts. It's worth the short trip from downtown or wherever Milwaukee visitors might find themselves. I hope the locals recognize and support the area enough for the character and flavor to survive (but not so much that it gets overly watered down).



Rice Palace Asian Cuisine
3730 West National Avenue
(414) 383-3156

Thai Bar-B-Que Restaurant
3417 West National Avenue
(414) 647-0812

Mekato's Bakery & Cafe
3500 W. National Ave
(414) 383-2233

Kenny,

Though I've lived in Chicago for decades people still ask me for Milwaukee, my home town, recommendations, in particular inexpensive interesting ethnic. My info is out of date and your post has given me new ammo to both recommend and try. Thanks

This is especially timely given Cathy's bad news about European Homemade Sausage Shop and ownership change at Jake's.

Enjoy,
Gary

Kenny, have you tried this place:

Vientiane Noodle Shop
Cuisine: Thai, Laotian
3422 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee
414-672-8440

I was in Milwaukee last weekend to play poker, and in looking up restaurants, this came to my attention. I know the farmer's markets in Milwaukee have many Hmong vendors. Hmong run restaurants are usually marketed as Laotian. My problem: can't wrestle wife away from Coquette. So, I'd love some feedback.

Vital Information wrote:Kenny, have you tried this place:

Vientiane Noodle Shop
Cuisine: Thai, Laotian
3422 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee
414-672-8440

Not yet, but it looks good, even in the darkness of night...

Rice Palace is now on Restaurant.com, mmmm

Vital Information wrote:Kenny, have you tried this place:

Vientiane Noodle Shop
Cuisine: Thai, Laotian
3422 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee
414-672-8440

I was in Milwaukee last weekend to play poker, and in looking up restaurants, this came to my attention. I know the farmer's markets in Milwaukee have many Hmong vendors. Hmong run restaurants are usually marketed as Laotian. My problem: can't wrestle wife away from Coquette. So, I'd love some feedback.

I collected better eating tips than actual eating the other night in Milwaukee. I made the acquaintance of a woman who turned out to be of Hmong origin. Of course, I asked about eating, and I asked her about this place. She said that it was Lao-Lao, not Hmong-Lao. She indicated that the place (and I mean the place) for Hmong food in Milwaukee was Rice Palace cited above by KennyZ. As the card game and the casino food was especially bad for me last week, I am eager to get back to the Milwaukee for Hmong food and the Omaha hi/lo game that was not happening last week.

Vital Information wrote:Kenny, have you tried this place:

Vientiane Noodle Shop
Cuisine: Thai, Laotian
3422 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee
414-672-8440

I was in Milwaukee last weekend to play poker, and in looking up restaurants, this came to my attention. I know the farmer's markets in Milwaukee have many Hmong vendors. Hmong run restaurants are usually marketed as Laotian. My problem: can't wrestle wife away from Coquette. So, I'd love some feedback.

This place is pretty good. They have a mix of Lao and Vietnamese food. I had a very good Duck Pho there about a year ago. Also had a great chicken dish served with fried noodles. Cannot for the life of me remember the name of the dish though.

If you do go there you gotta try their beef jerky.

The daughter of the owners ran a place in Oak Creek, WI called Thai Tea, which was excellent but very underrated. I don't think she owns it anymore though.

A friend and I had planned on Rice Palace for lunch on Saturday, but it was closed when we pulled up, so we turned around and went down the street to Thai Bar-B-Que. Friend took one look at the menu and said, “We’re going to eat the crap out of this place.” And we tried.

Friend was most excited about the khao poun, a dish she ate everyday for a week when she was in Laos earlier this year. She was dismayed that the khao poun at Thai Bar-B-Que was available only with chicken or fish and not pork, but then she tasted it (with chicken) and was transported back to southeast Asia. The broth was intense, tasted like it would take days to make, very rich and with multiple levels of heat. I'm fairly certain it cured my cold.



The northern Thai sausage that Kenny wrote about upthread was also excellent, fatty and very aromatic with a crisp casing.



I’m not sure if it was just the type of fish sauce used, but the Laos-style papaya salad with salted crab was the funkiest thing I’ve eaten in a long time, and I mean that as a compliment. Pungently fishy. Unfortunately, my friend had a very traumatic experience watching different types of fish sauce being made in Laos (I think she mentioned a gopher was involved), and she couldn’t eat any of the salad. More for me.



I think it’s important to note that at Thai Bar-B-Que food is cooked on a 1 to 5 spiciness scale. I’m usually a 10 in such cases, but the 4 here really pushed my limit. This place can do heat, but if you need more, there’s a spice caddy.



We also ordered the curry fried rice, which was light on curry and heavy on black pepper. I liked it, but it didn’t seem special compared to the other things we ate.



I wish we could have tried more dishes, but we had the handicap of having consumed an alarming amount of cheesecake at Simma's Bakery en route to lunch. (I'll post those notes in another thread.) Thai Bar-B-Que is a gem; I look forward to returning.