Portland-Style Pizza for Milwaukee

Wy’east Pizza was a part of the street-food culture in Portland and served its pies Neapolitan-style out of a small trailer from the 70’s. The oven housed in the small trailer was only able to cook one pizza at a time. The pizza cart was named after a neighborhood in Portland, which references the Native American word for Mount Hood, and was a popular destination for locals with a dough recipe that involved a fermentation process totaling 18 hours. Wy’east garnered plenty of attention with local food writers and even received a nod from the digital food publication Serious Eats.

Co-owners Ann Brock and James Durawa operated their pizza cart for four years in Portland before moving back to Milwaukee in 2013 and are now planning on opening Wy’east on the West Side of Milwaukee, in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Brock and Durawa will be transitioning from street food to a brick-and-mortar location and have made plans to obtain the former space of Papa Joe’s Pizza and Pasta at 5601 W. Vliet St. The owners have recently been approved for loans totaling $220,000 through the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

-The Beerline Café was also recently approved by the MEDC for a $250,000 loan. Owner Michael Allen is planning to open the vegetarian café at 2076 N Commerce St. next spring. The menu will serve espresso drinks, smoothies, juices and will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Allen intends to become certified through the Green Restaurant Association, which establishes and maintains criteria for cost-effective sustainability, energy efficiency and pollution reduction for businesses – to name a few categories.

-Xankia will be opening in the downtown location (222 W. Wells St.) formerly occupied by Arin Bert Coffee and Grill, which we reported over the summer. The restaurant serves Vietnamese sandwiches (Bahn Mi) and Hmong cuisine and could be open as early as late next month. The restaurant’s owner Xa Xiong also operates a location inside Pacific Produce on Milwaukee’s South Side.

-Simmer Cafe is on pace for a soft opening Nov. 24 at 718 N. Water St., with a grand opening in December, as the Journal Sentinel has reported. Simmer will be the permanent home for the popular food truck which served soup, panini and salads. The restaurant will offer breakfast panini, omelets and hash browns in the morning and soups, salads and of course, panini for lunch, including such soups as curry pumpkin, tomato basil, and French onion.

Rishi teas and Stone Creek coffee and espresso drinks and bakery will be served and bread is from Rocket Baby Bakery. The cafe will seat about 50 and its phone number is (414) 949-7687.

–Still want more soup? Uncanny Soup Co. is back in business. Owned by Jay and Erin Mulloy, the restaurant had operated for some time in the Gas Light Building, 626 E. Wisconsin Ave. It has now reopened at 612 N. Water St., in a former Subway submarine shop. Uncanny will serve frittata on flatbread for breakfast, and soups and sandwiches at lunch.

The soups and stews (two sizes, $4.50 and $6) vary from day to day and may include jambalaya, chili, creamy chicken, kale and gnocchi and asparagus bisque. The cafe also sells pastries, including its own baklava.

The cafe has seating for diners and offers delivery in a limited area; call (414) 231-3706.

–Gaulien “Gee” Smith is opening SkyBox Sports Bar in the space next door to Gee’s Clippers Barber and Beauty Salon. Located at 2313 N. MLK Dr., SkyBox will be available for lunch seven days a week and televise all sporting events available, including pay-per-view events. The sports bar will include arcade games like Miss Pac-Man and Galaga alongside dart boards and a pool table. The space even has a basketball half-court. The SkyBox grand opening is on Black Friday, November 28th, at 6:00 pm.

–The Brown Bottle finally reopens today in in Schlitz Park at 211 W. Galena St., which we reported on earlier this year. The Old World restaurant and bar will be open for lunch and happy hour until December 1st, at which point dinner service will be available. The restaurant been remodeled and the menu updated by Ben Hudson, former chef of Bacchus, to include seasonal dishes, appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and desserts.