The Onion |
June 18-24, 2009
The Grove |
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A beautiful restaurant with an
outstanding menu and live jazz
Wednesday through Saturday |
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nights. The Grove is perfect for
Sunday brunch, or a "casual elegant"
dinner. The menu is |
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divided into "Meat and Potatoes,"
"Fish Monger," and Mediterranean
Tour" sections; including |
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winners like steamed Prince Edward
Mussels. There are also a variety of
salads and |
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sandwiches for those with smaller
appetites, and traditional
appetizers such as deep-fried or |
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sautéed walleye cheeks. The Grove
features outside dining on its deck,
or in the courtyard, and |
offering tapas every evening. Great
for: a quiet evening with a
significant other.
 |
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Restaurant of the Month
| Key Magazine |
February, 2009
The
Grove unveils 'Super Foods' menu |
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AT THE GROVE in downtown Elm Grove,
a warm and friendly atmosphere
combines with great |
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food for a relaxed dining
experience. Beamed ceilings,
butter-yellow walls and colorful
framed |
prints add to the bistro atmosphere.
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Through March, diners can order from
"Super Foods" menus at lunch and
dinner. |
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Offered along with the Grove's
regular menus, the special menus
feature foods that have been |
hailed as nutrient powerhouses
packed with loads of antioxidants,
vitamins, and minerals.
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While a longtime favorite for lunch
and dinner, this popular spot in Elm
Grove also is know for |
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its live entertainment. Jazz groups
appear in the restaurant's spacious
lunge area Wednesday |
through Saturday evenings. A tapas
menu offers 15 different "small
plates" during happy hour.
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The Grove is known for its tender
steaks and outstanding fish and
seafood, as well as |
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Mediterranean specialties. Some
entrees are vegetarian-friendly and
there's a children's menu, |
ensuring a harmonious dining
experience for all.
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Lunch offers a range of appetizers,
salads, sandwiches, gourmet pizzas
and soups. "Great |
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Couples" thoughtfully pairs
sandwiches and soups, salad and
pastas or sandwiches and |
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salads. The "Super Foods" lunch menu
includes gourmet salad with shallot
grapefruit dressing, |
asparagus bisque and guacamole
turkey salad.
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Dinner starters include tender
calamari and raspberry backed brie.
On the "Super Foods" menu, |
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find sherried walnut mushroom pate
and spinach and asparagus dip with
low-fat cheese, both |
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offered with baked sweet potato
chips. The "Super Foods" offer apple
horseradish glazed |
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Alaskan Wild Salmon, or a
charbroiled prime, extra lean bistro
filet. Or, try the black bean |
lasagna or pumpkin walnut ravioli.
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For meat lovers, regular menu
options include a 12-ounce New York
strip steak, herb roasted |
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pork chops, and beef tenderloin.
Tour the Mediterranean with
Spanakopita (Spanish pie), |
Chicken Marsala and a variety of
pasta dishes.
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Side dishes excel here. "Super Food"
menus options are paired with
mouth-watering creations |
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such as pineapple and mint coconut
brown rice or cranberry and walnut
coleslaw. On the
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regular menu, potato lovers will
find it difficult to choose between
Yukon Gold sour |
cream-scallion mashed, herb roasted
red potato or gorgonzola scalloped.
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Sunday Bruch is served tableside.
Your meal begins with a
complimentary appetizer plate, |
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fresh fruit, mini bagels and fresh
cream cheese spreads, Danish and
assorted sweets. your |
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meal can be sumptuous or simple -
Torta Florentine (layers of spinach,
artichoke hearts, black |
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olives, tomato, onion, feta cheese,
garlic and egg baked in a puffed
pastry crust), French toast, |
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Belgium waffles, salads, sandwiches
(BLT anyone?) or entrees such as
Cabernet Angus short |
ribs.
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Lunch is served 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Monday through Saturday; Dinner 3-9
p.m. Monday and |
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Tuesday, 3-10 p.m. Wednesday through
Saturday, and 2-8 p.m. Sunday. There
is continuous |
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bar service until close, and tapas
are featured at the bar 2-6 p.m.
Monday through Saturday. |
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Sunday brunch is served 10 a.m.-2
p.m. and dinner from 2-8 p.m. The
Grove is located at 890 |
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Elm Grove Rd. in the heart of Elm
Grove. Phone 262-814-1890 for info
and directions.
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Great
Dining Under $20
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Milwaukee Magazine |
December
2004
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Comfortable, welcoming, with a
strong local following--not a bad
calling card for a restaurant. |
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Open for six years now, the Grove
makes you feel at home, even if you
don't know anyone else |
in the dining room, with an
appealing mix of wooden tables and
booths framed by privacy walls.
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Two nights a week, musicians add a
different welcome diversion. The
menu's beat is |
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unpretentious and moderately priced.
There's lots to choose from in the
$15 entrée range, and |
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that's with the complimentary soup
du jour or salad (pick the latter,
either Caesar or a good |
mesciun/Roma tomato house salad).
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Keep the tab down with an order of
spanakopita, two baked rectangles of
flaky phyllo dough |
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filled with spinach and sprinkled
with feta cheese ($16.95), or a
tender bone-in pork chop |
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coated in bread crumbs and served
with nice-touch horseradish mashed
potatoes and sautéed |
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veggies ($15.95/one chop,
$20.95/two). Other options:
lemon-caper chicken, petite |
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pomegranate lamb loin and clams
Provençal ($16.95 - $19.95).
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Journal Sentinel Dining Critic
| Dennis R. Getto | August
20, 2004
The
Grove knows its way with Seafood and
Steaks
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Some restaurants are far more than a
place to eat. They're a place to see
friends, hang out and |
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listen to live music. The Grove in
downtown Elm Grove is such a place.
"It's almost the 'Cheers" |
of Elm Grove," said manager Maureen
Sullivan.
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I noticed that neighborhood feeling
in two recent visits. Because I
wasn't aware of the live |
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music (a jazz quartet), I didn't
realize that the hostess was really
offering me a chance to take in |
some entertainment when she asked if
I wanted a booth in the bar.
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My focus was on food, so I chose the
dining room both occasions. And
after two visits, my |
verdict: How satisfying you find
your meal depends on what you order.
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My guess, based on a near-perfect,
12-ounce New York strip ($24.95), is
that you'll be safe with |
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a steak. The one that we ordered had
been grilled a bit cooler than we'd
ordered it (we asked |
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for medium, but the center was still
a little red), but it was so tender
and flavorful that we didn't |
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mind. And the merlot mushroom sauce
served on the side gave meat extra
mellowness. |
(The steak's flavor was so good that
the sauce wasn't necessary.)
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I'm also nearly certain you'll do
well with fish, especially the catch
of the day. That conclusion is |
based on our sampling of two entrees
and two appetizers.
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The better entree was an order of
sand dabs ($22.95), offered as a
special. These delicate little |
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sole fillets come from the Pacific
Coast and are best prepared simply.
At The Grove, they had |
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been sautéed and then covered in a
silky tarragon-cream that was
light enough for the |
sweet flavor of the fish to emerge
clearly.
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The second fish entree, Parmesan
baked walleye ($21.95) was listed on
the regular menu but |
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was not quite as good. Like sand
dabs, walleye are fish prized for
their mild flavor. The |
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Parmesan cheese that formed a crust
around the fish was simply too
strong for that mild flavor. |
With the flavors out of balance, we
tasted more cheese than fish.
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By contrast, the two seafood
appetizers we tried--walleye cheeks
($8.95) and calamari ($7.95) |
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--both satisfied our initial hunger
well. The cheeks were small, thin
pieces of fresh walleye that |
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we had ordered breaded and
deep-fried. They arrived at our
table still steaming and |
wonderfully crisp.
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The small squid that made up the
calamari order had been cut into
smaller pieces, which |
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ensured uniform cooking. Simply
breaded and flash-fried, they were
crunchy and sweet and |
didn't need the basil-honey
vinaigrette sauce served beneath
them.
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Two other appetizers had been nicely
executed. Brie cheese in puff pastry
($8.95) had been |
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baked just long enough to turn its
pastry shell a deep golden color and
to melt the cheese |
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inside. We spread the gooey cheese
and the apricot preserves baked atop
it on garlicky slices |
of toasted French bread, alternating
bites with fresh apple slices and
grapes.
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A stuffed Portobello appetizer
($6.95) showed me some refreshing
culinary creativity. Most |
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appetizers I've tried stuff the
large mushroom caps with cheese or
crab. This had Parmesan |
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and provolone cheese, along with
tomatoes, onions, basil, kalamata
olives and toasted Italian |
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bread crumbs. All those ingredients
combined in a lovely filling that
soaked up the juices of the |
mushrooms during cooking, adding
richness to the overall flavorings.
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One other entree, veal piccata
($23.95), had a pleasant tartness.
Instead of the usual, thin veal |
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scallops that most restaurants use
in the dish, these were thicker
slices cut from veal loin that |
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was so tender they needed no
pounding. The slices had been
sautéed, and then finished with |
white wine, fresh lemon and capers.
The result was a meat glaze with a
pleasant piquancy.
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There were the Gorganzola scalloped
potatoes, which were served with the
veal. Here the |
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problem was the choice of cheese.
Gorgonzola, the Italian cousin of
bleu cheese, was so |
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strong tasting that it threatened to
cloud the delicate taste of the
veal. I stuck to the fresh green |
beans that lay beside the meat and
avoided the potatoes.
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Things took a turn for the better
with desserts ($4.95 each).
Three-berry pie teamed red and |
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black raspberries with blueberries
in a homemade double-crust dessert.
And caramel |
cheesecake was light with bits of
toffee adding both flavor and
crunch.
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One of the reasons that The Grove
has developed so loyal a following
must have to do with its |
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friendly wait staff: Our servers at
both dinners were personable yet
confident and made us feel |
as though we'd been invited to their
homes for dinner.
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It's that kind of feeling, I'm sure,
that keeps the regulars returning to
The Grove.
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
| Scott Williams |
March 7, 2001
Jazzin'
up Elm Grove's Night Life--Local
restaurant reels in crowds with live
music
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Elm Grove--At closing time on a
recent Wednesday night, shop owner
Joline Steigerwald |
offered to take employees out for a
bite to eat.
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When the group walked into a
restaurant in this quiet little
suburb, they were stunned to hear a |
peculiar sound: music.
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Not the jukebox variety.
Live music.
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For the first time since anyone can
remember, Elm Grove has a regular
lineup of jazz groups |
performing here--drawing crowds and
pumping new life into the local
night life.
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"People get into a rut," Steigerwald
said. "I think we needed this--it's
fresh."
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The touch of Bourbon Street is the
brainchild of restaurateur Chris
Skibinski, whose decision to |
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move a few tables and make room for
a stage has transformed his
establishment, The Grove |
Restaurant at 890 Elm Grove Road.
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Musical acts well known on the
Milwaukee jazz circuit are eager to
play Elm Grove's new little |
nightclub.
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"It's a really nice little spot,"
vocalist Donna Woodall said. "It's
got a lot of ambience."
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Formerly the voice of halftime
entertainment at Milwaukee Bucks
games, Woodall and her |
quartet have several upcoming
performances at The Grove.
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Skibinski, who bought the restaurant
in 1998, said the addition of live
music seems to have |
tapped into a need among Elm Grove
residents to get out of the house
and have some fun.
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Since the regular Wednesday and
Saturday night shows began in
February, the crowds have |
grown in size and enthusiasm.
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"The results have been great,"
Skibinski said.
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Connie Malewicki, a homeowner here
since the 1980s, said she cannot
recall the last time |
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residents could treat themselves to
such authentic night life. When
Malewicki and her husband |
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go to the club, the 47-year-old
homemaker says, she forgets where
she is. "It doesn't feel like |
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you're in Elm Grove--typical,
conservative Elm Grove," she said,
"It feels like you're in a little |
club in downtown Milwaukee."
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Few cultural venues |
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To be sure, this bedroom community
of 6,300 sandwiched between
Wauwatosa and Brookfield |
is better known for its impeccable
landscaping and fine homes than for
its cultural offerings.
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Although it has the Sunset Playhouse
community theater and three or four
popular restaurants, |
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the village has been devoid of
regular live music, except for an
annual Concert in the Park |
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series each summer outside the
Village Hall. The business district
along Watertown Plank Road |
is mostly small service outlets and
specialty shops.
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Carolyn Kain, a member of a downtown
improvement task force, said the
emergence of The |
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Grove as a jazz club provides an
"intriguing" new twist to the
downtown scene. "I think it's really |
neat." she said.
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Situated in the Village Court
shipping center just south of
Watertown Plank Road, the |
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establishment was operated for more
than 20 years as the Grove Public
House, a favorite |
eatery among locals.
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New atmosphere |
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After purchasing the business three
years ago, Skibinski changed the
name and updated the |
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furnishings, providing seating for
130, an outdoor courtyard and a long
bar that can |
accommodate another 25 or more.
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A music fan, he credited the
addition of live jazz with changing
the atmosphere dramatically. He |
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hopes to expand the lineup to
include nightly entertainment,
possibly even outdoor concerts. "It |
just adds a great dimension," he
said.
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Jazz guitarist Dick Eliot, who
appears at The Grove every week,
said it could become a hot |
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regional attraction for area jazz
fans. Eliot has high praise for
Skibinski's efforts. "He's got some |
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wonderful ideas," Eliot said. "I
hope I can be part of it and bring
some people in."
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