My annual article, 52 Restaurants for your Bucket List, was originally created to provide readers with an easy way to explore the wealth of restaurants in the Milwaukee scene over the course of one year (52 weeks). Today, as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides a fun and equally compelling guide for folks who’d like to bring variety to their weekly meals while providing vital support to some of our finest local restaurants.
Here's the featured restaurant of the day, plus five dishes to try!
the cheel
105 S. Main St., Thiensville, (262) 236-9463
thecheel.com
Take the short drive to Thiensville and you’ll be rewarded with a fragrant meal featuring the varied flavors of Nepal, a country with a rich culinary history not explored by many local venues. If you’re a first-timer, you might even want to indulge in the Nepali thali, a flavorful tour of numerous Nepalese dishes. Don't forget to grab a tasty craft cocktail from the bar! Dine-in available by reservation only; curbside pick-up is also available.
Five dishes to try:
- Laphet thoke: fermented tea leaf salad tossed with cabbage, onion, garlic, tomatoes, toasted sesame, toasted peanuts, crispy lentils, lime and cilantro ($13)
- Shan noodles: Burmese dish featuring sautéed soft bean noodles, bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms, onion, ginger, egg crêpe and besan gyaw in sesame oil. Topped with toasted peanuts and cilantro ($19; with chicken $22; with salmon $27)
- Bandel roganjosh: wild boar shoulder braised with warm Himalayan spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and black cardamom. Served over saffron basmati rice with yellow dal ($25)
- The cheel’s delicious (if non-traditional) Friday night fish fry featuring (gluten-free) chickpea and rice flour battered fish, cabbage slaw with golden raisins, saffron basmati rice and a side of tartar sauce ($21; make it spicy for +$2)
- Unique specials like Tuesday tacos or “Hump Day” camel sliders topped with Nepali sauerkraut, ghee caramelized leeks, Jarlsberg cheese and remoulade seasoned with Kashmiri paprika, Nepalese red pepper, jimbu and Himalayan five spice powder.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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