{image1}With the latest health crazes in abundance, obesity scares and ruminations of carcinogens in our foodstuffs, even in the stereotyped "land of beer and cheese" people are becoming more cognizant of what we are putting into our mouths. In recent years, organic grocers and farmers' markets, and more recently, restaurants, have popped up on the Milwaukee scene, including the popular Brewer's Hill destination spot, Roots Restaurant and Roots Cellar, 1818 N. Hubbard St., which opened its doors on Valentine's Day 2004.
The brainchild of co-owners Joe Schmidt, John Raymond and Rebecca Goldberger, Roots pairs organic foods from local farms with upscale fusion cooking that will take your breath away, if the view of the city from their outdoor patio doesn't do so first.
On two visits to Roots Restaurant, we found ourselves underwhelmed with the appetizers. We sampled a Maryland blue crab cake with a sweet corn salsa and spicy remoulade ($8), the Roots artisan cheese plate ($10), and rare #1 tuna ($13). The crab cake was healthy in portion for the price, but flavors were average, and the sweet corn salsa did nothing to complement the sweet taste of the crab.
The artisan cheese plate was also disappointing; the cheese was okay, but the accompanying cranberry nut bread had been overgrilled, and each bite sent an unpleasant waft of burnt bread to the nose. In direct contrast, the seared rare tuna was perfection. Light and buttery in texture, with a delicious meld of wasabi sticky rice and ginger sake syrup, this appetizer is the star of the Roots starter menu.
Entrées were unquestionably some of the best we have had at any restaurant, in any city. A truffle seared tenderloin ($28) arrived grilled perfectly medium rare with chèvre (goat cheese) whipped potatoes and madeira black truffle mushrooms. This dish, with the combination of rare black truffles, and the rich Madeira demi-glaze, was exquisite.
We were also thrilled with the charred New York strip ($24), a delectably tender piece of meat with a whisky-soy BBQ sauce and a red potato and wasabi ragout that was to die for. Soy grilled tilapia ($19), was flaky atop cashew sticky rice and pea shoots, and seared day boat scallops ($27) came with a lovely candied ginger risotto. Our only complaint were the charred green beans that accompanied the entrées on our first visit. Beyond that, our dinners were excellent.
{image2}There were two service issues at Roots which made us question our desire to return. Roots boasts an impressive wine list, with options from $30 to more than $200. On our first visit, we opted for a Turkey Flat Shiraz, moderately priced at $57. Our server grunted when he was opening the bottle, a tell-tale sign of a broken cork. However, he still poured the wine for me to taste, with noticeable flecks of cork in my glass. I pointed out the cork and he decanted the bottle at our table instead of removing it and replacing it with a fresh bottle.
On a second visit, we waited 45 minutes to be seated at our reserved table, and then another 20 minutes for our appetizers. Then, halfway through our starters, our entrées arrived. However, upon completion of our meal (a two-and-a-half-hour evening affair in all, after our lengthy waits), our server apologetically invited us out to the then nearly empty patio to finish our bottle of wine (Rutherford Rocking Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, $58) over the Roots' gorgeous view of the city, and our frustrations were nearly completely forgotten.
Get early patio reservations at Roots and while the night away overlooking our fair city, or breeze in reservation-free to their Cellar, the more casual lower section of the restaurant.
Roots is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vegetarian selections available. Call Roots at (414) 374-8480. The Web site is rootsmilwaukee.com.
