With 65 menu items that combine elements of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cooking, Stir Crazy Asian Grill offers a variety of options. Throw in the walk-up wok station, where diners can select fresh ingredients and build their own stir fry, and the diversity is downright dizzying.
That's all part of the plan.
The restaurant, which celebrates its grand opening Monday in a 6,500-sq. ft. space near Brookfield Square Mall at 15795 W. Bluemound Rd., offers a casual dining experience in an upbeat atmosphere that holds appeal for a variety of diners including families, shoppers, couples on dates and the area business-lunch crowd.
"People try to pigeonhole us into a demographic," said Greg Carey, Stir Crazy's president and chief operating officer. "That's the uniqueness of the concept. If you want to sit down and dine and have an appetizer and a glass of wine and an entrée and dessert, you can do that and still be out in 45 minutes to an hour.
"Even if you only have a half-hour for lunch, we try to make it the best experience you can have. The concept works that way with the wok toss. You can get in line and -- five minutes later -- you are walking away with your bowl and heading back to your table.
"How long it takes you after that is up to the individual diner. But, I think people in Brookfield and the Greater Milwaukee area are going to appreciate the effort we put into our food. It is the best Asian food you'll have. We will make believers out of people."
Carey said the Brookfield Stir Crazy is the 14th location nationwide. It's also the biggest and the first freestanding establishment.
"We're thrilled with the Brookfield location," Carey said. "In the year or year and a half since we started planning for this site, we've watched new businesses go into that area and we've seen how readily accepted they were.
"We only open four to six new restaurants per year, so we do a lot of due diligence on the site. We really like the Brookfield site."
Asked if the chain planned to open other Milwaukee locations, Carey said: "It's better for small companies like us to cluster whenever we can. If we find someplace that can deliver the same demographics, with exterior visibility and lots of traffic, we'd look at it."
Stir Crazy's menu features everything from traditional favorites like Pad Thai and teriyaki chicken to specialty dishes like wasabi salmon, Japanese Steak and Fuji tuna salad. Items from the menu, which includes several vegetarian options, are prepared from scratch with minimal oil and no MSG.
Carey refers to Stir Crazy as "four-star dining at two-star pricing."
Stir Crazy falls between the "fast casual" places like Chin's Asia Fresh, where the average check is around $10 or $12, and the "upscale casual" P.F. Chang's, where the average diner spends around $25. Carey said the average diner at Stir Crazy spends about $16, because the menu items range from around $8 to about $15.
Carey also said that the restaurant is "family-friendly" in more ways than one.
"We have a kids menu. We have cheater chopsticks and Asian coloring books," he said. "We think if we can entertain the children, the parents are going to have a better experience.
"At the same time, though, if you want to leave the kids at home and have a Japanese steak and a bottle of cabernet, you can do that. That's the cross-appeal."
After "practice" sessions on Friday and Saturday, the restaurant will close Sunday and open for lunch on Monday. At 11 a.m., there will be a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony with Stir Crazy employees and executives slicing the red ribbon with a cleaver before leading guests inside for a ceremonial "first firing of the woks."
During dinner, customers will enjoy authentic Asian entertainment.
"It's a fun, vibrant space," Carey said. "There is a lot of energy in the place. I think people are going to like it. Nobody else is doing what we're doing."
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
