A restaurant family grows with El Patron
The next generation of the family operating Cielito Lindo is going into the restaurant business with the new El Patrón Mexican Food & Bar, 2423 S. 6th St.
Cesar Lopez, 21, opened El Patrón on Oct. 10, serving a menu similar to that of Cielito Lindo, which has been at 733 S. 2nd St. for 21 years. “I worked there since I was 10 or 11,” Lopez said.
His father, Rodrigo Lopez, started Cielito Lindo, and his uncle Lorenzo Lopez soon joined the restaurant.
El Patrón, like Cielito Lindo, serves molcajete ($15.99 for one, $27.99 for two). The dish combines steak, chicken and shrimp with tomato, onion, pepper, avocado and melted cheese, served with rice, beans and tortillas.
The dish is a specialty of the Mexican state of Jalisco, where the Lopez family is originally from.
Another specialty at El Patrón is birria ($10.99), stew made from lamb and served Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The menu has seafood dishes such as shrimp cocktail ($13.99), pork dishes including loin in salsa ($12.99), beef dishes such as a carne asada dinner ($12.99) and chicken plates, such as milanesa ($11.49).
It also has a lineup of tacos ($1.75 on corn tortillas, $2 on flour), burritos ($6 to $7.99), tortas ($5.50) and more.
El Patrón also serves an all-day breakfast, with dishes like eggs and potatoes ($7.99) and the desayuno El Patrón ($11.99), chilaquiles topped with sour cream, cheese and onion and served with steak, beans and two over-easy eggs.
At the 16-seat bar, the drink specialty is the cazuela ($7), a drink of tequila, lime and grapefruit and orange slices that’s served in a small clay casserole dish.
The restaurant can seat about 100 people. El Patrón offers takeout and accepts reservations; to contact, (414) 204-8901.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Dinner hours start
Birch + Butcher, the brand-new all-day restaurant and butcher shop on downtown’s northern edge, starts dinner hours Friday.
The centerpiece of the kitchen led by chef and co-owner Miles Borghgraef is an open, woodfired hearth. A former Lake Park Bistro chef de cuisine, he owns the restaurant with Rebecca Zwiefelhofer.
Borghgraef calls the menu contemporary Midwestern and said it will change frequently as ingredients available from area growers and producers change.
The menu has dishes such as sunflower-seed risotto with trumpet mushrooms ($13), barbecue parsnips with harissa and yogurt ($8), grilled whitefish with tomato butter ($15), aged pork chop with baked beans and apples ($21) and grilled beef tri tip with mustard greens, poached turnips and salsa ($26).
Wines are American, tap beers are American craft, and craft cocktails are all $10, including a Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned on draft.
Dinner is served 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant and shop open daily at 7:30 a.m.
Reservations can be made on the website, birchandbutcher.com, or by phone at (414) 323-7372.
Birch + Butcher is at 459 E. Pleasant St. at N. Water St., on the first floor of the North End apartments.
Make other plans
Rivalry, a Third Ward sports bar that focused on Wisconsin-Illinois team rivalries, has closed about a year after opening.
Owner Joshua Janis said the bar at 223 N. Water St. closed about two weeks ago.
Janis said there is another tenant for the space, but he declined to identify the tenant.
Rivalry opened in the space that had been Rustico Italian restaurant in October 2016. The concept called for games involving Chicago and other Illinois teams to be shown in the lower level and games involving Milwaukee and other Wisconsin teams to be shown on the main floor.
The menu continued the theme with items like Chicago-style hot dogs and bratwurst.
Janis, 34, who also had opened Refuge Smoothie Cafes for a time and previously was a partner in McGillycuddy’s bar downtown, said he now has left the food and beverage industry. He had been involved in owning bars or restaurants since he was 22, when he opened Three on Milwaukee St.
Open on Christmas?
Restaurants, it’s not too early to think about Christmas. If you’re open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, drop me a line with your hours at carol.deptolla@jrn.com by Nov. 27. If you have a different format, such as a buffet or family-style service or a briefer menu, let me know that, too.