Aperitivo will start its happy hour with free food
The attitude is Italian, the food isn’t (at least, not necessarily). Aperitivo in the Pritzlaff Building downtown is launching its Italian-style happy hour next week, which means free food. During happy hour, or
aperitivo, in Italy, “It’s much more common for food to just be a given, a complimentary thing to nibble on while you’re drinking after work,” said Richard Kerhin, who opened Aperitivo at 311 N. Plankinton Ave. in January.
Starting March 2, Aperitivo will have its own aperitivo, from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Customers who buy cocktails, beer or wine can pick a few things to eat for free from the happy hour menu.
That might mean a dish like one that the kitchen tested this week: cevapcici, the little Serbian sausages, made with ground lamb, and served with fresh lepinja, Serbian flatbread.
The changing menu will include items such as marinated olives, hummus with fresh pita and small pizzas with atypical toppings, like Alfredo sauce with roasted vegetables.
The evening menu will be offered starting at 4 p.m. Before and after happy hour, plates can be purchased (from $6 to around $20 for shareable charcuterie and cheese.)
Kerhin aims to have a dinner plate nightly, like chicken with roasted potatoes and vegetables, since 100 apartments are Aperitivo’s neighbors.
The building also has offices, so Aperitivo opens at 8 a.m. weekdays for breakfast ($3 to $6.50), with items like Greek yogurt with fruit and honey, or breakfast burrito.
It adds lunch at 11 a.m. Monday to Friday, preparing sandwiches and wraps ($8) such as a Cuban sandwich, and salads including Caesar with house dressing.
During the day, customers can order at the bar (or online for lunch). The kitchen closes from 2 to 4 p.m., although Aperitivo stays open.
Aperitivo brews Valentine coffee and espresso and Rishi tea besides pouring wine and beer and mixing classic cocktails, like Sazeracs, Old Fashioneds and Negronis.
The bar is open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 9 other nights.
Customers can take in the extra-high ceilings, exposed Cream City brick and a bartop crafted with old-growth pine salvaged during building renovation.
The Pritzlaff is actually a complex of six buildings at Plankinton and St. Paul avenues, constructed from 1875 through 1919.
Some of that history is reflected in Aperitivo. Pritzlaff hardware ads found in catalogs in the building have been enlarged and framed; drawings of company founder John Pritzlaff and his wife, a gift from a descendant, are displayed.
Salvaged wooden freight-elevator doors from the building can slide up and down behind the bar over two largescreen TVs. Kerhin wants to play old movies or galleries’ rotating artwork on them.
“The basic idea here is to relax after work,” he said.
Aperitivo also has been used as a quiet spot for work meetings during the day, and it’s been booked for wedding-rehearsal cocktail receptions (the space can hold up to 50 people).
Kerhin — who owns
Richard’s Cafe at 700 W. Virginia St. with his wife, Patricia Barrera-Kerhin, who operates Richard’s — said Aperitivo is drawing interest from people renting the event space next door, as a place for guests between wedding ceremony and reception.
In summer, it will have a large sidewalk patio. Aperitivo is at aperiti
vomke.com; (414) 2764400. It takes reservations for parties of 10 or more.
New for brunch
Buckley’s Restaurant & Bar, 801 N. Cass St., now has Saturday brunch in addition to Sunday. The new menu’s breakfasty items, such as cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting ($8) or foie gras frosting ($12) and everything-bagel sandwich with cured salmon ($14), are served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch dishes, like the burger, are served until 5 p.m.
Waterlin Coffee Bar & Bistro, in the Delta Hotel at N88-W14750 Main St., Menomonee Falls, now serves brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with items such as breakfast tacos ($18) and candied-bacon French toast ($17). Brunch entrees include the “nosh table” — Wisconsin cheeses and meats, kringle, cheese spread, liver pate and relish trays. A Bloody Mary bar is available.
Pat’s Niche Pub and Grub, 3956 S. Howell Ave., debuts its all-youcan-eat Sunday brunch March 15. It will have biscuits and gravy, sausage, ham, hash browns, fruit, shrimp and grits, desserts and more. Served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., brunch will be $12.50, or $6 for children 10 and younger.