I fear the chaos of newly opened restaurants: I don’t go out to eat at one until the dust has settled. Sometimes I never go at all. Etta went to the Radler very soon after they opened because our friend Meghan works there: her sister Liz is the manager. Etta loved it, and brought me in on my bday. I wore my new bday present teeshirt.
So I found myself at the second-ever Radler weekend brunch (they do it on Saturday and Sunday) in my new Chicago style hotdog teeshirt. The room is beautiful, gigantic arced windows onto Milwaukee Ave, the furniture and woodwork on the booths is comfortable understated elegance, the big clocks. We sat beneath the street art of the sick grimacing bird in a corner booth.
It was the tail end, there were only a few guests. The server was low-key but professional, answered questions, made things happen (coffee, cocktail, clearing, brisket reuben to-go before the kitchen closed), the server was great. The food was terrific: we started with a sweet course of banana bread. My bday is a reminder that I’m an old worm and so I got the old school.
The eggs were cooked perfect, the bacon was cripsy (you can also request limp), the thick fluffy wheat bread made with care and buttered. The hash brown potato was unbelievable, rich, moist inside, salty and browned outside. Etta got the trout and I had a couple bites. Wow it was harmonious trout.
It was harmonious trout beneath the sick grimacing bird. The brisket reuben and fries were the perfect afternoon snack. Later, I ate almost an entire banana cream pie topped with shaved white chocolate that Etta got me from Hoosier Mama. The brisket reuben and fries and almost entire pie were the perfect afternoon bday snack.
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