Bites Nearby: A Little Chic in Shorewood

Milwaukee has its downtown scene, but sometimes you just want a good, classy meal without driving in circles looking for parking. The North Star American Bistro relocated to a bigger and better building just across the street on Oakland Avenue, and caters to those finer dining cravings without the burden and bustle of downtown.

As I walked in, my eyes immediately went up. The restaurant has 20-foot high ceilings with large, modern paintings and photographs throughout giving it a very retro look. Deep, maroon walls accented with stony gray brick pillars make it feel inviting and nothing short of timeless.

North Star is divided into to parts. Just inside the front door is the hostess and a massive bar with high-top tables. We were greeted by a friendly host and taken to our seats on the other side, which has more of a standard dining feel. Booths wrap around all four sides of this room, with smaller tables in the middle.

As I looked over the menu, I noticed the butter. Now, you might say, why is the butter important? It's another fine detail that North Star doesn't over look. The butter was whipped and folded into a fancy star-shape adding to the casual elegance of the place.

I continued to peruse the menu and found that many of the dishes have a home-cooked feel, with an upscale twist. Almond Crusted White Fish, sauteed with a red pepper coulis and served with basmati rice, sauteed spinach and apple slaw ($18.95) is just one of the dinner options. They also have North Star signature dishes. The beef short ribs were almost my number one choice for dinner. Boneless short ribs braised in a port wine sauce with shiitake mushrooms and served with roasted root vegetables and sauteed spinach ($19.95).

But the winner, thanks to a suggestion from my waitress, was the shrimp papardelle. I had to ask her what papardelle was, and she explained that it's actually a type of noodle. They're long, thin, but very wide noodles. I actually had to cut mine to eat them. This is also a signature dish at North Star, featuring sauteed shrimp, bacon, roasted red and yellow peppers in a white wine and tomato sauce, topped with an arugula and almond salad and served over papardelle pasta ($19.95).

Sometimes when you go to a nice restaurant the dish can be the most beautiful creation you've ever seen, but the taste test doesn't pass. Here, we had a winner for beauty and taste. Each bite was an orchestration of flavor, with bursts of citrus, smooth, crisp moments from the almonds, and savory, juicy bites of shrimp.

North Star doesn't just do pasta, seafood and ribs though, it also has many different types of sandwichs, seafood, pizzas and salads.

For a full copy of the menu, you can visit the North Star website here.

Hours:
Dinner - Monday through Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lunch - Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m.
Sunday Brunch is served at 10 am.