A new chef, table service and Halloween pop-up at Vanguard 

In a recent Q&A with Milwaukee Record, Jim McCann and Chris Schulist, co-owners of Bay View’s Vanguard, 2659 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., opened up about the struggles of keeping their popular artisan sausage restaurant afloat among skyrocketing operation costs, shortened hours and a series of staffing issues.  

They also noted some recent changes implemented to help the restaurant get back on its feet.  

First, they’ve hired a new head chef, Hansem Castillo, who has worked on and off in Vanguard’s kitchen in the past and has made consistent food quality and presentation a priority. “He’s been doing great and implementing changes for the better,” Schulist said in the interview. 

Additionally, the restaurant, which has operated under counter service since opening in 2014, has now added table service. Rather than ordering food from the kitchen and drinks separately from the bar, dine-in customers can now order both from their table, and they’ll be brought out by a server. 

Takeout orders can still be made from the kitchen. 

On Oct. 26, the restaurant will transform for its annual Halloween pop-up event. This year’s theme is Vanguard Championship Wrestling.  

For the event, the restaurant, a longtime haven for professional wrestling fans, will host a costume contest, photo-ops with Mondo Lucha wrestlers and a full menu overhaul featuring sandwiches and snacks with professional wrestling-themed names. 

There should be around 10 new items on the pop-up menu, including Undertaters (a mix of tater tots and fried cheese curds, Cheese Whiz, habanero aioli, fried jalapenos, scallions and cilantro), the Hulk Hoagie (shaved steak, pepper and mushroom mix and and cheese wiz on a hoagie roll), and the Kevin Nashville Chicken Salad Sandwich (hot fried chicken salad and pickles on toasted white bread). 

For updates pop-up, see Vanguard’s Instagram page (@vanguardmilwaukee). 

Barbie pizza party and expanded dine-in hours at Flour Girl & Flame 

The only thing better than a pizza party? A Barbie pizza party! Wood-fired pizza purveyor Flour Girl & Flame will host a Barbie’s Pizza Paradise event in its dining room at 8121 W. National Ave. from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 25.  

According to owner Dana Spandet, the event is a celebration of women’s empowerment in collaboration with all women-owned businesses. The takeover will include Barbie-themed specials with edible flowers grown locally by Baby Mama Botanicals; champagne with cotton candy glitter bombs from Happy Joy Candy Floss; and wood-roasted veggie and charcuterie boards and glammed-up tots awith a pink glitter dipping sauce from Tots on the Street.

An over-the-top dessert special also will be available, featuring BB Cakes fudgy brownies topped with a scoop of Milk & Cookie ice cream from Everyone’s Ice Cream, raspberry coulis, pink whip and a Luxardo cherry. 

Specials will be available first-come, first-served as seating is limited. Take-out also will be available that night. 

Guests are encouraged to wear their peppiest pink outfit and fashion hats as they “get inside the box” for photo ops inside the life-sized Barbie box on display. 

The following week, on Nov. 3, Flour Girl & Flame is officially “re-re-re-opening” their dining space for extended dine-in hours. Hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Throughout dine-in season, the pizza shop will have a seasonal rotating menu and weekly specials along with their weekly Detroit-style pizza night each Wednesday. Spandet also announced they’ll be bringing back their house-favorite arancini, with rotating arancini offerings. 

Thanksgiving pie orders now open from Honeypie 

A homemade pie is hard to beat, unless you’ve tried the ones from Honeypie, 2569 S. Kinnickinnc Ave. The Bay View restaurant known for its sweet treats, homestyle dinners and hearty brunches is now taking orders for Thanksgiving pies. 

The 11-inch handmade pies serve eight large slices or 16 small slices, and begin at $41. Flavors include pumpkin, bourbon walnut pecan, apple crumb, apple double crust, Door County cherry crumb, chocolate cream, Key lime, vegan apple crumb and vegan cherry crumb. 

Online orders will be accepted through Nov. 17 or until quantities sell out. A limited quantity is available, so customers are encouraged to order as soon as possible. Orders can be made online at honeypiecafe.com. 

Walk-in purchases for ready-made pies will be available the week of Thanksgiving at Honeypie, Small Pie and Comet Cafe. 

Il Cervo begins brunch service 

Il Cervo, 420 W. Juneau Ave., the modern-Italian restaurant located on the rooftop of The Trade Hotel, has introduced weekend brunch service. 

Brunch is now served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays featuring a pared-down menu of dinner-menu favorites, plus special brunch entrees, sandwiches, sweet dishes and cocktails. 

New savory brunch items include avocado toast, baked egg strata, mortadella benedict, steak and eggs, French toast and American breakfast (two eggs with bacon, Italian sausage, focaccia toast and breakfast potatoes). 

Sweet items include sourdough bombolini (an Italian doughnut filled with chocolate ganache, strawberries pistachios and Chantilly whipped cream) and stracciatella (a gelato-like ice cream served with compressed melon, multigrain granola, lavender honey and Genovese basil).

Sandwiches include a meatball calzone, mortadella and salami panino, and a fig and speck cured ham sandwich. 

New brunch cocktails include three espresso-forward drinks, a bloody mary with Calabrian chili mix and a mimosa served with orange aperitivo. 

Brunch reservations can be made online with seating options in the main dining room or four seasons room. 

To see the full menu, visit ilcervorestaurant.com.