Michael's Italian American

On Friday I visited Michaels Italian American Restaurant in Waukesha with my parents. I had never been there despite its close proximity to our house. When we arrived the parking lot was packed with cars as was the adjacent street. I feared a long wait. When we entered the restaurant we only waited 10 minutes for a table (if we wanted smoking we would be seated immediately).

I opted to start my meal with a tomato mushroom soup. The powerful taste of tomato dominated the soup which made the presence of the mushrooms almost undetectable. I could see them floating in the soup, but the taste was entirely lost amongst the tomatos and spices. That being said, this was a great tomato soup. They would be better served just calling it tomato soup. Although then I would have never ordered it. Maybe they discovered that people were more likely to order tomato soup if it has something in it. I’ll be the first to admit that I would order Tomato Spinach Soup, Tomato Ravioli Soup, or Tomato Chicken soup but not Tomato Soup. I guess I am just a soup snob. I will never order chicken noodle in a restaurant either. The other option was the obligatory Friday Clam Chowder, which I am eager to try the next time I visit.

While my parents had a taste for pizza, I wanted more of an entrée. I opted for the Veal Marsala, one of six veal entrees on Michael’s menu The menu describes this entrée as “tender veal slices sautéed with button mushrooms, hint of garlic, marsala wine and veal demi-glace. Served with hand-crafted linguini and our special blend of seasonings” I would have to say that this was one of the best veal dishes I have had. Each bite of the tender veal exploded with the flavors of marsala and mushrooms. I have had veal marsala where the sauce is way too watery (Trattoria diCarlo in Oak Creek comes to mind) or too thick and flavorless. This was a perfect consistency bursting with flavor. The veal was also served with squash and zucchini that were perfectly sautéed. Typically restaurants don’t do this correctly and the result is usually overcooked and watery or undercooked vegetables. These were lightly browned and a dash of salt was all they needed to bring out their flavor.

I tried a piece of the pizza with green peppers, mushrooms, and sausage. It was decent but the crust was too bready for my liking. If I were strictly going for pizza, I would give the edge to Matteo’s, just down the street. Dinners were served with a great loaf of bread and butter.

Overall I would recommend this restaurant based on the strength of the veal entrée. There are numerous other entrees that I look forward to trying.

Ratings:
Ambiance: 7/10. The Décor was old school Italian restaurant (think dark reds) mixed with the comfort of a supper club.
Food: 7/10. The veal was great, the pizza average.
Service: 8 out of 10.

Michael's Italian-American Restaurant

1400 S. Grand Ave. (corner of Grand and Sunset)

Waukesha, WI 53186

Phone: (262) 549-0406 Fax: (262) 549-3236

Oh no, he talking about Dennis Getto again!

This time I want to give him credit. He has made my mouth water for steak. His review of Yanni's Steakhouse downtown was really well written. I figure if I can rip him when he makes me mad, I sould sing his praises when he does a good job.

Read the article by clicking here

All I have to say is that I must try this place.

Rum Soaked Jerk Ahi Tuna

I had the good fortune to have an extra chunk of Ahi in the freezer from a recent dinner I made. It was purchased from Empire Fish in Wauwatosa, WI so it was some pretty good stuff. Anyhow I was growing tired of my usual Ahi recipes which all had an Asian influence so I decided to try something different. I wanted something spicy and sweet so I decided on using a jerk seasoning. I wanted a light marinade as well and opted for Malibu Coconut Rum instead of the usual soy sauce. Anyhow the tuna turned out awesome and I think it will be a while before I go back to using soy sauce marinades. Rarely do I like to talk up my own creations and even more rare is the occasion when I get a recipe perfect on the first try.

Ingredients

1-2 Ahi Tuna Steaks
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 teas of grated ginger (or ¼ tbs dried)
Jerk Seasoning (I always use Penzey’s)
Salt and pepper
Jamaican style hot sauce (Try MBF Sauces, they rule)
1 teas of honey
1 teas Mirin
½ teas of rice wine vinegar
1 teas of soy sauce
1/2 cup of Malibu or other coconut Rum

Take the Ahi steaks and if you want, cut them into long rectangles with the same height and width (see picture). This way when you slice the tuna you have nice square pieces. This step is strictly optional but I like it because you get more of that jerk coated crust with each bite.
















Marinate the tuna in about ¼ cup of the Malibu Rum for about 30 minutes. Rotate the tuna every 8-10 minutes to ensure even marinating. I suppose you could also put the tuna in a Ziploc bag with the rum and not worry about flipping the tuna.

Take the tuna out of the marinade and discard the tuna flavored rum. Rub the tuna on all sides with jerk seasoning, salt, and pepper. Heat a pan to high with about 1 tbs of your favorite oil. I used canola to not overpower the delicate taste of the tuna. Sear the tuna for about 30 seconds on each side. If you like your tuna more done than rare, adjust cooking times accordingly. Set tuna aside.

Add the remaining rum (1/4 cup) to the pan. You may need to flame it off but I didn’t. The sugars in the Malibu will begin to bubble and caramelize as the alcohol burns off. As that time you want to remove from the heat and add the ginger, honey, mirin, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. I also added some more jerk seasoning to the sauce. You will want to taste the sauce to ensure you have the right balance of ingredients. My measurements are just an estimate of what I put in there. You also should add your favorite Jamacian style hot sauce (one with habaneros or scotch bonnet peppers). A friend of mine has his own hot sauce company called Man’s Best Friend Sauces. He makes a wide range of great sauces with some pretty unique ingredients. These are not your run of the mill sauces. Anyhow I used one of his Mutt Sauces, which is a sauce that he makes with leftover peppers and other ingredients from his main sauces. This was MBF Mutt #35, which is a great medium heat sauce with tremendous flavor. Ok, enough of the plug for his sauces. Anyhow I used about 1 teaspoon of the Jamacian hot sauce but you should adjust to your taste.

Let this sauce simmer on low until it thickens. Return the tuna to the pan and flip it around so it is glazed with the sauce. This should only take 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from the heat.

Thinly slice the tuna and arrange on the plate however you wish. Drizzle some of the remaining sauce on the tuna and sprinkle with the cilantro. Enjoy one of the best Ahi dishes I have ever tasted.

This would go great with some other Caribbean dishes like fried plantains, black beans and rice or coconut rice. Unfortunately I didn’t have any of that stuff so I served mine with some brown rice and asparagus. Since I didn’t want to mess with the flavor of the tuna I just steamed the asparagus in the microwave and added some Penzey’s grey salt. I was surprised how great something so simple could taste. The grey salt brought out the flavor of the asparagus better than any of the seasonings I typically use.