Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010
Shorewood’s Thirst and Vine Combines Café, Wine
Short Orders
Thirst and Vine
recently opened its doors in Shorewood at the site of the former Jean Pierre (4330 N. Oakland Ave.).
Thirst and Vine combines a retail wine shop with a café. The small menu
consists of soups, salads, panini and a few entrees. The entrees change
daily—think items like gnocchi and short ribs. Different variations of mac
& cheese are sold in lunch and dinner portions. A menu of cheese and charcuterie
plates is geared toward wine drinkers. The imported cheeses form a thoughtful
list, and it is a real pleasure to find serrano ham on a menu. The prices are
moderate, especially for the wine—several bottles cost less than $20! This is a
pleasant setting for a light meal.
Wow is all the both of us can say. We have traveled the world and never meet a more knowledgeable person when it comes to wine. We were greeted and served by a great gal by the name of Jenna. She made us feel so welcome and at home we ended up staying for hours and only stopped in for a glass of wine. I will recommend this place to all of my friends. We loved the staff, the excellent selection of wine, and the top notch service and the mac and cheese was to die for.
Keep up the good work and we are both sure to be back. We give THIRST & VINE an A
Sincerely,
John & Kurt
We LOVE this place. We very quickly were made to feel welcome & right at home. Jenna's pours are healthy, plentiful and she gives you exactly what you are feeling like for wine, or, if you don't know, she will offer several tastes with extremely well-informed background information. The food is well-prepared and never disappoints. The atmosphere is warm, cozy, and is finally a grown-up bar....no sports screens and kids with baseball hats, blessedly no-smoking. It is exactly what Shorewood has needed and I hope that there is a very long life span to this place. We find that we want to sit @ the bar for hours and chat with the very colourful staff. Congrats, John, hope this stays!!!
I must add my kudos to the owners of Thirst and Vine! Last evening we enjoyed the best new restaurant experience we've had in Milwaukee in years. The atmosphere is perfect: welcoming and relaxed. The staff are attentive and informed. Our salads (Beet and Cobb) were the best we've had in a long time ANYWHERE. The appetizers (Olive Bowl, Cheese Platter) were delicious and just the right portion size. We enjoyed the white wine our waiter recommended a immensely. We highly recommend this place--and we'll be back ourselves as soon as we can.