VIVO URBAN GRILL

Vivo Urban Grill offers innovative cuisine at a location that has offered hospitality to visitors and Milwaukeeans for years.

Find Vivo at 600 E. Ogden Ave., close to downtown on Milwaukee’s near East Side. The only real signs of Vivo’s Old World predecessor, the John Ernst Cafe, are exposed wood beams. Gone are the dark walls and heavy draperies, replaced with a décor that is contemporary, warm and inviting.

The menu is tantalizing as well. “Coastal Mediterranean cuisine fused with the fruits of the Caribbean and South America” is one description of the offerings. “Unique and delicious” also apply.

Sampling a number of small dishes has become a favorite way of dining. The tapas menu, available whenever Vivo is serving food, lists “petite Spanish Style appetizers.” Pair several tapas with one of the delectable desserts, and you’ve designed a meal that is pure fun.

Visit Vivo seven days of the week for lunch, starting at 10:30 a.m., and dinner starting at 4:30 p.m. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. as well. Vivo serves dinner until 10:30 p.m. weekdays and midnight on weekends, making it the perfect stop after a show or sporting event.

Vivo also is a popular part of Milwaukee’s night scene and was recently rated the #2 place in the city to take a date. The wine list features over 100 wines, and beer lovers can choose from eight beers on tap, including Vivo Urban Light by Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewing Company. There is a vast list of import and craft bottled beers from Spain, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Jamaica and more. Also available is an extensive list of martinis, cocktails, and coolers perfect for summer.

In the evening, Vivo opens a downstairs dining room that offers a more intimate dining experience than the lively upstairs bar area. Vivo is open every night until bar close.

Scan Vivo’s menus for spring and summer 2005 and you’ll see an emphasis on ingredients that are seasonal and at their best. That’s vitally important to Vivo’s owner, Al Balda and executive chef, Tom Schultz.

Brunch is served tableside, and favorites include guava and cream cheese stuffed French toast and crab hash, with crab hash sautéed with potatoes and onions and two eggs with Sriracha Hollandaise for a kick. 

The lunch menu offers soups (Cuban Black Bean or Gazpacho), salads and lunch entrees. Mojo Marinated Ahi Salad and Salmon Benedict were recent choices. “Urban Sandwiches” are accompanied by a side of mixed greens and choice of fresh cut French fries or yucca fries. Midnight Sandwich is a classic Cuban “media noche” pressed sandwich with marinated roasted pork, sweet ham, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles and yellow mustard on a homemade Cuban loaf. Black Forest Melt combines grilled Angus beef, horseradish red onion, cream cheese, aged Swiss cheese, roasted red pepper and arugula on grilled pumpernickel rye. Individual Stone oven pizzas also are available.

At dinner, more appetizers are available in addition to the tapas list. Salads can be side or main events. Other “sides” include Mascarpone Mac & Cheese, Plantain Mash, and yellow rice and beans. Entrees include New York Strip steaks or 10-ounce Steer Tenderloin Filets prepared four different ways -- Gorgonzola style, Vivo style, Classic Bearnaise style or Cabernet style. Other house specialties include Brazilian Moqueca (sauteed scallops, shrimp and halibut in a Brazilian-style coconut milk broth with sweet pepper and red onions) and Mediterranean Paella.

Still hungry? Desserts made in-house include Cuban flan, Key Lime tart, double chocolate Martini Mousse and Tiramisu, while Vivo’s cheesecakes are from a famed cheesecake specialist.

For directions or reservations, phone 283-0045 or visit www.vivourbangrill.com.