*Update: Buttermint permanently closed in 2024.

The same folks that brought us Storyhill BKC have another offering we’re adding to our Restaurant Guide, Buttermint. They describe it as “new interpretations of Continental cuisine” and it feels at home in it’s 1960’s inspiration both in atmosphere and in menu. The food and cocktails are classics all re-interpreted through a modern, and quite playful lens.

They are also located in the Great Lakes region, so we’d expect that influence to show up on their menu and they do not disappoint. In addition to a well-executed set of classic cocktails, their rotating tap beer selections often feature many of our favorites from the craft breweries in Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Cleveland.

A recent visit started with a set of devilled eggs, given just enough of a twist to keep them interesting. We also had a number of other Great Lakes classics available, like fried cheese curds or a rye “pretzel” loaf. They don’t restrain themselves to the Midwest or just classics, as witnessed by the excellent calamari and the chickpea fries we enjoyed.

There are a number of clever, and very tasty, re-interpretations of classic entrees such as the Duroc Pork Chop with sweet potato puree, apple mustard gastrique, and sautéed brussels sprouts or the Beef Shortrib Goulash served over black pepper spaetzle, and topped with marinated grilled sweet peppers, sour cream, and dill. These fit nicely in their definition of Continental cuisine, but also within our view of Great Lakes cuisine.

Our featured dish today was the Buttermint’s take on the classic Friday Fish Fry. We’ve discussed the Friday Fish Fry in past posts and there is another pretty succinct summary of the tradition here on Travel Wisconsin. Buttermint went with a Great Lakes staple in using walleye for their preparation, but elected to pretzel coat and then bake the fish. Though there are some very creative ways to infuse flavor into the batter of a fried fish, so few places do much more than the classic beer-flour batter. It yields a crisp, light exterior and a very moist fish (see the picture below), but doesn’t add too much to the flavor profile. I like the call to use crushed pretzel.

The classic accompaniments to the Friday Fish Fry are here as well – coleslaw and a potato pancake. Perhaps my only quibble was the coleslaw was a bit too traditional. Here is a recipe I prefer that steps up the colors and the flavors with the addition of mustard and maple syrup. The potato pancake on the other hand was perfect; light, fluffy, savory onion flavor. The addition of apple butter is really smart here. The more traditional approach with a Wisconsin Fish Fry is the classic apple sauce.

The dinner above is the classic Wisconsin Friday Fish Fry from Range Line Inn, in Mequon WI, served with the very traditional apple sauce on a couple shatteringly crisp hash-brown-style potato pancakes. But I love the use of apple butter. It was very close to my ideal apple butter made by Barthel Fruit Farm, which also happens to be in Mequon, WI.

The apple butter adds such a lovely richness and depth of flavor. The hints of spice and sweetness add another counterpoint to the savory pancake. As an ingredient, it carries all the hallmarks of Great Lakes Cuisine – local ingredient, European inspiration in preparation and spice profile, and originally developed as a preservation method. Love how Buttermint uses it in their dish.

As a quick aside, if you really want to lean into apple butter, get out to Lansing MI for the Apple Butter Festival hosted at the Fenner Nature Center in October. Here is how they describe the event:

“The sweet smoke curling through the crisp air. The crackling of the fire. The fiddle playing. The children laughing. The creaking of the copper kettle and the clanging of the stirring paddle.“

Fresh harvested apples cooked down in a copper kettle over an applewood fire? Now that’s Great Lakes Cuisine.