Joey Gerard's - Another Bartolotta Experience

We went to the soft opening of Joey Gerard's in Greenfield on 5601 Broad Street.  To the Joey Gerard's Website.  It is the new Bartolotta's restaurant which is supposed to be more affordable and based on the old Supper Clubs that used to be all over Milwaukee.  They really went all out, the decor and the food, even the staff was wearing the traditional butcher type jackets.  It was a lot of fun.  Keep in mind that this was the soft opening, it was also day 1 (of 2) of the soft opening so they certainly have some kinks to work out and they will work them out, I am sure of that.  You walk in the front door directly to the bar which is totally modern.  Comfy seats, corner booths, dark woods and mood lighting.  Once we were greeted by the wonderfully eccentric and friendly hostess she took us straight to our booth in 1 of 3 dining rooms (this place was HUGE).  The carpets were fabulous, brought me back to Las Vegas with the palm leaf design.  I wanted to take a picture but I felt incredibly silly taking pictures of the carpet at a restaurant, especially with the Bartolotta's big shots wandering around.  The dining room we sat in had fabulous lamps and hanging lights and the chairs and booths were very cool.  My husband thought the booths needed to be broken in a little, but for all we know we were the first to sit in a newly upholstered booth.  The table we had was quite wobbly too.  We were in one of those 'U' booths and the table is quite long.  An easy fix I'm sure. We sat down and were given our menus and some comment/suggestion cards to fill out as our night progressed.  One of the members of our party is a vegetarian and was struggling to find any vegetarian options.  The three of us on the other hand are meat lovers and were in heaven at all the options.  We accidentally ended up ordering the same main course, all 3 of us.... whoops!  We got Filets cooked medium.

I got a Baked French Onion Soup for an appetizer and Macaroni and Cheese for my side.  It wasn't my favorite soup, I actually probably won't order it again, I'll definitely go with a salad next time.  I didn't like the crouton and though the flavor had too much sweetness or citrus-y flavor. 

My steak was over cooked, my husband and sister-in-laws steaks were also over cooked.  This information went directly on our comment cards.  Despite it being cooked more medium well to well than medium the meat still had a lot of good flavor.  It had just the right amount of char on it and I got mine with a cracked pepper brandy sauce with was delicious.  Seriously I would have spooned it into my mouth if that wasn't completely inappropriate. The macaroni and cheese side was also amazing.  It was made with traditional elbow noodles, topped with a panko seasoning mix and was perfectly cheesy.  It wasn't too think or too soupy you know, it was perfect!  Believe me, I know cheese.  My brother-in-law, the vegetarian also ordered the macaroni and cheese and he also ordered french fries, both of which were served cold.  He picked at it but said it was too cold to even enjoy.  Amanda, my sister-in-law got a Red Snapper Soup and said it was amazing!

 Aaron ordered french fries with his steak and also said they were cold.  After dinner we ordered french silk pie and shaum torte.  The french silk pie was pretty basic but was comforting.  Good crust and smooth texture.  The shaum torte was also comforting, just like I remembered it.  They garnished both with strawberries and we weren't disappointed with either dessert. To top off our night we ordered two adult ice cream drinks.  I can't remember the names, but if you head there I recommend them!  Ours tasted like tiramisu!   Bartolotta's holds itself to a very high standard and all these bugs, big and small with be fixed before the opening.  All in all we liked it.  I know the fact that they cooked our steaks too far seems like a major problem but they did have amazing flavor and as far as the food that came out too cold that is an easy fix.  The staff was great, very friendly and incredibly excited to open.  The drinks were very fairly priced and the food is more affordable than at other Bartolotta restaurants.  Aaron and I both can't wait to come back with Amanda and Jon.  We plan to sit in the bar next time because the atmosphere there was just so cool and comfortable.

P.S. The drinks were flowing.