It was sometime after World War II when the supper club became middle-class America’s choice for a night on the town. Supper clubs were neither four-star restaurants nor diners, but offered good food familiar to American tastes in a relaxed setting.

Two years ago Brew City relocated from its Water Street location to a spot one block to the west. The new site offered three bars, outdoor dining and a fine collection of Milwaukee brewery memorabilia. Recently, however, owner R.C. Schmidt gave Brew City a new name and a very different look. Now it is called Trinity Three Irish Pubs. The three pubs are named Duffy’s, Gallagher’s and Foy’s, and each has its own character.

Construction workers have been busy building a new outdoor dining patio at Fiesta Garibaldi (5108 W. Bluemound Road). At the rear of the main dining room, they’ve also installed what is called a fajita bar, a Mexican version of the Mongolian barbecue. You assemble raw meats and vegetables in a bowl, choose from a wide variety of sauces and then present your pickings to a chef who will cook it on the spot.

Many restaurants claim to serve Philly cheesesteaks, yet few prepare them as they should. The rules are simple. Begin with a soft roll, not a baguette. The beef is not sliced; it is chopped and heated on a grill. Onions and green peppers are optional, and the preferred cheese is Cheez Whiz...

The independent grocery store is nearly a thing of the past. One of the rare survivors is Koppa’s Farwell Foods (1940 N. Farwell Ave.). The centerpiece, located at the rear of the store, is the Fulbeli Deli. Order at the counter from a menu of standardized sandwiches with many names from the solar system.

Swig first opened on Water Street in the spring of 2005. Owners Joe and Angie Sorge developed a concept of “small plate” dining—basically an international version of tapas. Since then they have opened the wildly successful Water Buffalo in the Third Ward.

Brookfield is not the place where I would expect to find a good Mexican restaurant, especially one with the French-sounding name of Haute Taco. Moreover, this is a place that takes liberties like making tacos with duck breast and short ribs!

Last October, after 18 years in business, the Third Street Pier abruptly closed its doors. The large and once-popular eatery fell victim to changing customers and competition. The space, however, lives on, this time in the form of a growing national chain named Kincaid’s.

Whenever I visit Hong Kong, I like to take one of the ferries to an outlying island. Cheng Chau is just 30 minutes away and the small harbor still has photogenic Chinese ships. The few seafood restaurants only use ingredients that are live, from finfish to scallops, crabs to spiny lobsters.

Just when every possible format for a restaurant seems to have been invented, another one appears. This time it is called “American pirate fusion,” and the restaurant employing it goes by the name of Shiver Me Timbers. The restaurant and bar fill a large room decorated with 1950s touches and painted...