The Lab at Table 75

I know, no excuse for how late this is, but I finally got to it!
First off, what a cool space to hold a tasting dinner — way classier than I usually am, but I definitely dug the space and the chance to have dinner with art.
First dish — loved the morels, I mean how can you go wrong with a fresh morel? You can’t. The lime curd was tasty and I loved the mini veggies and the ability to eat the whole thing. I was a bit turned off by the mushroom soil — not because of the flavor, but the texture threw my senses off — I wanted to not eat it because it made me feel like I had sand and soil in my veggies, but I soldiered on and ate it — tasty.
Champagne accompaniment — how can I say anything bad about that? It was a nice pairing.
Second dish — this was one of my fav dishes of the night. The dashi poached char was so cooked so perfectly, it had a soft melty characteristic that I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the salt cured, but I probably did not need as much of it as they put on the dish. The sea spears were a nice addition, not too much flavor to detract from the flavors of the fish.
The Table 75 mule was definitely my favorite drink of the night — so fresh and clean and smooth and paired perfectly with the char.
Third dish — this might have been the most flavorful dish of the night. The gochujang glaze on the pheasant was delicious and I loved that it was on the nurungi. The pepino and chayote kimchi worked very well. I wished that the shishito chile relleno was crispier — I know that may have been purposeful since there was so much crispy rice, but I just wanted it to be tempura like.
Fourth dish — GOAT! Need I say more? The cured goat belly was tasty but a bit salty. I wanted it to have something to go with to cut through the salt like if it was in a Chinese style open bun — that would have been so good. The mint chutney with the goat was good, but possibly too much garlic as that was a flavor that would not leave my mouth for the rest of the night. The pappardelle was fantastic, and the berbere braised goat was flavorful, not strange at all and just went so great with the fresh spring peas.
Fifth dish — cheese time. I loved the cheeses, although I could have done with a slightly smaller portion of cheese (or more of everything else?). The evalon was good, although I personally liked the martone cheese a little more. I could have used a whole bowl of the ginger peach preserves, those were delicious. I know the chef had wanted to make the beignets smaller for our night than the previous, but they failed to be beignets at the size presented. I wanted them to be big and fluffy and instead I got something that resembled a donut hole. I didn’t taste any of the brown butter, but I loved the tupelo honey. I always enjoy a good gewerztraminer and I liked this pairing.
Last dish — dessert-​time. I wanted to like this dessert, but I will say that I’ve never been a fan of smores — which this is the feeling I got from it, less dulce de leche flavor than I would have liked to have tasted. The Saigon cinnamon was a bit overwhelming of a flavor against the others and took over my palate. My favorite part was the hazelnut brittle, but alas, there was not a lot of it and there wasn’t a lot of hazelnut in the brittle. It’s always been a bit hard for me to drink port, it’s so rich tasting, but I totally understand the reason for the pairing.

What an honor to be a part of this amazing food experience.
Some of my thoughts:
The tiny veggie plate was picture perfect. The «dirt» was extremely inventive and delicious. My only thought was that the lime curd had very little lime flavor and there was way too much of it on the plate.
The char, I think wins for me. I’ve never had such a beautifully poached fish. The smoked char was spot on. Not too smokey, which allowed the fish flavors to come through.
The pheasant was really delicious but the concept lost me here. Many were attempting to eat with a fork, because picking it up like a tostada just wasn’t going to work. But eating it with a fork didn’t work well either because it was so hard and crunchy.
I was really excited for the goat being that I had never had it before! I will say that the goat belly just didn’t do it for me. It was extremely salty and the over garlicky mint chutney flavors stuck with me the rest of the night.
Dessert. You can’t go wrong with a homemade marshmallow and melted chocolate. Perfectly paired with a port, it was delectable.
Thanks to the chef and mixologist for a superbly executed experience. I can’t wait to see where this goes!

My whole experience with Table 75 was great! Such a lovely venue, table set ups, everything was spot on. This continued with the pre-​dinner cocktails, food, and wine pairings.
My story is a little different from all of the others because Chef Aaron made me a vegan friendly version of the menu! So, for those interested in scheduling a pop-​up — it does seem that they can accommodate dietary needs with advance notice.
The first course of morels, umami dirt, and baby root veg paired with Vueve set the tone for a stellar meal. I just want to eat those every day. So many of the dishes really highlighted fresh vegetables nicely. I, of course, think they should rightly be the star of the show, so I can only imagine what Chef Aaron could do when all of the summer crops come in!
I won’t rehash every item, but I will just say that almost everything was executed nearly perfectly. I got two really unique dishes: the «cheese» course, in which I was given seared hearts of palm and fried dates (which, were sooooooo good and paired very well together) and the dessert, which was a luscious coconut milk panna cotta. The only two critiques that I had were with my second course (miso noodle soup; a bit bland) and that i would have liked some kind of protein included. But given the fact that i was part of a larger group and they were making all new or modified dishes for a single person, this is just a small quibble with an otherwise amazing experience.
Thanks so much to everyone involved with this! It was wonderful being a part of it. I will happily be your lab rat any time!

Finally getting around to writing this review, hope it doesn’t come too late.
Overall, the concept is great. I think what excites me the most is that they want to take Table 75 to you. not always expect you to come to them. Hi, that’s about as local as you can get. Can you imagine if i hosted this in my back yard in Stallis… oh the looks.
Anyway, on with the food review:
First inning was a wake-​up call that what we were going to eat really is «true to their culinary roots» since it had root vegetables… with roots and leaves still attached. Maybe its cause i don’t want to go all Christ McCandless on it, and eat something i’m not supposed to… when i see leaves i instantly think «can i eat them?» And i think here, it was more «should i eat them?» Is it going to taste good, do I need to eat the leaves to fully understand or enjoy? Stephen at them all, i sampled one of each, Tony didn’t eat any. But really, it was the mushroom soil that had me at hello. AND the morels which were just simply wonderful. The lime curd was not for me.
The second inning was the Char Trio. The smoked salt cured char with sea spears was a home run. and the sea spears were an important part, adding a fresh texture to it. but in general, i want more of the smoked char.
Inning three is the pheasant. Cut to the chase, the crispy rice thingie just didn’t work. Everything on top of it did. everything. I think Chef wanted us to pick it up and eat it, but that’s hard to do.
The fourth inning… move over… mooooooove over. Goat. Chef wants this to be the «year of the goat» and i’m going to support that. That pappardelle with braised goat was… honestly…the best thing i ate all night. that needs to be more available, I for one will be looking for it. those peas…
the fifth inning stretch was cheese. And he cheated, which i love. You can’t have a locally sourced meal without cheating a little bit. That honey was soooo good. I didnt’ get the brown butter thing.
And to close it out… the last inning was dessert. I love marshmallows. I love the jet-​puffed ones out of the bag… but a home-​made shmallow with everything else he had going on up in there… it was great. that needs to be an every-​day dessert.

I have finally awoken from the deliciousness induced coma I succomed to at the hands of Chef Aaron Miles at The Lab at Table 75, and I can finally write the review that he and this event so much deserve.
While we stood around and awaited our dinner, our drink orders were taken and appetizers were brought out for us to sample. The first was a deviled egg topped with a piece of crab meat. Unfortunately, I am allergic to shellfish and I was not able to try it. It was a true shame, because I love deviled eggs. The second appetizer was a delectable goat cheese bite. I also love goat cheese, probably as much or more than I love deviled eggs, so this made up for not having the deviled egg.
After we sat down for dinner, we were presented with our first course. It was a dish of tiny little raw vegetables with coriander lime curd. The tiny vegetables were okay, but when you added the lime curd, it was a whole new ball game. The lime curd had a very distinct taste, and I can still taste it as I think about it now.
The second course was a trio of char, served in different manners. Due to my allergy to shellfish, I often tend to shy away from seafood. That being said, this dish blew me away. The salt cured char was absolutely amazing. It was so good, that I even managed to sneak a piece of it from my neighbor’s plate. Luckily, I think she was okay with it. Also, of all the delicious wines paired with each dish thorughout the night, the drink I was left longing for was the Mule served with this dish.
Next up was pheasant tostada, in which the tostada was made of very crunchy rice. This dish was really good, especially the pheasant, but what I remember most about the dish was the crunchy rice tostada. It was just a little to crunchy in my opinion, and while it did nothing to take away from the flavor of the dish, it was just too crunchy for me.
When we were told the next dish was goat, and part of it was goat bacon, I got VERY excited. I don’t beleive I had ever had goat before, but I knew that I loved lamb, and I was pretty sure it would be similar. It was everything I expected and so much more. Served with the goat was a mint chutney that was also out of this world.
Our fifth course was a collection of cheeses served with peach preseres, a brown butter beignet and some honey. My favorite part of this dish was the cheese. You can never go wrong with cheese. And when you throw a fluffy beignet next to it, well, that’s just delightful.
Last, but certainly not least was a giant homemade s’more, made from chocolate fondue and some out of this world hazelnut brittle. The brittle was extremely glassy and so sweet and delicious.
All in all… everything was damn good.

It’s been just over a week since I had the pleasure of this experience and that’s good because I needed that time to allow the myriad happy feelings to find their place. The most pleasurable experience in compartmentalization evar…
From what I’m told, the plan is not for this to become a restaurant, or even «the way» in the chef’s InterContinental restaurant, but for it to be a pop-​up experience.
I took notes, but it was unnecessary because, when it comes to a sensory experience I have a photographic memory. When it comes to a mathematical experience I have a toddler memory. But I digest. The notes I took were on a very thin slice of wood disguised as paper. That, the gorgeous flowers, and assorted mason jars were the first details I noticed. These were lovely ways to set the bar.
I had one appetizer taste, the pimiento cheese in a teeny-​tiny torte shell. It was good, but honestly it was also the most forgettable experience of the evening. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, and possibly no mistake. I wouldn’t want the apps outshining my show, if I were the chef.
The first course (vedge) was called something like «And adventure in miniature edibles.» And if that’s not right, that’s what it should have been called. I loved it. «It» being a terracotta pot «plate» with an assortment of baby radishes and carrots with the greens left on; DIVINELY sauteed morel mushrooms (nearly spiritual in flavor); wonderful lime curd (edible by the spoonful); some great fancy olive oil; and the gold-​medal winning «dirt.» That dehydrated concoction of porcini, cocoa, and other mystery was fabulous and creative and splendid. The presentation and magic embodied in this course made it the overall standout for me.
The second course (fish), a duo of varying presentations of Lake Superior Char (trout), was really done well. I’ve never had such tender poached fish in my life. Delicious.
The third course (poultry) was also good, but apparently not as good as the ones I’ve mentioned because I’d totally forgotten about them until I read Ellie B.‘s review. She nailed it, too, and I’m not going to duplicate it here. Mostly because I’m so excited to relive the next part…
Contained within the fourth course (game) was my favorite dish of the evening. He presented us with two versions of goat. He also explained the reason behind many people’s distaste for goat; that being that often the goats being butchered and served are older, spent, dairy goats. He served local (the whole concept keeps ingredient sources within 75 miles or so) goats raised specifically for meat. I like goat anyway, and I did surely noticed a difference in flavor and texture. This goat was much lighter, less rich tasting and more tender than what I’ve usually had. There was goat belly: it was chewy, crispy, salty, fatty goodness topped with a really nice Ethiopian style pesto or chutney or this is where my absent notes would come in handy, relish. It was good, with lots of mint but a bit too much garlic. But the winner-​winner-​such-​good-​dinner for the whole night was the braised goat atop home-​made paparadelle with peas. It was the most comforting food I’ve ever had in a restaurant. The noodles were buttery in flavor and texture; not too heavy or starchy. There was a generous sprinkle of, what seemed like, kosher salt to cut the richness of the goat and pasta. It is what revisits me over and over again as being my favorite moment of the night.
Following this course was a palette cleanser (great idea after all that garlic in the chutney). And after that were the cheese and sweets courses. Can I just say? All my meals should be so divine. I think I would eat once a day in exchange for the promise of this succession of awesome courses at that one meal. Ok, fantasy over.
The cheese course was great because it featured both a soft and mild martone (goat cheese) as well as a hard and more biting evalon cheese. Being the kind of lady that I am, I preferred the hard cheese. The mild cheese was complimented very well by the Tupelo honey, whereas the evalon went very well with the accompanying ginger peach preserves on the plate. Savoring it now in my mind…
The final touches were the wonderful dessert and extremely well paired wines (and once, cocktails). Overall I left feeling very pleased with the world and hoping extensively to find Chef Miles’ concept gaining traction somewhere out in the world soon. Because really, I need more of that goat.

I’m not even sure where to start. Everyone has done a damn good job of parsing through the meal course by course so I’m gonna leave that alone. What I want to emphasize is just how stunning this experience was. Each course was expertly prepared, but how about the imagination that went into each dish? Who thinks to put out a Mexican and Korean inspired pheasant concoction? My absolute favorite dish of the night and without a doubt the best pairing with the Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier Shiraz — Viognier. How about the many different flavor and texture profiles in the dessert course? The hazelnut brittle and cinnamon graham crumble with the marshmallow were as decadent as can be, then you toss in the chocolate fondue and you’re practically breaking the law. Most importantly, WHOSE BRIGHT IDEA WAS IT TO MAKE GOAT BACON? It’s something I never imagined eating before our meal and cannot imagine going without after. With apologies to my aunt’s beloved pet goats, I’m never looking at another one of those suckers again without day dreaming. Somewhere around the 3^rd course I started thinking that Chef Miles should stop talking to us, go sell this food to someone already so he can make his $ 10,000,000. With food of this quality, success is not in question for Table 75.

First off, thanks for having us Unilocalers come by to test out this new idea!
Kudos to each drink pairing! From beginning to end, I really enjoyed and appreciated the liquid accompaniment. Fantastic job.
Chef Aaron, though you look like a young kid, you definitely showed your maturity on this night for the Unilocal Gold Badge Elite event and we were honored to be eating your creations!
My second favorite dish of the night was the first one served: Foraged WI mushroom starter. Really everything about the dish I appreciated. I liked that it was served like a potted plant. The porcini, kalamata, cacao nib «dirt» concoction was crazy realistic! Gritty yet still tasty. That coriander lime curd was insanely good and I can see that going in a lot of dishes with a lot of things. I even chose to «toss» some of my root veggie greens (that most people didn’t eat) in the curd mixture… and yep! Still good! The only thing I would change or comment is that I began to think that I should dip the morel mushrooms in the curd. But, this is a problem because the morels were so so so good on their own. It’s like those people who put ketchup on prime rib (except the curd was 1000x better than ketchup). But, not something that should be done. The dish invites one to do that, though and I feel it shouldn’t. The Veuve Cliquot (which I cannot say) I’ve purchased as a gift for others but never had it myself. It was won-​der-​ful!
The next dish was the trio of Lake Superior Char.
I’ll admit that I was confused as to the third part — oh you meant the roe!
After confusing which fish was which, I really liked the dashi poached fish best. It was delicate and clean and pretty with the foliage garnishes. The salt cured char was, well — a bit salty. I would have appreciated more of the herbaceous greenery, sea spears just to help cut the salt a bit more. That drink though! It was simple, just Rehorst vodka and something called Domaine de Canton (ginger liquor) — yum and yes please! So tasty and easy to drink.
The pheasant was next. Unlike most diners, I’ve had pheasant a few different times (even once with shotgun pellets still in it — agh! served at a restaurant, not even at the farmyard BBQ where I had it the third time). Pheasant is pretty good, you know, it’s fowl so it tastes like fowl mostly :) The chayote kimchi was, for me, the star of the dish. For one, when the heck does anyone ever serve chayote?! For two, the flavor of the «kimchi» treatment was perfect! The shishitos I didn’t love. They didn’t really have «crunch» like a relleno would. It just was soggy, lacked flavor and fell a little flat. The hard rice was a bit too hard. I did really love the spice level, enough to make it’s presence known but not overwhelming.
My favorite dish! Out came the pappardelle with goat. Ok, let’s just say I’ve had goat a few times at the Indian buffets and I just don’t like it. It’s gamey and Indian style is often served with big chunks of cut up bone, just not my deal. But this, wow! So good! It really did seem like lamb (which I love) and I had to keep reminding myself this was goat! The only thing I would change, however, is the addition of coarse salt on top. It just was not necessary. The flavor was perfect without biting in to oversized grains of salt that got in between my teeth and disrupted by chew and overtook the delicateness. Also, pea shoots were just delicious and as long as they’re tender (which these were) should be on every dish in the world!
Right next to my favorite dish was my least favorite dish: the goat belly and chutney. This dish was just too much for me. Too much raw garlic (that did not leave my mouth for the rest of the meal!), too salty, just too aggressive. I can appreciate the risk that was taken and the uniqueness, but couldn’t enjoy it and it was ruining my palate, so I quick finished my pappardelle before attempting a few more forced bites at the goat belly.
Our second to last plate was the cheese and beignet plate. I was very curious how sweet or savory this dish would be. We were told that the beignets were changed to smaller bite sizes instead of one big serving because of the previous nights feedback. Alright newbie Unilocalers, I know you meant well but, NO. Serving the beignets in smaller bites sizes killed all of the fluff that a beignet is know for and required to have. You just can’t do that to the luscious soft pillows! All that fluffy puffy was gone, and they were harder. As someone who doesn’t love sugar, and I can’t believe that I’m about to say this, but I really missed some sweetness in this dish. The very special honey that was discussed was like a mere dot to a really long word with only one «i». It needed more. The powdered sugar barely made an appearance, either. Maybe it’s not meant to be sweet, and that’s more than ok with me — but it still has to balance out. And the cheese ratio was off — way too much.
That had to have been the BEST Gewürztraminer ever.
Aaaand I’m at the 5,000 limit

My experience at Table 75 of Intercontinental Milwaukee allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and try knew things. This experience was truly one of a kind and for that, I am grateful.
We started with a beverage of our choice and hors d’oeuvres. One was a spicy, creamy deviled egg, topped with crab. I absolutely loved it. And you know… I cannot remember the other one. But I remember liking it.
Each plate came out in innovative style using different types of textile in place of the plates. It was fun and exciting to not only see what would come out next, but what the food was on and how it was plated.
Chef Aaron Miles explained each dish beautifully. He he even gave us tips on how we should properly eat when we were unsure where to start. He expressed his passion for sourcing all the ingredients locally and helping the environment in terms of sustainability.
On to the food itself. Each meal had a drink pairing. A lot of thought and effort went into each meal and drink pairing. Some were spot on for me, some were not to my liking.
The food that stood out most for me:
The foraged WI mushrooms were absolutely delicious. The flavor and meaty texture left me wanting so many more. I could have easily eaten a whole plate of just the mushrooms. It came with a pile of dirt made from olives, coco and other seasonings. I love/​hated this haha. I think I’m not the only one who really felt like they were eating actual dirt, which kinda made me feel like a badass?! Idk is that weird?! Haha. It was definitely interesting.
The Lake Superior char trio was easily one of my favorite meals of the night. One was poached topped with a roe and the other was a smocked salt cured. How can put into words the perfection to which the fish was poached and seasoned?! The cured was beautiful and I was sincerely sad when it was over. And I quite enjoyed the Table 75 Mule pairing.
The braised goat was absolutely divine. I never in my life would have ever ordered a dish such as this, however thanks to this experience, I would totally chose this again and again. The braised goat was beyond delicious.
As for the other things, I can honestly say that it’s not that they were bad, it’s just the difference in personal palates. I didn’t like the pheasant meal. The meat was gamely and although I appreciated the flavor fusion, the bibimbap style rice was too hard for me. I really wished that I enjoyed cheese. I know it’s totally taboo in WI not to just love cheese! For I feel like I’m missing out. Alas, the cheese plate was not my favorite.
I loved the brown butter beignet that was paired with the cheese as well as the marshmallows that was paired with the fondue. And that’s saying something because I’m not a fan of marshmallows.
Overall this experience was one of the most awesome food experiences I’ve ever had. I feel as though because of this experience, I’m going to go into other restaurants with more of an open mind. I might even try something I normally wouldn’t have been comfortable in trying.
Many thanks to Chef Aaron and his A-​maxing team for a wonderful time.

I was beyond excited for this event. I absolutely love the concept and the gallery venue really set the stage for the evening. I love meals that seek to invoke a feeling and a sense of place. Chef Miles focused on ingredients from 75 miles, which highlighted some amazing local purveyors. I am interested to see how this concept is executed as they get up and running, since they’re operating in a pop-​up style they’ve got lots to work with to create individual dining experiences, which is really neat.
What stood out to me during the 7 courses (with wine/​cocktail pairings) was the Pappardelle with Berbere Braised Peasant Meadow’s Goat (Goat Duo). The pasta was texturally fabulous, I rarely order pasta when I’m out because I tend to be disappointed in the quality, this was right up my ally. This was a given for me. I love comfort food and this fit the bill. The goat wasn’t overly gamey and had a melt in your mouth quality that I found to be rare among the goat I’ve tried. I was surprised by my reaction to the second half of the goat duo, which was a cured goat belly with a mint chutney. Again, I the texture of the goat was spot on. Not overly chewey, nor overly salt. The chutney was a great addition to balance out the saltiness. Chef Miles is so right, «Goat is the new lamb» people!
My second notable nibble was definitely the appetizers. A wonderfully executed deviled egg, a nod to Wisconsin supper clubs, and a

This was a real learning experience. I learned a lot about locally sourced seasonal ingredients and what a talented chef can do with them. Chef Aaron Miles along with the staff at the InterCon learned from us just how potentially successful the «Table 75» concept can be.
It was clear that a lot of thought went into this dinner. From each wine pairing to the dinnerware to the beechwood laminated menu, no opportunity to impress was overlooked. Yes, you heard me correctly; the menus for the evening were printed on super thin sheets of wood.
In keeping with the trendy «farm to table» concept, everything was locally sourced, of the highest quality, and fresh as the morning dew. Our first course got us off to a great start. It was a mixed salad of morels and mini greens. I’ve never seen a carrot that small! The flute of VCP it was paired with was a great way to open up our pallets. Next was the fish course. I’m not a fan of poached fish; the dashi was ok, but the brined char was the star of the plate. It reminded me of a firm white tuna sashimi; so clean tasting with great texture.
The next dish sparked a lot of foodie debate. The Korean/​Mexican pheasant was certainly the most interesting dish of the evening. I’m not a big fan of Korean flavors myself so this dish missed with me. I was happy to picked the pheasant out and eat just that. It was cooked and shredded perfectly. I did think that the Shiraz that it was paired with was the best pairing of the night. The next dish stopped all of us in our tracks and blew us away. Chef Aaron told us that this is going to be the year of the goat. Well, then it’s going to be a great year! Served two ways to highlight its range, we were treated to smoked goat belly, which I am coining «goat bacon». This was pure meat candy. Goat meat candy. It tasted like a perfect combination of beef and pork, if that’s possible. Salty, savory, I will remember those bites for the rest of my days. The braised goat with fresh pappardelle was also great. Great goat. I might have been giggling to myself I was enjoying it so much. Now is a good time to interject a good reason why it is appropriate it eat goat this time of year. Spring is the season for German Bockbier. In German, a goat is referred to as a «Bock.» There you have it. The goat dish was so great, the cheese course was but a fading memory. For the dessert course, I loved Chef Aaron take on a S’mores. It was both haute cuisine and childishly playful at the same time. I left feeling healthy and happy. Portion sizes were perfect and served in a perfect progression. As a whole, one of the top five dinners I’ve had in the past year.
A dining experience is more than just the food. Chef Aaron had a great supporting staff of servers and sommeliers. I really enjoyed the cocktails and wines that were paired to the plates. Together they created a «symphonic» dining experience rather than multiple solos.
I was deeply grateful for the opportunity to take part in this event. I would again like to thank Chef Aaron Miles, his staff, the management at kil@wat and the InterCon Hotel. I think they have a winning concept here. Delivered with the high level of execution we experienced, it is certainly a recipe for success!

Chef Miles and his team went all out for us and I feel so lucky. This 7 course meal with drink pairings was really phenomenal. They won my heart immediately when they served Deviled eggs as an appetizer but the pimento cheese app really stole the show. Great salty, cheesy flavor here.
Our first course of baby root veggies and morels was awesome. It was served in a potting saucer and I loved the presentation, especially the edible «dirt,» which was really a unique preparation of mushrooms. Its earthy flavor and gritty texture was surprisingly satisfying. The coriander lime curd it was served with was heavenly and I probably could have dipped an old shoe in it and enjoyed it.
I was a little nervous about the second course — Arctic char served two ways — because I’m relatively new to eating fish. It was mild as Chef promised and I could tell it was good, but my palette just isn’t there yet. I liked the cured version better (I do love me some poke!) but both versions were quite mild. I would default to other reviewers for their take on this one. It was paired with Table 75’s version of a mule which was really smooth and fresh.
The third course was my favorite; it’s like if a Mexican pheasant and a Korean pheasant had a baby pheasant. I’ve never eaten this type of bird before, but Shana M. nailed it when she likened it to dark turkey meat. The sauces and flavors were a great mix: chilies, tamarind, kimchi all piled on top of a crunchy rice «tostada,» reminiscent of the crispy rice at the bottom of a bowl of bibimbop. These flavors complemented each other so well and the dish had such a great variety in texture. Nailed it. It came with two breaded shishitos on the side, which were good. Maybe a crispier and saltier breading would work better here.
Next up was a course featuring goat prepared two ways — one salty and cured with a garlicky, mint chutney and the other braised on top of homemade paparadelle. Both were so great. Both pheasant and goat courses were served with awesome red wines. I’m kinda new to wine and prefer sweet whites, but I could tell that these were excellent complements.
After that suuuper garlicky chutney we needed a palette cleanser, which was a strawberry champagne sorbet. It reminded me of a strawberry Fruit Roll Up but the original recipe from when I was younger, not the boring one they have now. Loved it. Please consider selling your recipe to General Mills so they can return the Fruit Roll Up to its former glory. Thank you.
Cheese time! Fifth course was two types of cheese, both good. The evalon was a harder cheese and a little saltier than the soft martone. These cheeses came with a couple of little beignet buddies and ginger peach preserves. I liked all of these things together. It threw me for a loop a little bit that you don’t get any crackers or bread to eat with the cheese, but Chef Miles says that is intentional and you should just go for it to let the cheese be the star of the show. I do love cheese, so I can get behind that. I think I would like the cheeses to be served in the same proportion, though — an equal amount of both. We got a lot more of the martone and that could have been scaled down.
The grand finale was the Lab’s take on a s’more with Indulgence chocolate. Check out the pictures, it’s pretty rad. You get a big ol’ marshmallow, hazelnut brittle, a cinnamon graham crumble and melted Indulgence chocolate to pour over the whole shebang. I really liked the crumble — it reminded me of my grandma’s pfeffernusse cookies = spicy + crunchy small circles. This course was served with my new best friend, 10 year aged Tawny Port. Oh, hello.
In sum, big ups to the Intercon, the Lab at Table 75’s entire crew and Rachel for spoiling us rotten.

Timing is everything.
Along with planning and execution.
InterContinental hotel provided a perfect venue for Chef Aaron Miles to show case a variety of locally sourced seasonal ingredients that says Midwest without the moo. so much goodness came out of the kitchen to the gallery setting. I’m not sure was M for Milwaukee or Miles. Either way art on the wall was paired with artistry of the chef. Service was top notch I certainly enjoyed the appetizers deviled eggs were my favorites with a hint of mustard.
The first course was creatively served on a potting saucer, very impressive presentation utilizing flavorful Wisconsin mushrooms my mind was apprehensive about eating the mushroom dirt that accompanied fresh baby vegetables. It’s a mind trick that was so unique to experience. The texture the flavor took seconds just to verify what I just ate. And no… it wasn’t dirt.
The 2^nd course is Lake Superior char smoke and brine was perfect. The poached char was very very light. taking flavor from the roe.
3^rd course was a Asian fusion styled pheasant. It was perfectly roasted the shishito was tasty without the heat, good sauce. Crispy rice layer had a flavorful oil great transition in the middle of the meal it was served with a suggestion to pick it up and eat it like a Korean tostada. I certainly would if I was wearing a bib or casual wear. I ended up using a fork not sure if I could trust the toasted rice base, and lost out in the chefs experience on this. BTW as an afterthought I should have picked it up and trusted the chef this was not going to fall apart easily. As a chili head I would like an option for more smoke and heat. Possibly a side of roasted chili oil or paste.
4^th course was the most memorable to me. The build up to this point was well planned. The last times I had goat it was stewed and cooked in a Cuban style and Mexican BBQ. So I’m happy to see it done well, in a roasted style outside of South Florida. So glad to see goat on the menu as my brother and I were just talking about last week. A sorbet followed prior to the cheese peach preserve course. This wine pairing went very well here.
5^th course was two types of goat cheeses. Avalon an Martone I liked the harder aged cheese more than the very soft.
I would have preferred a medium 3^rd cheese along with ¹⁄₈ soft in lieu of the big ¼ slice of soft. and felt that a soft cheese was too much mass for my taste.
6^th course desert. Was chocoholic dream I resisted licking the plate clean. We had All the parts to have a s’mores without the campfire. 10 year Porto carried itself well with the sweetness of desert.
The planning of this menu was well orchestrated, the courses flowed very well with informative description thanks to Chef Aaron Miles, wine steward and support staff of InterContinental. MKE.
The well timed courses are the building blocks for a solid meal. Fine food well prepared.
I get this. Not stuffed. I’m content.
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Well I would just like to thank Chef Aaron Miles, the Table 75 crew, and the Intercontinental for treating us Elite Newbies to one heck of a dinner! Six courses with a drink pairing (not including appetizers), each more delicious and creative than the last. Each course included an intro from Chef Aaron and an ongoing group discussion of the meal so I basically felt like a judge on «Top Chef,» minus the cutthroat competition. I’ve included a more in depth discussion of my thoughts on the meal below but in summary, an indulgent experience I would gladly repeat.
We started off with passed appetizers of crab deviled eggs and goat cheese tarts. I didn’t love the presentation of the crab on the egg but the tarts were delicious and the perfect bite of melty goat cheese. Gallerie M was elegantly decorated with tall wood tables topped with fresh flowers and course fabric table runners, exactly my taste. After the cocktail hour we sat down at the long tables and the meal got started!
The first/​salad course was a variety of tiny vegetables with edible dirt and a lime curd. The presentation was very playful although I wasn’t quite sure how to eat the dish cohesively. Instead I took turns eating the different elements, the morels were gone first as they were my favorite. Although happy to have made my first foray into edible dirt it was not my favorite. The champagne was nice but the pairing went over my head. The second/​fish course was unexpectedly one of my favorite. Either I really like Char, Chef Aaron does an amazing preparation, or both. My favorite preparation of the three (poached, smoked, roe) was the poached with the smoked close behind. This course was paired with a Mule which would have been more up my alley if it was a little more of a Moscow Mule and a little less straight vodka.
The third/​meat1 course was possibly the most interesting course-​roast, ‘pulled’ pheasant on a crunchy ‘tostada’ of rice. I thought the shshito’s were bulky on this plate and could have been served as another passed appetizer instead. The pheasant and kimchi I loved with the rice tostada being about two notches too crunchy for me. This dish was paired with my favorite wine of the evening, the Chapoutier Shiraz although I don’t think of red wine when eating a tostada. The fourth/​meat2 course was another first for me: goat (prepared two ways). I loved the cured belly, the seasonings were just right to make it a decadent bite. The other preparation, pappardelle with peas was creamy and appealed to my pasta love affair but the gamey quality of the goat meat was more obvious in this presentation. After the Shiraz, the read wine paired with this course did not stand out to me.
The fifth/​cheese course was prefaced with a frozen scoop of strawberry champagne which was helpful to clear the lingering tastes of goat from our palates. The cheese plate included two cheeses and a peach preserve topped with a golden beignet. My favorite part of this course was the beignet (mine was the perfect texture) and the Gewürztraminer pairing. The cheeses were good, especially the goat cheese but I only needed a few bites of each. This of course brings us to the final/​dessert course. This might be one of the most fun dessert plates I’ve ever encountered. When I saw fondue on the menu I was not intrigued but I now I know I should have been. The dulche de leche marshmellow was huge and so enjoyable dipped in the Indulgence chocolate. The brittle and graham crumbles were nice compliments to the marshmellow star. I had a few sips of port but by that time I was well satiated! Thanks for the outstanding meal Chef Aaron and keep it up!

Where do I even begin to describe the amazing time I had?
We were seated in the beautiful Gallerie M of the Intercontinental. «The Lab» itself is a pop up shop, meaning that really, it can take place anywhere in the hotel, which I think is FANTASTIC! Very original in practice, especially for hotels. The table setting is what I would consider «rustic» and truly helps bring together the whole «farm to table» concept Chef Miles has going on there.
All of the «plates» (physically, they were potter bases, and tiles for flooring, which is really cool) were also hand selected and brought an interesting focus to the table. Chef Aaron Miles mentioned that he had traveled to these different farms and met with the farmers, which I truly believe is a unique touch and shows a tremendous amount of care for what he brings to the table (ha, get it? Brings to the table… ugh, never mind, no one ever gets my jokes…).
The first dish was the Foraged Wisconsin Mushrooms. They were delicious and had a steak like consistency, which I appreciated. The lime curd/​coriander blended well with the flavors on the plate. In terms of creativity, this was definitely a winning plate, as it involved a lot of «out of the box» thinking. Overall it was a delicious plate, but I will admit it was a little difficult for me to wrap my mind around the whole «mushroom soil» aspect, considering that I thought it was actual soil. I felt sort of ignorant in terms of the stems, as I was also unsure if I was supposed to eat them.
The second plate was the Lake Superior Char Trio. EXCELLENT! Megan, who sat next to me, mentioned that it was one of her favorite plates, especially the cured fish. Flavorwise, I really enjoyed it and felt better about it after Chef Miles explained that these were from a sustainable-​responsible farm.
The third dish was the Roast Mcfarlane Farms Pheasant. I’m not sure if I’ve had pheasant before, but if this was my first time, it was a truly marvelous one. It was a very original and out of the box version of a tostada and surpassed any mental expectations I had of it. The Shishito peppers were great and not spicy, which I appreciated. The tamarind glaze and the chayote kimchi were probably the stars of this plate for me, especially since I have found it hard to get good chayote in the Milwaukee area. This is probably my favorite dish of all.
The fourth dish was the homemade pappardelle with goat. Again, I’m not sure that I’ve ever had goat, but this was a pretty freakin’ good first time if so. I loved the homemade aspect of the pasta and how well the flavors blended with each other. Nothing was too overpowering or overshadowed other aspects of the plate. This is probably my second favorite meal of the night.
We did receive a palate cleanser at this point, I believe a strawberry sorbet. It was yummy, and refreshing. :)
The LaClare Farms’ Evalon and Martone cheese plate was next in line. I really enjoyed both of the cheeses but did prefer the Martone due to the texture. I was honestly expecting to not like them, but it was a pleasant surprise. The ginger peach preserves under the donut were also tasty, however I didn’t quite taste the ginger in the preserves.
Last but not least was the desert course featuring an Indulgence Chocolate fondue, a homemade brittle and a dulce de leche marshmallow. I’m not usually one for brittle, as it gets stuck in my teeth (which I guess is the point), but I really did enjoy the hazelnut flavor in it, making it hard for me to say no to it. While the marshmallow and chocolate were delicious, I think the brittle was the star for me.
Drinkwise, I love the creativity the mixologist took with some of the plates (shout out to the Table 75 Mule!) and he truly knows his stuff when it comes to pairing. Very rarely have I found near perfect pairings of wines to plates that allows you to truly enjoy what both the drink and the plate bring to the person eating/​drinking.
Servicewise, all of the servers were delightful. Super polite and helpful when I had questions. They even put up with my silly comments when I borderline had too much to drink.
Closing thoughts? This truly was a delightful experience. Chef Aaron and his team have a lot of talent, which should be fostered and explored. There is a lot going on right now in Milwaukee regarding farm to table meals, but I do think that the Table 75 crew has made themselves stand out in a way that VERY few restaurants can. It may only be a dining concept for now, but I really am excited to see what these folks have in store for the Milwaukee area in the future. Thanks again for such a wonderful time!

The Lab at Table 75: a fantastic experience all around. Before the meal, we got to meet Chef Aaron, a personable, passionate guy who the «suits» were pretty excited about. Farm-​to-​table has been a movement for a while and it’s definitely great to see the Intercontinental embrace it.
So let’s talk food. There were 4 main dishes. The first dish really brought the farm to the table with an assortment of root vegetables, blossoms, morel mushrooms, and edible soil. My favorite part of this dish– the morel mushrooms. They were bursting with flavor; the 3 on my plate just weren’t enough! My second favorite was the edible soil– the cocoa nibs really brought out an incredible flavor. The root vegetables were definitely a new experience for me, I’m not used to seeing the stems attached to my veggies so I was slightly intimidated, but I ate it and I liked it.
The second dish– fish; more specifically char. It was my first time trying this type of fish, which the chef likened to salmon. My first thought, uh oh, I’m not a big fan of salmon – too fishy. But the char was delicious and not at all too fishy! I can’t decide which I liked better, the poached version or the smoked version, I’m telling you, both were excellent!
The third dish– I felt was the most interesting, a combination of Mexican/​Korean flavors with pheasant as the star. The tostada was likened to the rice from the bottom of the Bibimbap bowl (in my opinion, the best part of bibimbap) and was crrrrrrruuunnnccchhyyyy. The combination of the pheasant and tostada made for a pretty noisy, but delicious bite! Kudos to the chef for taking flavors we’re all familiar with and putting them together in a whole new way.
The last dinner dish– goat 2 ways. Personally, I preferred the braised goat served with the paperdelle and spring peas over the cured goat. The cured goat was like goat bacon, which I wanted to love but couldn’t because it was a touch too salty. I tried hard to find the mint chutney but it was just overwhelmed by the salt.
Now the dessert: Brown butter beignet with ginger peach preserves, evalon and martone cheese. The specific instructions on how to eat this dish per the chef, eat the evalon with the ginger preserves, the martone by itself, and well, eat the beignet. Those were excellent instructions because everything was delicious. To be honest, I’m pretty food and drink pairing naïve but this drink pairing made sense to me.
The «dessert of the dessert” — dulce de leche marshmallow, chocolate fondue, toasted cocoa nib and hazelnut brittle. It was like a deconstructed s’more. The marshmallow was sweet but not overly sugary and then you dipped it in the chocolate and it was just a perfect bite. The hazelnut brittle was good, but I’m not really sure what it was doing on the plate. I say more room for the cocoa nib!
I had a great time chatting it up with fellow food nerds (thanks Rachel F.), learned a lot about sustainability and left with a belly full of delicious food and drink. Can’t wait to see what else Table 75 has in store!

Exquisite. Thank you mucho to the Chef for this fancy event. This must be how the food at King Joffrey Baratheon’s feast was like before he was deservingly poisoned, turned purple, and died (whoops… hope I didn’t spoil much).
I must admit I am not accustomed to such fine dining. It feels like I was a judge in Chopped where the chef presents and provides a narrative to his dish as you cut the already bite sized pieces into smaller bite sized pieces and pop them in your mouth. It is rare for me to attend to such a formal dinner, but that is what Unilocal is for. I enjoyed every plate, floor tile, and piece of mushroom dirt of this 6 or 7 course dinner.
All of these dishes have names. I simply do not know those names. THUS, I will name them as I see them:
1. Prepuberty Veggies. This dish literally was a plate of baby raw vegetables straight out from my backyard. The brown crumbly dirt looking pile towards the back of my picture tasted like cookie-​esq but you know it’s nothing close. I think they called it «mushroom dirt.» This dish was alright. The mushroom dirt was my favorite from this course because it had such a unique taste.
2. CHARmander, CHARmelion, CHARzard. This course was when I started getting impressed. I never had a meal where every course was paired with a wine or cocktail. One of the servers told me to taste the cocktail before tasting the char and after because it changed the flavor of the drink. I have no idea what he was talking about, because the drink tasted no different to me but I must be experiencing some high class jit if somebody was thinking about how the drink tasted with some fish. The 3 types of char was awesome. Let’s you appreciate how different the same fish can taste just by preparation. The smoked char was my favorite off this one.
3. The chef called this one a «Tostada,» so i’m going to go continue calling it that. My first experience with Korean-​Mex is a good one. They made a shell out of crispy rice you find at the bottom of a bibimbop bowl. It wasn’t the same, but I have much appreciation for a CCC (creative cool concept). I tasted spicy kimchee, sour green apple slices, some sort of abnormal meat, and other stuff I could not identify. I loved it because you could tell a lot of thought was put into it.
4. I think it’s goat. I want to say it’s goat but I really don’t know. ugh. Whatever meat this is, the bacon made from it was delicious. It was served on a floor tile, so it has to be good. Anybody who (purposely) serves their food on a floor tile must be a good cook. The braised mystery goat meat either lacked salt or the super flavorful bacon masked the braised goodness. I don’t even like bacon all that much, but bacon FTW.
4.5÷5. I thought this was dessert, but le chef called it a pallet cleanser. CraAazy. My idea of a pallet cleanser is a toothbrush. People serve edible pallet cleansers as a mighty fine champagne sorbet.
6. Okay, this one was a bit overwhelming because it was a lot of cheese. The donut in the middle was awesome though. One of the cheeses was really difficult to eat, but I tossed it all in my mouth anyways. It’s gotta be worth something because this too was also served on a floor tile.
7. At last, the dessert. This was SSSS (some sexy super smores). There was too much goign on for me to remember. I poured on that dark chocolate and ate it. It was good. I’m sure you can tell from the picture.
This concludes my rendition of Tale of Two Cities.
TLDR: fanciest Unilocal event ever. VERY IMPRESSED. Compliments to the chef and Rachel for setting this up.

Whew! Now that the wine has finished having its way with me, I can finally sit down and write a review.
The Lab… a (non-​permanent) name indicating that experiments are held within and several new elites and I were the guinea pigs. I’ve never been called a guinea pig before; that title belongs to my sister, the first born. I was, however, more than happy to be called that on this night.
Table 75… a name indicating that the food we were about to eat was farm to table within a 75 mile radius of Milwaukee.
Held in a small art gallery inside the InterContinental Hotel, our night started out with cocktails, appetizers and chit-​chat, as all good dinner parties are wont to do. The staff were very attentive and friendly, but also took their jobs seriously. One appetizer was a deviled egg concoction with a piece of crab on top and I don’t know what the other one was, but it looked like a tiny deep dish pizza (it wasn’t). They were both delicious and I had to restrain myself from eating more than one of each, as I wanted to have room for the meal journey we were about to embark on.
After about an hour, we were asked to be seated and Chef Aaron Miles was introduced to us. We were given a quick rundown on the concept of the restaurant and an explanation of what they hoped to achieve by having us as their guests.
The first dish was an assortment of root vegetables, blossoms, lime curd and morel mushrooms paired with a very lovely white wine. As a creative type, I loved that it was served on a terra cotta drip tray… those dishes you put under a plant to catch the excess water? You know what I’m talking about. It very much emphasized the earthiness of the dish.
The second dish was a fish dish which turned out to be a type of trout, a fish I’ve never had before. There was a poached version and a smoked salt cured version, served with edible lakeside flora and roe (caviar). The paired beverage was the Table 75 take on a Moscow Mule.
Our third dish was what seemed like a Mexican and Korean fusion of pheasant, chile relleno, kimchi and a tamarind glaze. A glass of Shiraz was served as well.
Our final «dinner plate» consisted of goat served two ways: cured with mint chutney and braised with spring peas and toasted kamut. Served on a 12″ x 12″ porcelain tile to emphasize the differences between the two, the presentation was beautiful. This dish was accompanied by a red wine.
Next up, a palette cleanser of the most flavorful strawberry sorbet I have ever had in my life!
Our second to last dish (I was pretty full by this time, but managed to stuff myself even more!) consisted of two lovely and delicious cheeses paired with a brown butter beignet and honey and ginger peach preserves served on a slate tile. To me, this was reminiscent of a charcuterie board. Another white wine was served as the accompanying beverage.
Our final dish (YAY! Dessert!) was a huge dulce de leche marshmallow square served with a chocolate fondue, Saigon cinnamon graham crumble and cocoa nib hazelnut brittle. This dish was served with a Port.
We were given plenty of time to really savor each dish and drink pairing, as well as discuss our thoughts with our neighbors before the next dish was brought out.
All the dishes were delicious and, much to the dismay of my dear husband who has a cooking degree and has tried to get me to eat several of the things I ate this night before, were all things I would eat again (even the raw root veggies!) I guess being around strangers and trying to make a good impression will make me eat just about anything. I still draw the line at raw onions, though!
I try, try, TRY to like wine. Honestly, I do, but I can’t do reds. I drank as much of them served this night as I could tolerate, and I will continue to try them, even though I know they don’t like me. It’s a very one-​sided relationship we have. The one exception was the Port served with the chocolate dessert. Although I did not finish the wine, I could taste how it perfectly complemented the chocolate fondue. In fact, this was the first time I have ever been able to discern how a wine and food could draw out flavors in each other, so Bravo! to the Sommelier and chef for making that perfect combination. Of the two white wines, I preferred the first one over the second, but I could do both again. The mule was an interesting drink for me. It was Rehorst vodka and a ginger liqueur. I have had Rehorst before, and I found it to be spicy, for lack of a better word. However, when it was mixed with the ginger, the spiciness didn’t come through at all. It returned when I ate the fish and then took a drink, however.
I can’t say enough good things about the food, the setting, the atmosphere, the staff! With the gaining popularity (and demand) for farm to table, locally sourced food, I think Table 75 is an awesome and very much needed addition to the Milwaukee food scene. I wish them well and look forward to dining there again!
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