With roots finally planted, Heirloom MKE blossoms in Bay View
In the growing community, heirloom seeds are known for their resilience, hardiness and adaptability to new environments.
They’re characteristics Pete and Jess Ignatiev learned to embody on the journey to opening their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Heirloom MKE.
When the business began in 2020, it gained a reputation for being one of the most unconventional food trucks in town. Juicy, seared burgers and parmesan-dusted cheese curds were passed down from the truck’s window alongside steamed mussels and fresh balls of hand-stretched burrata. Unlike the model of many food trucks, Heirloom’s focus wasn’t on one type of cuisine, but on the sustainability of the ingredients it sourced.
It’s a concept the Ignatievs were set on from the start, when their sights were on a brick-and-mortar well before a food truck: create a welcoming spot where the community can come together around a scratch-made meal highlighting the best Wisconsin-grown ingredients.
But the pandemic pushed that concept to the back-burner — more specifically, the back-burner of a food truck.
Farm-to-table became truck-to-table, and with the Ignatevs zipping around town, shelling out scratch-made fare on the go, they built a consistent clientele and a lot of buzz.
That all came to a halt last summer, when the food truck burned in a fire, forcing the Ignatevs to shift focus to their soon-to-be restaurant space in Bay View, acquired weeks before but not quite ready for service. After a couple weeks doing takeout-only, Heirloom opened in August.
It wasn’t the way the Ignatevs dreamed of opening their restaurant, but like the seeds they named their restaurant after, they adapted yet again.
Their resilience has paid off. With the promising seedlings sprouting from the food truck, Heirloom thrives with its roots planted.
Two dining rooms with punchy pops of color
Heirloom’s charm strikes you the moment you walk through the entrance. The upper dining room comes alive with jade green walls and vertical, mint-colored tiles behind the bare-bones wooden bar lined with leather stools. There’s a kitschy, toile-style wallpaper that punctuates the dining room decor with a pattern of retro flying saucers hovering among coral-colored evergreens. Mod, dome-shaped pendant lights and Sputnik-style chandeliers hover from the ceiling.
Take a couple steps down into the lower dining room and find it awash in a soft, kitten-nose pink that serves as a sweet backdrop to a collection of desert-landscape prints in mismatched gold frames.
Walking into the space feels like walking onto the set of a Wes Anderson film. Cheery, colorful, calculated. Call it “Midwest Anderson,” if you will.
Heirloom has a vibe that welcomes the elbows-on-the-table burger crowd and folks celebrating over a seafood supper. And it’s a good thing — you’ll find both on the menu.
An eclectic mix of farm-to-table dishes
Heirloom’s menu features plenty of the big hits from their food-truck days: a crackly edged fried chicken sandwich dipped in vinegar-kissed hot sauce ($17), steamed mussels bathing in a white wine cream sauce with thyme ($16), and one of the better banh mi sandwiches ($19) I’ve had outside of a Vietnamese restaurant. Those fan-favorite dishes from the truck easily earn their spot on the restaurant’s roster.
One of the food truck’s other big hitters that might be the menu’s MVP is their hand-stretched burrata ($16). The big, wobbly ball of cheese has a firm rind that breaks open to a soft and spreadable center of fresh mozzarella curd. The ingredients around it change seasonally. Bright basil pesto and bitty heirloom tomatoes highlight the freshness of summer, Honeycrisp apples with candied pecans reflect the crispness of fall, and pops of juicy pomegranate seeds, toasty roasted squash and crunchy hazelnuts bring the cozy in winter. I’ve had all three versions at the restaurant and have been bowled over by each one.
The burrata is one of Heirloom’s six starter options — its strongest portion of the menu. Its finger-friendly, kicked-back cousin, the fried cheese curds ($13), are a standout, too. The lightly fried little globules made with Clock Shadow Creamery cheese give way to a stretchy, commercial-worthy cheese pull when bitten into, and they are only elevated by the house-made roasted tomato jam and beautifully balanced, roasted jalapeno ranch sauces they’re served with.
Speaking of sauces, the cool and creamy cucumber dill and smoky remoulade dipping sauces do so much to elevate the pile of french fries that come with every sandwich. I want them bottled to take home with me.
The Royal Eggs ($10) are another crown jewel of the menu. Like a Midwest Scotch egg, these deep-fried beauties are coated with panko breading and fried to golden, then topped with fluffy deviled egg filling, a sprinkling of garlicky everything-bagel seasoning and crispy bits of chicken rind. They’re two-biters, but filled with so many flavors and textures I don’t mind looking messy while eating. Be sure to swipe yours through that bed of horseradish-y sauce they’re served over. Again, with the sauces. They’re so good.
By everything I’ve described so far, you’d assume Heirloom is a comfort-food restaurant with an upscale diner slant. And while it executes those styles of dishes deliciously, the menu branches out from there in a way that leaves me a little confused about the restaurant's focus.
Just down the menu from the basket of fried cheese curds is a starter of charred octopus with roasted fingerling potatoes and roasted red pepper puree ($18). A giant bowl of macaroni and cheese squiggled with barbecue sauce ($20) shares space on the entree page with San Francisco-style seafood cioppino ($38) and a hunk of Bavette steak dusted with dried porcini mushrooms with a reduced cabernet sauce ($39).
None of these dishes is bad (though I’ll skip the seafood entrees on my next visit — I found them salty and slightly overcooked), and that Bavette steak is downright delicious (a perfect medium cook with crisp, charred edges and such intense flavor in the reduced wine sauce), but it’s hard to see the identity the restaurant is going for when the menu yanks my attention in so many directions.
I’d love to see it pared down to highlight just how well Heirloom can elevate classic Midwest ingredients with artful presentation. If it gives such heft to sourcing locally, anyway, that’s where the focus should land.
A transparent menu highlighting local farmers
While the menu may be a tad jumbled, I’m grateful for its transparency. Below each dish, it calls out things that could be a red flag for dietary sensitivities, noting the presence or absence of gluten, dairy, shellfish, eggs and nuts.
The menu keeps vegans and vegetarians in mind, too, with a handful of options from a creamy roasted leek and king oyster mushroom risotto ($24) to a Reuben sandwich made with marinated tempeh ($16). And any sandwich on the menu can be made vegetarian, as well.
Below every dish, Heirloom lists the Wisconsin vendors and growers who’ve provided ingredients, from Carr Valley cheese to Simple Soyman tempeh to the Milwaukee Microgreens that garnish many of the dishes.
More local love and crafty cocktails at the bar
Heirloom looks locally when stocking its bar, too. There are more than 30 beers, hard kombuchas and seltzers, many from Wisconsin-based craft breweries. The short but varied wine list has all the usual suspects, from brut sparkling wine to French Bourdeaux to pinot grigio sold by the bottle or glass.
But the cocktail menu is where I like to settle in. It’s filled with super inventive concoctions (most around $15) with flavors that range from slightly spicy (the Roasted Poblano Sour, with bourbon, lemon and roasted poblano pepper) to floral (the Turning Grey, with gin, Lady Grey tea and lavender) to fruity (the Reading Rainbow, featuring basil-infused vodka, prosecco and rainbow sorbet).
The Instagrammable sippers are served in sleek coupe glasses topped with simple, chic garnishes like dried lavender or a wedge of grapefruit and sprig of rosemary, in the case of the pretty-in-pink CRG, a sparkly cocktail with a spicy-floral flavor made with cardamom-infused gin, grapefruit, rosemary and frothy egg white.
Non-drinkers won’t feel left out at Heirloom, though. Most of those gorgeous specialty cocktails can be made non-alcoholic, and Heirloom keeps a respectable assortment of non-alcoholic beer and CBD drinks behind the bar. Wisco Pop soda, Sprecher root beer and other soft drinks are on the menu, too.
The takeaway
There’s so much promise in this peppy little space, with a touch of quirk and easy charm that feels right at home in Bay View. The Ignatievs care about their community — you can see it in the way the menu bends to satisfy so many types of diners, and you can feel it in the laid-back warmth of the service.
It was fun to watch Heirloom grow from the food truck, but it’s even more exciting to see them blossom at home.
What to know about Heirloom MKE
2378 S. Howell Ave.
(262) 229-1157
Fare: Farm-to-table new American fare
Atmosphere: Peppy and welcoming, vibrant dining room
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Prices: Appetizers, $10 to $18; sandwiches, $16 to $19; entrees, $20 to $39; desserts, $10 to $12.
Parking: Street parking
Wheelchair access: Not accessible (steps at main entrance and to restroom from the lower dining room)
Reservations: Recommended; walk-ins welcome
Noise level: Can be loud at peak times
Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.
What should she cover next? Contact her at rseis@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Heirloom MKE blossoms with permanent restaurant in Bay View
